After each matchday programme, we will be publishing the 'From the Boardroom' article on our website. For Tuesday's match against Forest Green Rovers, Coventry City Chief Executive Dave Boddy wrote the column and his article is published below:
Good evening and a warm welcome to the Ricoh, especially to our visitors Forest Green Rovers who are making their first ever visit here tonight. Forest Green were finally promoted to the EFL in the summer, winning the Vanarama National League play-offs at Wembley, after several near misses.
In one of my previous programme notes I spoke about my desire to engage with as many different groups of supporters and stakeholders in the club as possible. I recently met with the Sky Blue Trust & also the new Leamington & Warwick CCFC Supporters Club.
Since those meetings I have managed to organise for the Sky Blue Trust for a Q & A evening with Mark Robins in November, which they will be announcing shortly. I’ve also arranged for myself and a couple of players to attend the next meeting of the Leamington & Warwick Supporters Club branch later this month, with the Checkatrade Trophy as well.
I have also met with Jonathan Strange, the last chair of the Supporters Consultative Group, to discuss further ways to engage with supporters groups and we plan to meet again with Tim Fisher to formulise a structure approach for organised engagement.
All this means that though the Supporters Consultative Group and its monthly meetings do not take place currently, this does not mean that the club and its staff do not meet with its supporters and representative groups on a regular basis. We will keep supporters up to date with the structured approach for engagement once it is confirmed, while continuing to meet with these groups I’ve mentioned and others too to build these relationships now and for the future.
After the last home game, there was a debate in local media and on the internet about ticket prices. Our advance ticket prices are £22, and the league average is around £23. There is a matchday price increase here at the Ricoh Arena, which is commonplace for many League Two teams.
We do have a range of options for fans who wish to reduce the price of match tickets. Our 6 and 12 Match Package options have again proved very popular, and give a great saving to fans who purchase these packages - the packages work out at around £18 per game.
Meanwhile fans who have purchased a CCFC Membership, which is £25 for the season, can get the advance price even when they purchase on matchday – along with other benefits such as priority on away and cup tickets.
This is as well as our Junior Sky Blues Membership, which gives members under 13 a free ticket to any home league game, while members 13 and over get big discounts on their tickets. There is also other benefits to this, including an invite to the JSB Party – planning for which is well underway.
Of course, these prices do not compare to the value of a Season Ticket and this will always be the best value way to watch the team through the campaign. We are committed to this being the case, and adding more value to being a Season Ticket holder – whether it is the ‘bring a friend’ offer we have done for tonight’s game, discounts on events like the Evening with Mark Robins or the free birthday meal in hospitality we have started this season.
I would like to publicly thank Billie Marshall, who recently left his role as Press Officer at the club to move to an exciting role at the EFL. Billie joined the Sky Blues at the start of last season, and his contribution to the club has been greatly valued during his time with us. It is testament to Billie and his professionalism that even after handing in his notice, he was as enthusiastic and committed to his work as ever.
We had some excellent applicants for the job and we have appointed a successor to Billie, who will be joining us at the end of this month.
Dave Boddy
Chief Executive
Coventry City Football Club