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Reply | First time fan experience
at 20:02 28 Dec 2023
Fair enough re position of away fans. Pleased to hear the Sandy sounds good from inside at least!
Putting ourselves in the shoes of a first time visitor with kids, we canāt guarantee the quality of the game, so the only other āproductā we can sell to get them to come back again is the match day atmosphere- and that comes down to noise from the stands. I donāt have any other ideas - other than getting some terracing into Pearl St.
It doesnāt help that two men and their dog can make a racket in Wilbutts - which seems to have pretty good acoustics! |
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Reply | First time fan experience
at 19:02 28 Dec 2023
True - I remember that Doncaster game - think that was when the bus window got smashed?
I think it is easily dealt with - just a question of covering the nearest section or two of Wilbutts nearest the Sandy and then sticking the away fans down there. Away fans will just direct the bullsh*t to the nearest stand wonāt they.
Getting atmosphere into Pearl St is a tougher one to fix - we obviously all know the issue with being spread too thin behind both goals.
Not a priority either whilst we are skint. Long term (with some money that we donāt currently have) Iād like to see Pearl St turned into safe-standing either in whole or part where the acoustics are decent. Iād move the family stand to last block of the Main Stand nearest Pearl St. New families would be well away from away fans but close to the stand where all the home noise would be. As the kids get older they move into Pearl St and become the next generation of youth making all the noiseā¦ love the Sandy but it is just too quiet and too far from our young fans to impact on the atmosphere. Would cost Ā£Ā£Ā£ that we donāt have - so all theoretical anyway. |
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Reply | First time fan experience
at 13:37 28 Dec 2023
Dale fan for 25 yrsā¦ Iāve got two young boys and our 3rd home game this year. First win theyāve seen.
Managed to twist the wifeās arm as a first time visitor - sat in Pearl St. Block U - lots of new faces and kids sat around us. Without any input from me after the game I asked for the wifeās feedback on how she found the experience - which I thought I would share:
- She was confused as to why the Pearl St family stand is so close to the away fans in Wilbutts. The away fans naturally direct their banter to that stand āRochdaleās a sh*t holeā. āYour support is f***ing sh*tāā¦ flicking the Vās after the game etc. I assured her itās all normal football ground banter but for that reason alone my wife said (if for example she was a single parent) there is no way she would bring the boys again by herself. She felt the atmosphere being so close to away fans is intimidating. Honestly the Fylde fans were just a small pathetic bunch - but that is her view on it, as a mother/non-football fan. My view is the away fans should be housed at the Sandy Lane end of the stand.
- Lack of singing in the home ends. As a regular over the years in the Sandy, Pearl St and Main stand, for me the noise made in the Sandy does not carry out into the rest of the ground. Seems to be an acoustic problem that only affects the Sandy. On Boxing Day you couldnāt hear the Sandy at all in Pearl St. My wife thought for a new visitor with kids, to want to come back, the kids need to feel part of something. she made the point that they might like City or United - without our singing fans being housed in a stand where the rest of the ground (and in particular the kids new to the club) can hear them - there is no sense of belonging. You just listen to the away fans for 90 mins.
Otherwise she enjoyed the goals and was glad we won. Most of the ānext generationā or potential Dale fans will be kids with parents in the Pearl St taking advantage of family ticket prices - so it is the experience at that end of the ground that will determine whether any come back.
Iād prepared her for kiosk shortages. but other people (audibly) were disappointed that they left their seats as the HT whistle blew, queued up 10 minutes to find all hot food was long, long gone. Iād like to say I was surprised- but I wasnāt.
Good initiative by the club I thought and I enjoyed seeing the stands a bit fuller than normal. |
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