Welcoming an extra 7,000 supporters for the first game in front of the new stand provided a memorable occasion in the club’s 129-year history.
Tigers appreciate the many positive comments about the first game, but we are also mindful of issues raised by supporters which the club is addressing in time for the next game.
“We were absolutely thrilled to have a capacity 24,000 supporters for the opening game,” said Leicester Tigers chairman Peter Tom CBE.
“The vast majority of supporters had a great day and we can only apologise to those people who were inconvenienced in any way with the new arrangements and we will do our utmost to address the issues raised from the opening fixture.”
Stadium operations manager Charles Rayner provides the answers to the main concerns rasied by supporters from Saturday:
The Lower tiers of the Caterpillar Stand cannot see the touchline and five-metre run-off because of the pitchside perimeter boards.
The frames and boards arrived a few days before the game and were set out pitchside. We discovered that there were sightline restrictions along the touchline nearest to the Caterpillar Stand. The frames are now being re-fabricated and will be lower and not cause sightline issues. This will be done in time for the next home game, against Worcester Warriors on October 3.
Those sitting in the Caterpillar Stand could not go to other areas of the ground (i.e. Club shop or to meet friends in the Captains Bar and Tiger Bar).
The Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 stipulates that, in order that the club can safely operate on a matchday and conform to the Safety Certificate, we must at all times manage the numbers of people in any part of the ground, particularly the new Caterpillar Stand. The facilities within the new stand have been designed to accommodate all those both in the lower and upper tiers. The club, however, now recognises that a number of supporters wish to go to the other public areas within the ground, such as the Club Shop or public bars. The Club is currently in discussion with the Safety Advisory Group, of which Leicester Tigers is a member, to pilot a scheme at the next home game to allow supporters sitting in the Caterpillar Stand to move to other areas of the stadium once they have entered through their relevant turnstile. The Club has to demonstrate to the Safety Advisory Group that we can safely manage the numbers in different areas of the ground prior to kick-off. Once the game has kicked off, then the Club would expect all supporters to watch from their specific viewing area, as specified on their ticket. If we have supporters walking in front of other supporters once the game has kicked off then we are likely to receive a different set of complaints. At the final whistle, the ground would be opened up for general circulation, to use the various bars and food kiosks as we did for the last game against Newcastle.
Supporters could not purchase merchandise from the upper concourse of the Caterpillar Stand and only one outlet was available on the lower tier. Supporters sitting in the Caterpillar Stand could not access the Club Shop once they had entered the turnstiles prior to kick-off.
Club merchandise will be available on the upper concourse of the Caterpillar Stand at the next home game against Worcester Warriors on October 3. There will also be an additional merchandise booth at the Welford Road end of the lower concourse of the Caterpillar Stand. As stated, we are in discussion with the Safety Advisory Group about allowing those already in the Caterpillar Stand to have access to the Club Shop prior to kick-off. We have in the close season removed part of the Clubhouse temporary seating in front of the Club Shop to assist the general circulation in this area.
Why did it take so long to exit the Caterpillar Stand at final whistle?
The Caterpillar Stand was designed to exit supporters back through the concourse and then through the exit gates, the upper tier using the exit stairs. There was some delay in supporters exiting due to the unfamiliar surroundings, but this should settle down and exit times will improve as supporters become more accustomed to which exit route they should take. This is common for new stands and stadia, and has happened elsewhere, but exit times always improve after a few games. We are also in discussion with the Safety Advisory Group regarding allowing the lower tier supporters to exit the ground through the pitchside perimeter gates.
Some supporters who normally use the NCP car park found that they could not park there on Saturday.
Leicester Tigers pre-book a number of spaces from NCP on the Granby Halls car park for each game, but there are normally spaces available for the general public to park whether they be supporters, LRI staff or hospital visitors. The NCP car park capacity on Saturday evening was pre-booked by Tigers but also by BSkyB to park their technical staff covering the game which was a ‘live’ broadcast. Added to this was the number of contractors who were attending the game on behalf of the main build contractor to ensure that everything mechanical and electrical was covered for the opening game. The car park demand was unexpectedly high for this game. For all future games Leicester Tigers will manage the number of spaces that we use and also ensure that any third-party contractors park in a different location to ensure that a number of general public spaces are made available.
We also have a number of seasonal disabled parking permit holders who could not be parked up on the evening. We will in future ensure these spaces are reserved.
The service in the other areas of the ground, for instance the ABC Bar, was not of the quality and speed that the supporters expected.
The service levels from our catering operators, in both the hospitality and public areas, were not in some cases to the standard that the Club demands. The service level issues have been taken up with our catering operator and changes will be made before the next home game against Worcester Warriors on October 3.
There was a significant number of new staff working in some of the areas for the first time and further training will be given before the next game.
