What went well and what didnt go well? : Sat Jan 21, 2012 12:15 am  

This is not regard to the match itself but things like Journey to and from the ground, facilities in the ground etc.

What went well

The programme was excellent.
Despite a large crowd, the queues at the bars were not huge and service was relatively quick
lots of signs directing traffic on were to park
Dry and relatively comfortable seat in the North stand
Large choice of food available in the bars
Well staffed bars, all in very smart looking outfits, calling people sir, and generally being polite.
The stadium can generate a good atmosphere.
The pitch stood up magnificently despite the heavy rain.
Big crowd. All the home stands were well populated with speccies.



What didnt go well.

Large queues of people both before and after the match walking directly down the side of Tesco's rather than using the wide Boulevard. This narrow path should be blocked off on matchday to force people to use the wide path. This would then aid pedestrian flows to and from the stadium.

The PA system was variable. You could hear Stu clear as a bell, but the other guy sounded like he had been gagged
Concourses soaking wet.

Couldnt hear the hooter either at half time or full time. Do we even have a hooter?

The home terrace was very quiet. lots of work needed on singing.

The flag positions were crap you could barely see them.

large queues at some turnstile blocks while others were virtually empty. This was because fans were advised to use specific turnstiles. Home fans tend to congregate on the western side of the ground so the North west and South west blocks had big queues while the North East and South East blocks were relatively sparsely filled. Certainly with the North stand there should be no problem going through either turnstile block.

Mega busy crossing the bridge post match, with IMO inadequate crowd control from the police in this area. Perhaps they should look how the Met control crowds down Wembley way. It certainly has that type of post match tide of people feel to it. Another 6000 people heading home that way after the Wigan/Wire games could be interesting. Especially if home and away fans are mixed in. All it needs are a few idiots and it could cause a very dangerous situation eg stampede/crush.

They ran out of Saints gold before the match and also had shortages of hot dogs etc due to demand probably being higher than anticipated. Hopefully this game will give Saints an idea on likely sales.

Not all the bars serve Ale, and its not very clear which do and which dont.

Re: What went well and what didnt go well? : Sat Jan 21, 2012 12:21 am  

Which end of the North Stand were you at? We were near the 20 at the away end and the bar queues didn't move at all. Or did you go pre-game when it was quieter?

Good point about the PA system. Absolutely terrible. Turn it up or add more speakers. Couldn't hear Mrs Rimmer, couldn't hear the post try music and the talking soundedlike it was a couple of fields away at a festival.

Re: What went well and what didnt go well? : Sat Jan 21, 2012 12:22 am  

I don't think the queues at the bars was small and I certainly don't think the staff was fast, I was in line for good 25 mins while being stood in puddles which made the concrete floor very slippy.

Other than that, I thought it went well.

Oh, the PA system was crap.

Re: What went well and what didnt go well? : Sat Jan 21, 2012 12:52 am  

Saddened! wrote:

Which end of the North Stand were you at? We were near the 20 at the away end and the bar queues didn't move at all. Or did you go pre-game when it was quieter?

Good point about the PA system. Absolutely terrible. Turn it up or add more speakers. Couldn't hear Mrs Rimmer, couldn't hear the post try music and the talking soundedlike it was a couple of fields away at a festival.

I went to the bar near the away end of the North stand. took a few mins and got served. This was at about 19:40
Didnt go down at half time as thats always going to be manic whichever ground you are in.
Remember the staff are all learning their job, so it will take them time to get upto full speed and into a routine.
The other thing you could do is walk round the stands and get a drink in the away end if you felt like it. One of the bars in the Widnes end was all but deserted.

Re: What went well and what didnt go well? : Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:00 am  

I was stood in water nearly ankle-deep in the queue for the North Stand bar (Aussie) pre-match for 20mins and eventually gave up so as not to miss the KO.
Bar staff inept & disorganised - possibly 'teething' problems.

Tannoy very poor & couldn't hear the 'hooter'.

Scoreboard display too small - would need binoculars to read the clock from North stand 'C'.

Huge 'bottlenecks' to the pedestrian flow leaving the stadium - side of Tesco & bridge approach.

But, hey, the stadium's great and the pitch is fantastic.
(Not so sure about the team though).

Re: What went well and what didnt go well? : Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:06 am  

Generally love it.

Less good - wet concourse, speakers and some odd stewarding.

But love it.

Re: What went well and what didnt go well? : Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:20 am  

Negatives:
1.The bar I was at in the north stand ran out of change so no-one got served for about 10 mins; some of the people in the queue were getting quite "verbal" about it. The service when resumed was really slow. They can only get better.

2. The concourse was sopping. Sureley this can't be allowed in the long term.

3. Did we have a P.A. or hooter at all?

4. We tried to get in at turnstyle no 21 in the north stand but the tickets were turnstyle specific so had to go to 25 where there were long queues because two of turnstyles broke down. The turnstyle specific was turned off at Widnes after the first few games last year enabling you to enter at any appropriate turnsyle.

Positives:
1. The beer was pretty good and not a bad price at £2.80

2. Excellent views from our seats

3. The atmosphere was much better than widnes in our opinion

4. Traffic flowed really well before and after the game (at least from the peaslet cross road side of the ground).

Overall - an excellent stadium to be proud of with some teething troubles which will all be sorted out in coming weeks/months/years

Re: What went well and what didnt go well? : Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:14 am  

To echo most others' opinions really:

Good:
Decent seats and legroom
Good views
Stayed dry (at least in the South stand)
Fantastic burgers
Quick and easy escape post-game both on foot and in car
Player profiles 'round concourse
Nice loos
Lovely programme

Bad:
Shocking bar service
Terrible PA
Slightly ridiculous looking mini-scoreboard
Awful and woefully misjudged pre-match "entertainment"
Asthmatic hamsters instead of hand-dryers
Terrible (hopefully pre-season only) atmos - even worse than Widnes
Variable stewarding (lots of people with standing tickets were made to sit in the North stand apparently instead as anyone and their dog were allowed unchecked onto the West stand until it was crammed full)

Re: What went well and what didnt go well? : Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:51 am  

What went well:

Easy to get in and helpful stewards on the South Stand
Views from the seats are great and nice and dry in the South Stand
Legroom is excellent unlike other so called modern stadia
Pitch in excellent condition after the game considering the amount of rain and inclement weather recently.
New players making their Saints debut
The artwork of the players on the Concourses is excellent

What didn't go well and areas for improvement:

Pre match entertainment was not the best
PA system must be the one from Knowsley Road
The Hooter sounds like it has a throat infection, nowhere near loud enough
Scoreboard is far too small
I hope the lights under the stands are fixed well. (I guarantee It will only be a matter of time before a player kicking for touch on a penalty smashes one of the lights to bits showering the supporters.
The "I want a bit of the limelight" appearance and grandstanding by a certain Mrs Rimmer. Totally embarrasing and sycophancy at its worst.

[Sadfish]

Re: What went well and what didnt go well? : Sat Jan 21, 2012 7:35 am  

I think generally we had a great night, took my father in law as my dad couldnt make this one, he was well impressed with the stadium, you forget how good it is, until fresh eyes see it.

The main concerns for me, and none of this is to do with the C word or the weather as thats by the by at an outdoor arena.

Being fairly low down in the south stand due to my dad having problems up steps, we missed 3 tries due to saints players and their support staff standing on the pitch instead of in the section in front of their seats, these where tries and play down in southstand away end area. We just couldn't see anything, and we are quite a way from this area, I can only imagine what it was like for the next section along whose view was probably more impaired.

The PA was poor at best as has been said, but to not have to listen to rimmer (not that i've got anything against her, but she does go on) was a godsend, and the hooter need to be the proper load rugby league hooter not the piff that sounded. The pre match just needed to be the cheerleaders, quite why anything else needs to be put on is beyond me, keep the cash Saints.

The bar ran out of most pies prior to the match, and the queues where long, but the staff where trying their best and it's first night for them so no worries.

The queues when the turnstyles opened on Southstand entrance where huge but we walked around the stadium and all the other turnstyles where empty, it's almost like everyone was sent to the one turnstyle.

The walk back to the bridge was potentially dangerous, the path down tescos side was chocker but the main path hardly used and the stretch over the bridge was busy and I can forsee issues here if a system is not in place, probably not an issue for saints.

I think in general it was an EXCELLENT night and everything felt good generally for me, the club should be proud of a job well done.

Another great thing was that I thought the atmosphere was better than any friendly i've been to in years, despite the fact it was bit of a lacklustre performance on the pitch.