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Early leavers and final whistle on Sunday


Traffic is no excuse tbf. Leaving 10 minutes early won't help in anyway avoiding traffic as 500 other people have the same idea. One lad sits in front of me and is late every home game by 10/15 mins cos of work and always leaves around the 80 minute mark
 
A Mercedes parked outside the ground to take 4 drunken blokes back to Seaburn would be champion.

Mind I’m not sitting in traffic so we need one of those Soviet politicians lanes through the traffic.

Or make the game so heart renderingly exciting that the thought of leaving never enters your head.
 
One thing I will say mind, is that the concourses are way too small in the lower bowl.

Unless you’re paying for a premium ticket, nobody can reasonably expect the lap of luxury, but they’re too small.

Tarting them up was nice, and they look great, but it’s not solved the problem.
 
Parking.

Park & Ride takes forever in the cold and wet, due to the traffic and low amount of busses as it seems.

Parking in a multi story takes hours to get out of if leaving at ft.

I don’t leave early, never have. But as I mentioned in another thread, I stood by the exit and as soon as the whistle went I darted out and got the car out in less than a minute. If you’re using park & ride, you get to the front of the queue.

I’d say this is a huge reason why.
 
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northernw said:
Parking.

Park & Ride takes forever in the cold and wet, due to the traffic and low amount of busses as it seems.

Parking in a multi story takes hours to get out of if leaving at ft.

I don’t leave early, never have. But as I mentioned in another thread, I stood by the exit and as soon as the whistle went I darted out and got the car out in less than a minute. If you’re using park & ride, you get to the front of the queue.

I’d say this is a huge reason why.
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Surely the club / Bruce could speak to Nexus, Stagecoach, Northern rail ect for extra services/carriages on a match day?

Put more buses on for park & ride?? Not sure if it’s ever been raised by RAWA as many people stopping to the end and showing support makes a difference.

The club have got loads bang on, hopefully they can work with supporters to find solutions to this problem.

If the club engage properly and people still leave in their droves at least we’ll know it’s just down to terrible support
 
To be fair, I only noticed it happening on mass after Liverpool so I do wonder if its 'new' season ticket holders who haven't experienced the face to face losses the way we have and can't really cope with it so storm off.


It is gonna have to be addressed as 15 thousand piling out at the 85th minute is not a good advert in attracting new talent.

Maybe the club could buy some land and set up its own carpark, charging £3 for the day.. all options need considering.
 
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Mackem DJ said:
Its been going on 15+ years and its a herd mentality.

Eh
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Yup, the steps at our side, east stand U 10 were never blocked off by the 86th minute until that night.

Some in our section also booed the shit out of Luke O'Nien when he came on Saturday. I don't class them as long term season ticket holders. Just glory jumpers who can't take the heat when we have a bad spell.
 
Long term the city should be aiming for a Metro extension which takes people from the Stadium to multiple Park and Rides next to A19.

Would be far and away the most effective way to get people away from the stadium quickly without congesting in the inner city.

Theres plenty of land south of Nissan and the line could hug the river. Could ultimately connect to the new line being put in to Washington.
 
A group of 4 behind us, who were not there last season, spent the whole game berating Riggy who was easily our best player. Its tanked up shithouses like this who ruin the atmosphere.

I hate them more than early leavers
Mackem DJ said:
stfu man lol
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Where you one of them?
 
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im not roland rat said:
I’ve posted this many times before on this subject but they need to make the exit and getting away from the ground easier for people….

I was in a box on Saturday and 15 mins after the final whistle there’s people still making their way out of the east stand and Roker end. There needs to be exists out the back of the stands. Like we had at Roker Park at the end.

The two massive tunnels at the SWC and the NWC also need to be exists for those who sit in the lower bowl of the stands. I mean the full tunnel not a little side but like you get in SWC.

The club and police also need to close all roads around the ground especially KHW and have it filled up with P&R buses sat there waiting to fill up. None leave until 15/20 mins after final whistle and the once full and ready to leave the police manage the traffic lights so that the buses get a clear ride to Sunderland Enterprise Park … the police used to do this at Roker Park which was further away and we had crowds half the size !!! It’s also a much safer way of controlling the flow of people than the absolute shit show it currently is on KHW … someone will get seriously hurt one day on that road.
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If they can sort this they will sort the majority of early leavers imo.

It takes ages to get out of you’re at the back of the stands at F/T. By the time you’re out KHW gets too congested along the path because of the away buses or cars picking people up are lined up. Some people spill onto the road but there’s cars still coming along so not ideal.

Get back to the car and you’re stuck in traffic until you’re past the a19.

Leave a couple of mins early and none of this happens, knocks off 40 mins+ for us when we’ve done it.
 
im not roland rat said:
I’ve posted this many times before on this subject but they need to make the exit and getting away from the ground easier for people….

I was in a box on Saturday and 15 mins after the final whistle there’s people still making their way out of the east stand and Roker end. There needs to be exists out the back of the stands. Like we had at Roker Park at the end.

The two massive tunnels at the SWC and the NWC also need to be exists for those who sit in the lower bowl of the stands. I mean the full tunnel not a little side but like you get in SWC.

The club and police also need to close all roads around the ground especially KHW and have it filled up with P&R buses sat there waiting to fill up. None leave until 15/20 mins after final whistle and the once full and ready to leave the police manage the traffic lights so that the buses get a clear ride to Sunderland Enterprise Park … the police used to do this at Roker Park which was further away and we had crowds half the size !!! It’s also a much safer way of controlling the flow of people than the absolute shit show it currently is on KHW … someone will get seriously hurt one day on that road.
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This is a big problem I agree

We are towards the back of the south and in games when everyone stays it take a good 15/20 mins to get out of the ground and by the time you get to the car it’s an hour home

I’ve left early a few times over the years due to family events rather than how the game is going

I’ve got home at 5.25 rather than 6.15

Exiting the stadium is a problem there’s no doubt about it
 
Randy Savage said:
I know for a fact from personal experience (nothing bad!) that the club monitor this forum closely.

As such, if they’re really serious about trying to encourage people to stay until the end, they first need to get to the bottom of why folk are leaving.

They need to put in some hard yards here and contact all SC holders and people on the ticket database about this just to establish some facts. Nothing confrontational, just a fact finding mission to see if those who leave early do so all the time or some of the time?

If the former, is it habitual, due to concerns over getting out of the stadium (perhaps if with young children or due to mobility issues), to go to the pub/for food, for transport/traffic reasons, or a combination of the above.

If the latter, is this due to personal circumstances on the day or due to the match situation.

In either scenario, is there anything the clubs could to that would help.
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I said exactly the same thing yesterday. It’s all well and good people slagging other fans off on here, Twitter or writing inflammatory fanzine articles, but none of that is stopping people leaving early.

The first step in changing behaviour is understanding what’s causing that behaviour in the first place.

There are loads of factors-
• match state
• style of play
• traffic
• public transport (or lack thereof)
• personal circumstances
• a perception that this seasons goal has been achieved

That list isn’t exhaustive either. The club will need to take a holistic approach, it can’t be solved overnight and it’ll take a sustained period of time.
 
It’s always boggles my mind because these people have made a reasoned decision to be there. Nobody has forced them to come. They’ve decided they want to come to the stadium, knowing fine well the challenges getting in, getting out, grabbing a pint and getting to the bog.

If your intention is to take your seat 10 mins in, leave at 38 mins for a pint or the bog, return at 50 mins and leave at 80 mins played; give it up. What’s the point?

If you want to actually support the club then accept that being stuck in traffic or waiting for a metro is currently one of the challenges. Nobody cared about traffic during the Coventry game, or mags game.

It’s never going to change like and I wish it would cos it looks shite.
 
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im not roland rat said:
I’ve posted this many times before on this subject but they need to make the exit and getting away from the ground easier for people….

I was in a box on Saturday and 15 mins after the final whistle there’s people still making their way out of the east stand and Roker end. There needs to be exists out the back of the stands. Like we had at Roker Park at the end.

The two massive tunnels at the SWC and the NWC also need to be exists for those who sit in the lower bowl of the stands. I mean the full tunnel not a little side but like you get in SWC.

The club and police also need to close all roads around the ground especially KHW and have it filled up with P&R buses sat there waiting to fill up. None leave until 15/20 mins after final whistle and the once full and ready to leave the police manage the traffic lights so that the buses get a clear ride to Sunderland Enterprise Park … the police used to do this at Roker Park which was further away and we had crowds half the size !!! It’s also a much safer way of controlling the flow of people than the absolute shit show it currently is on KHW … someone will get seriously hurt one day on that road.
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This- especially the policing the traffic lights - would make a huge difference and was in place for every match after RP as said.

Needs to be brought back
 
DonaldDownTheWing said:
I said exactly the same thing yesterday. It’s all well and good people slagging other fans off on here, Twitter or writing inflammatory fanzine articles, but none of that is stopping people leaving early.

The first step in changing behaviour is understanding what’s causing that behaviour in the first place.

There are loads of factors-
• match state
• style of play
• traffic
• public transport (or lack thereof)
• personal circumstances
• a perception that this seasons goal has been achieved

That list isn’t exhaustive either. The club will need to take a holistic approach, it can’t be solved overnight and it’ll take a sustained period of time.
Click to expand...

this is it, and its not going to be pretty and its not going to be easy to address it. and its not going to very measurable to see it has even worked.

but ultimately is a complex combination of loads of different factors.

people (and i guess the club) would love it to be one universal reason, that is easily addressed by putting in one new measure, but its going to be anything but

its needs tackling from all sorts of directions simultaneously

- quicker movement of fans to get people out after the game quicker
- traffic lights management on wessington way after to get cars away quicker
- more trains , bigger trains etc... after the game from sunderland station
- get stewards to move people on immediately from the access tunnels so people can't leave their seats and gather in these areas to watch the last few minutes
- ask RLB to play 4 up front from 85 mins onwards, regardless of the score

even if the club did all of these things, it would take months for the effects to be felt
 
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