RAWA RAWA/Club Meeting

People have been leaving grounds early since I first started going to matches in 1968 and I have no doubt since before then.
We are probably the worst in the entire football league for it yet some are denial that it's an issue.

Really does seem to be ingrained in many, it's 'just what you do'. I doubt many could even say why, they just do it.
 


Not in the numbers that they do now I don’t think. Poor performances from disinterested players caused a disconnect with the fans and it will be difficult to change habits. No doubt difficulty getting away from the ground and congestion on the roads is a big part of the issue- need to change priorities at roundabouts and lights between 5.00 and 6.00 on match days.
No park and ride until after full time. Have a full-on sing of 'Wise Men' (the Elvis -slow- version) after the game.
Great idea to change priorities from Wessington way onto the A19, and on the roundabout for the A690, for instance. I guess these bottlenecks are the reason many leave early. The only time I have ever left early was Shearer's last game.
 
No park and ride until after full time. Have a full-on sing of 'Wise Men' (the Elvis -slow- version) after the game.
Great idea to change priorities from Wessington way onto the A19, and on the roundabout for the A690, for instance. I guess these bottlenecks are the reason many leave early. The only time I have ever left early was Shearer's last game.

This is the kind of thing that should be looked into imo. They'd need to survey people who use the park and ride. I think it's a good idea, but on the flip side there's a risk that implementing it might mean some don't come to the game at all (some who have to be away a bit early for work or whatever won't go if they can't get back, others might just be arsey). That's the worry for me, yes we want to come up with ways to ensure as many stay as possible, but equally at least the early leavers turn up in the first place and pay their money, don't want to risk that!
 
Not surprising to see the new signings commenting on the fans leaving early. Imagine being told "come to Sunderland, we've got a great fan base" and then being clapped off by about half of the original attendance after beating an in form side 3-0 :oops:.
 
This is not just the RAWA / club meeting, it is one of the regular meetings between the club and all the supporter groups, or the supporters’ collective as it now seems to be called.

Well done though to Ghandi Floss and RAWA colleagues for sorting the minutes and making them more easily accessible, much better than the old days of them being buried somewhere on the club website.
 
Not in the numbers that they do now I don’t think. Poor performances from disinterested players caused a disconnect with the fans and it will be difficult to change habits. No doubt difficulty getting away from the ground and congestion on the roads is a big part of the issue- need to change priorities at roundabouts and lights between 5.00 and 6.00 on match days.
Nonsense. It's been the same since the SoL opened, whether we've been top of the league or bottom. A lot of people obviously feel they have somewhere better to be. It's bizarre and it's frig all to do with what is or isn't happening on the pitch.
 
The stadium design is probably a factor. There aren't many grounds that have a track (not sure if thats the right term?) separating the upper and lower sections of the stand and people naturally try to beat the queues and head down to watch the last few minutes from there.

Seems to take an age to get out from the back of the stand as well, when I used to sit at the back of the West Stand it would take a good 10-15 minutes to get down after full time. Doesn't seem as bad in other areas like.

Don't know what you can do about that though, its just a cultural thing that people leave on 80-odd minutes to get out quicker. Maybe open the concourse bars at full time and have some sort of app where you can pre-order a pint to collect and walk over the town with? Think a lot of people leave early so they can get out and get served before the rush in the pub.
 
3 smimple ways to solve the issue. 2 are free and 1 wouldn’t cost fortunes.

1- The two massive emergency exits in the north west and south west corners should be used after the match as exits.

2- The park and ride buses shouldn’t be allowed to leave until after the final whistle has gone.

3- exits from the back of the east stand should be built down onto the pavement outside. A little like the exits that were added at Roker Park main stand down into the Fulwell and Roker ends towards the end of our time at RP.

Good ideas imo.

Not sure if 3) is practical but definitely worth looking into. I'm sure a reason people in the East Stand leave early is because it takes ages to clear after the match.

4) More car park exits so people aren't rushing to get to their cars & the front of the queue.

5) The stadium clock to run 10 minutes slow.

We are probably the worst in the entire football league for it yet some are denial that it's an issue.

Really does seem to be ingrained in many, it's 'just what you do'. I doubt many could even say why, they just do it.

People in front of us leave on 73 mins. Wish we'd won the cup in 1994.

Thanks to RAWA for attending the meeting & sending out the minutes especially as you're doing this in your own time. Great that everyone is involved.
 
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Good ideas imo.

Not sure if 3) is practical but definitely worth looking into. I'm sure a reason people in the East Stand leave early is because it takes ages to clear after the match.

4) More car park exits so people aren't rushing to get to their cars & the front of the queue.

5) The stadium clock to run 10 minutes slow.



People in front of us leave on 73 mins. Wish we'd won the cup in 1994.

Thanks to RAWA for attending the meeting & sending out the minutes especially as you're doing this in your own time. Great that everyone is involved.

The emergency exit one is a no brainer for me. Ask those in the lower tier of the bowl in that area to use them and let those in the upper tier of the lower bowl use the normal exists. Thousands woukdnfet out quicker in an instant. If you’re at the back of the upper tier it can take 15 mins to get out as everyone is trying to get out the same place.
 
The emergency exit one is a no brainer for me. Ask those in the lower tier of the bowl in that area to use them and let those in the upper tier of the lower bowl use the normal exists. Thousands woukdnfet out quicker in an instant. If you’re at the back of the upper tier it can take 15 mins to get out as everyone is trying to get out the same place.

Ah with you now. Nice one.
When we had tickets in the middle of the East Stand it took ages to get out.
 

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