On the evening of Tuesday 12 March 2019, representatives of the Trust Board met with representatives of the Spurs Executive Board and senior Club staff for a scheduled 'Board to Board' meeting. The following notes from the session have been signed off by both the Trust and the Club.
Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
Board to Board Meeting
Notes and report
Tuesday 12 March 2019
Tottenham Hotspur Football & Athletic Co Ltd, Lilywhite House, 6pm
THST Board:
Martin Cloake, Co-chair (MC)
Katrina Law, Co-chair (KL)
Pete Haine, Secretary (PH)
Michael Green (MG)
Anthoulla Achilleos (AA)
THFC Board:
Daniel Levy, Chairman (DL)
Donna-Maria Cullen, Executive Director (DMC)
Simon Bamber, Director (SB)
Cathy Long, Consultant – Supporter Services and Access (CL)
Ian Murphy, Head of Ticketing (IM)
Dean Smith, Safety Officer (DS)
Eileen Williams, Safety Officer (EW)
Jon Babbs, Stadium Director (JB)
Simon Felstein, Head of Communications (SF)
AGENDA
The meeting opened with a toast to Jonathan Waite.
1. Outstanding action points from the last meeting on 9 October 2018
1.1 DMC to notify THST when help needed BETA testing the new app
2. ENIC and future plans for the Club
2.1 What was ENIC’s strategy and vision for the next 5 years?
2.5 MG asked about the refinancing of the loan with Investec
3.1 Current timings, including test events and projected opening date
4.1 Continuation of the £30 Away Price Cap and latest Premier League developments
5. Policing and Safety
5.1 Haringey SAG
6.1 Naming of lounges and statues at new ground
ACTION POINTS
1.1 Provide DMC with THST details for Beta testing the App at upcoming test events - KL
1.10 Digest info on Ticket Exchange and Ticket Share and pick up queries with IM - KL
1.11 Follow up on UEFA / European issues with THST - DMC
1.14 Better articulate the mascot offering at THFC - IM
3.2 Use the introduction to the new stadium to tell the story of the stadium build - DMC/ DL
4.6 Club to confirm contact for holistic view of Premium ticketing - SB
4.7 Look at away ticket allocation as part of a wider review of ticketing and of the composition of the season ticket package in the summer - IM
4.7 Clarification as to how many away tickets go to sponsors, staff and players - SB
4.8 Actions taken against unauthorised ticket sites and people selling over face value be more clearly publicised - IM
4.10 Communication to ST holders clearly stating there will be no seat moves this summer - IM
4.12 Reinstate the regular ticketing meetings - IM/ KL
5.1 MC to be invited to Haringey SAG meeting on 1 April - JB
5.3 Reintroduction of regular safety meetings - JB/MC
5.4 Barcelona planning if drawn in Champions League - DS/ KL/ MC/ DMC
6.3 Advise THST as to when the App is ready to upload local event information - DMC
6.4 Consider ways to better recognise the small shareholders - DMC/ DL
The meeting closed at 8.00pm.
**********END***********
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
Board to Board Meeting
Notes and report
Tuesday 12 March 2019
Tottenham Hotspur Football & Athletic Co Ltd, Lilywhite House, 6pm
THST Board:
Martin Cloake, Co-chair (MC)
Katrina Law, Co-chair (KL)
Pete Haine, Secretary (PH)
Michael Green (MG)
Anthoulla Achilleos (AA)
THFC Board:
Daniel Levy, Chairman (DL)
Donna-Maria Cullen, Executive Director (DMC)
Simon Bamber, Director (SB)
Cathy Long, Consultant – Supporter Services and Access (CL)
Ian Murphy, Head of Ticketing (IM)
Dean Smith, Safety Officer (DS)
Eileen Williams, Safety Officer (EW)
Jon Babbs, Stadium Director (JB)
Simon Felstein, Head of Communications (SF)
AGENDA
The meeting opened with a toast to Jonathan Waite.
1. Outstanding action points from the last meeting on 9 October 2018
1.1 DMC to notify THST when help needed BETA testing the new app
- Beta testing will take place at the upcoming test events
- All Club staff will be involved
- THST to let DMC know who needs access from the Trust in advance – Action KL
- On hold until next season after patterns have been established from games this season however this is currently planned as a limited premium service
- THST reviewed guide and received copies of Blue Book post last meeting
- Fan Guide published today and now on Club website
- Local residents and businesses Blue Book issued to 60,000 addresses in July 2018, followed up by an invite to pop up sessions, where questions can be raised
- Will be clarified w/c 18 March 2019
- Will be clarified w/c 18 March 2019
- Ticketing discussed below
- Covered in section 4
- Agreed that, with only two games maximum applicable this season now, it would make more sense to start afresh next season
- To reopen the scheme and start applying additional points would only create confusion at this stage of the game and would only add to a lot of messaging at a very busy time
- It was felt that most would sign up when the commitment was only for 2 games max, and that the adding of those additional points would skew away cut offs, too
- Covered in detail in the Fan Guide published earlier today
- KL to digest and pick up any queries with IM outside of this meeting – Action KL
- DMC highlighted 3 x areas to follow up on outside of this meeting concerning UEFA games:
- Safety (following incidents at Barcelona)
- Pricing of tickets for visiting fans at away games
- Disabled access and provision at European grounds and the ability to sit with other Spurs supporters at away ties
- DMC and THST to progress talks in the near future – Action DMC
- Covered in section 4
- Covered in section 5
- IM is in the process of reviewing the pricing models in line with commercial obligations. Mascot places are often offered as part of those commercial partnerships
- The number of free places varies from match to match, as does the price, depending on the match categorisation and competition
- THST asked that the Club better articulates what is included in the paid package (2 x adult match tickets, full kit to keep, souvenir photo, certificate, match day programme, meet squad members and get autographs) as it often compares favourably with rival offerings. That is not always made clear by media when reporting on mascot prices across the division
- IM and DMC agreed - Action IM
2. ENIC and future plans for the Club
2.1 What was ENIC’s strategy and vision for the next 5 years?
- DL started by going back to 2001, when the priority was to invest in the first team and become a European Club. That had been achieved
- The strategy was to build the organic way, to produce their own players
- It isn’t sustainable to spend more money than you earn in the long run
- So, ENIC invested in the training facilities
- And then in the stadium project, which started 18 years ago when the first pieces of land were acquired
- The stadium has been a huge undertaking which shouldn’t be underestimated
- It’s been a very stressful time for everyone involved and the staff have worked incredibly hard
- The next aim is to get the stadium open and get it running effectively
- The foundations are there for Spurs to be one of the biggest clubs in the world
- The easy way to success is to spend big money on players. The harder way is to lay foundations. In DL’s view, that is fundamental to a sustainable football club
- The ambition is to make Spurs regular Champions league contenders
- He wants Spurs to compete at the highest possible level without jeopardising the Club
- DL explained that the expenditure on the stadium will go on for another 12 months
- The stadium building is enormous. It takes 8 hours to walk around all of it
- It’s not possible to confirm the final cost as further works (for example, club museum) and a degree of finessing are still to be undertaken
- DL said there were three years to run on the five-year facility and the Club would be looking to refinance for longer term debt but needed to open the stadium first. Rothschilds are advising.
- Current thinking is for a bond/note type issue with a variety of maturities. No decision has been made on whether these will be public or private issues
- MG asked if the new debt would be for a similar figure. DL said yes it would be
2.5 MG asked about the refinancing of the loan with Investec
- DL explained that it was connected to the training lodge
- DL explained how other Clubs sold their merchandise rights (store and licensing) too, but that we preferred to control that ourselves so comparing those deals was not comparing like for like
- Realism was also needed that other clubs sell more shirts than THFC, which has an impact on the fee
- SB explained that the numbers reported in the press were usually inaccurate with some clubs including potential bonus amounts
- DL said it had done so on account of the high rent and running staff at two stadia
- MG asked whether the amount for transfers was shrinking given the stadium outlay
- DL said no. The fact that stadium costs had risen does not impact that number
- DL said that with a debt of £637m, subject to reasonable assumption on interest rates, the net spend on players would not be affected
- DL continued that UCL qualification gave more flexibility
- There is a certain amount the Club wants to invest in the team. If players are sold, that amount increases.
- MG asked if money wasn’t the issue, what had prevented us from adding to the squad over the last two windows
- DL said that transfers were tricky. If we could have sold XYZ and found someone better, we would have done it
- DL said he was disappointed that the market was not as liquid as it had been previously
- DL also stressed the requirement for Tottenham’s squad to include more homegrown players. There were squad limits and we had reached the maximum for overseas players
- MC explained that, while not understanding the complexities, people are worried that two windows have passed without investing in the team, the stadium has overrun and people are worried about us standing still
- KL said the fans feel that the team was so close to winning and so close to taking that final step that the lack of investment in the playing side this year has been particularly distressing and frustrating
- MC asked for clarification of Club priorities for next season, highlighting the difference between prioritising and dismissing certain competitions
- DL said that MP wants to win all four competitions but the Premier League and Champions League are the main competitions you’re judged on
- KL felt winning a domestic cup would make a fundamental difference to fans
- DMC noted the huge step up in support for the Ladies in the past couple of seasons, and thanked THST for their support
- The Board is currently undertaking a full review given the Ladies team may secure promotion to the Women’s Super League
- THST flagged its sponsorship of the Spurs Ladies v Sheffield United match on 24 March, planned for several months and unfortunately on the same day as the first test event
- The Club was exploring moving the kick off time of the Ladies match to minimise a clash with the first test event and the request is with the FA [KICK OFF TIME HAS SINCE BEEN MOVED EARLIER]
- THST had held off promoting the Sheffield United game until the test event ballot had closed to Season Ticket holders but will be promoting over the coming week
3.1 Current timings, including test events and projected opening date
- Test events had been announced the previous week along with a projected opening date (3 or 7 April)
- PH asked considering we’re opening in April, how was the stadium ever going to have been ready in September? It’s a question THST is routinely asked by members and fans
- DL said it couldn’t open because we couldn’t get a safety certificate due to the issues with the critical safety systems
- DMC explained that they would have been happy to open with a roof, seats, access and egress – the basics needed to stage a match
- She stressed just how complex those safety systems were, which for example included more than 12,500 IP addresses, the system was digital and fully integrated
- During the six months since September, therefore, the Club has taken the opportunity to upgrade some of the areas and to finish off internal cosmetic work they would have been happy to forgo for an early opening, hence all of the workers on site day in, day out across that time frame. One such example being the surrounding podiums which would have been tarmac however given the extra time have now been block paved
- MC explained the view of supporters regarding the way the Club has communicated with them this season. Some would have preferred more information, fuller information, sooner
- DL said they simply couldn’t give out information they didn’t have
- MC asked if they could tell that story now? It may help appease fans
- DMC felt that DL may well cover this in his introduction to the new stadium opening – Action DL/DMC
- Both the Premier League and UEFA have been very supportive throughout and continue to be supportive
- Crystal Palace and Brighton have been especially helpful with the plans for the stadium opening
- DMC said TfL is considering a ticket / transport offering, particularly for concerts and NFL
- The Club is keen to promote cycling as a mode of transport for the new stadium. Cycle information has been included in the Fan Guide, with cyclists permitted to bring helmets into the stadium
- The bag policy has also been shared in the Fan Guide
- Bags will now be permitted at A4 size or under as opposed to the A5 previously reported
- Laptops are permitted in lap top cases, but not in rucksacks, as per the arrangement at Wembley
- Change in Sports Minister and other distractions at Westminster had not been best timed
- No advancement since the last meeting in terms of a change in regulation but the safe seating areas of the new stadium are fully operational under current legislation
- The NFL is liaising with Haringey Council over the use of Bruce Castle Park as its fan zone, with the NFL looking to improve facilities in the park
4.1 Continuation of the £30 Away Price Cap and latest Premier League developments
- THST thanked the Club for backing the £30 away price cap for a further three years. THST also informed that PL fan reps were now looking to standardise concessionary pricing across the division at £20 senior, £15 youth and £10 kids and also to introduce a Young Adult category, as THFC has done. The Club noted this.
- KL asked what, in the Club’s view, comprised a season ticket now. IM said it was 19 home PL games plus priority access to home cup games in your own seat unless that seat was bought on the understanding you could be moved in the instance of larger away allocations. It was noted by KL that there was no mention of show piece matches, finals or access to away tickets in this summation
- KL pointed out that this season, ST holders had paid for a product delivered late, had to reapply for refunds and tickets, and had paid more for their seats at the same stadium as they had sat in last year. The two home cup vouchers had already been taken away. CL packages had not been made available this season. IM responded that it had not been possible to do packages given we had no confirmation of which stadium we were staging group games
- Did the Board not think some form of compensation or goodwill gesture was in order? Suggestions included freezing or dropping ST prices, restoring the two cup vouchers, committing to a European Group Stage package at discounted pricing, loading credits for refreshments onto the ST card etc.
- The Club view was that monies had been refunded for games not delivered at the new stadium. Fans were not obliged to buy for those individual matches and made the choice whether or not to do so. Many fans had also bought ST’s but made the choice not to attend
- IM pointed out that, though the regular reapplying for refunds was frustrating for ST holders, it wasn’t possible to communicate all games played at Wembley in advance due to the dynamic nature of the stadium project and its opening
- IM also pointed out that the Club felt they were fair in giving an extra window for ST holders to have the flexibility to re-locate at Wembley in favour of a seat in a lower price category
- MC asked why the Club thought fans had chosen not to turn up for some games, and also pointed out the decision not to purchase a ST would have meant the fan dropped out of being able to access any tickets for the foreseeable future
- The Club reiterated its view that fans had a choice over whether to buy tickets at Wembley and that price had been shown not to be a major contributory factor, the Club had lowered the category pricing for four fixtures
- The Club said it appreciated the disruption caused and noted THST’s views
- KL asked if there were plans to recognise fan grievances from this season in the pricing of STs for next year. The Club said it would be making an announcement on Monday. It would not be fair to inform the Supporters’ Trust before the wider fan base
- KL pointed out that the Trust had had input into the decision-making process in previous years
- The Club said it has as always been in dialogue with THST and said it was aware of the Trust’s views on pricing and that an announcement would be made on Monday
- THST lobbied for the reintroduction of a European Group Stage pack next season
- The Club noted the request without commitment
- THST lobbied for the reintroduction of the domestic cup vouchers for next season
- The Club noted the request without commitment
- MC said that a significant number of Premium Season Ticket holders had contacted the Trust as they were unhappy with the way they had been treated. The lack of any apparent central point to deal with on premium tickets had made it very difficult to do any casework
- The Club said premium account managers were always available/in regular contact and asked how many had contacted the THST. Club committed to establishing a central point of contact for THST and said it was important that any fan that contacted them was passed immediately to the Club team to sort
- THST also put their view that a holistic view of ticketing across all categories was required – Action SB
- KL asked for clarification of the arrangements for Premium Season Ticket holders should we make a major final. The Club said nothing guaranteed and arrangements would depend on what the allocation was
- KL told the Club of the significant unrest among a section of support over access to away tickets, but also that support for the current loyalty-based points system was still strong overall. It was agreed to look at away ticket allocation as part of a wider review of ticketing and of the composition of the season ticket package in the summer – Action IM
- KL asked for clarification as to how many away tickets go to sponsors, staff and players. The Club said the information related to commercial contracts but that it was a tiny proportion
- THST said that indicating a figure for the entire pot would not be commercially sensitive. The Club said it was not prepared to give a number at this time but that the amount did not have the impact on availability some believed. It will give some thought on how to communicate this to fans – Action SB
- MC asked for actions taken against unauthorised ticket sites and people selling over face value be more clearly publicised. The Club agreed to look at this - Action IM
- THFC is talking to other clubs regarding unauthorised sites on how to tackle this issue jointly. It’s not just THFC affected by this problem
- AA asked how many tickets would be available for members in the new ground. The Club said around 7,000. These would be allocated as per normal via online sales windows
- There would be no option to change ST seats in the first season back. It was felt a season was needed for people to settle in. So it will not be possible to move seats until the summer of 2020
- Any exceptional cases will be handled as one offs by the ticket office
- Communication will be going out to ST holders clearly stating there will be no moves this summer – Action IM
- Ticketing staff and the Club were happy with the level of resourcing of the ticketing operation and would be leaving additional resources in place all the way through the renewal process
5. Policing and Safety
5.1 Haringey SAG
- MC asked when formal SAG meetings would recommence given we now have a potential opening date
- JB said the first formal meeting was scheduled for 1 April and that THST would be invited to re-take their place on the SAG from that meeting onwards – Action JB/ MC
- JB explained that several new stakeholders were involved since our last meeting in 2017, including more Council reps and British Transport Police reps
- MC updated on the Met Police Independent Advisory Group, of which KL, MC, Martin Buhagiar and Kevin Fitzgerald are members from THST
- They have all signed the Official Secrets Act as due process
- Three meetings have been held so far and THST is happy to raise any issues the Club may have at those meetings
- JB was pleased to report that the Club has a positive relationship with the Met and with our Dedicated Football Officer, Noel Deady
- The police have been supportive with the new stadium opening plans, also
- MC explained that there were some concerns around the levels of details shared between the police and clubs around arrests and disorder, and their relation to football banning orders
- KL felt that, in her experience of dealing with the Club on banning orders, they generally are very fair
- It was agreed to schedule regular Safety meetings with THST and JB, DS and EW moving forwards. – Action THST/ JB
- It was broadly felt that UEFA needed to be tougher on Clubs in their competition and that the issues in Spain in particular had gone under the radar for far too long
- KL asked that, if Spurs are drawn against Barcelona in the next round of the Champions League, THST be involved in the planning phase to be sure fans would not experience a repeat of the December visit to the Nou Camp
- DS stated the Club would definitely take more stewards with them should THFC draw Barcelona later in the competition – Action depending on UCL draw
- JB shared plans for stewarding at the new ground
- The contract had gone out to tender for 1400 stewarding positions. Too much for any one agency. Seven suppliers have been appointed
- There will be 300-350 stewards directly employed by the Club with the rest comprising agency staff
- All 1400 front of house staff will go through the Spurs training programme
- All stewards are paid at least the London Living Wage
- This is a London Living Wage stadium
- All stewards will be paid the same rate regardless of which agency they come from
- Intensive training sessions start next week
- There is an audited system in place to track stewarding numbers in the new ground
- Each supplier has been given a designated area to steward and that will remain constant so relationships can be built up between staff, stewards and fans
- Familiar Spurs stewards will be posted in Premium areas and in each stand, as well
- All agency staff will ultimately feed into Spurs stewards, so there are checks and balances in place in terms of delivery standards
- JB explained that in WHL, the Club Safety Officer had been in charge of the entire operation. The security ring was now too large for one person to manage so there would now be 400 security staff outside the stadium operating under the Head of Security, Kieran Slattery. Kieran will be responsible for validating tickets and podium checks pre turnstiles
- Once through the turnstiles, the Club’s Safety team will assume responsibility
- All areas will be open for the first five Premier League games at the stadium
- The Club will track movement after that and revise plans for the new season
- The Market Place in the South Stand, with a capacity of 3500, is predicted to be a popular meeting place
- DMC was keen to stress that the test events were just that – they were to test things and there would be routes for fan feedback afterwards
- 25,000 are needed at the first test event on 24 March
- 45,000 are needed at the second test event on 30 March
- DMC said the Club is yet to decide which game will be the official opening ceremony. It was felt Palace midweek would present issues with fans rushing from work
6.1 Naming of lounges and statues at new ground
- DMC explained that the Club isn’t going to be naming parts of the stadium after former players preferring to have living legends there in person where possible and having respected heritage with various touchpoints throughout the stadium, some of which are detailed in the Fan Guide
- DMC said it was untrue that this was to keep a blank canvas for the NFL, citing the stadium walls which have been dressed with Tottenham memorabilia, as an example of that not being the case
- There would also be public art and statues as and when resources permitted
- Details of recycling plans are covered in the Fan Guide. The Club is taking a progressive approach to recycling and has also eliminated single use plastics where possible in the ground
- The waste collection contractor is Veolia
- KL referred to the upcoming THST Quiz on 25 April, where all would be welcome to enter a team and support our community pub, the Antwerp Arms
- DMC shared that there will be a section on the new App for local events – the “Passionate about Tottenham” section – which is designed to promote events exactly like the Trust Quiz at the Annie. This sounds like a terrific idea!
- THST is happy to share details of events on the App
- DMC to clarify when this is available and how best to upload event details to the App – Action DMC
- THST is often asked by small shareholders why they don’t hear from the company in which they own shares. What more can the Club do to connect with those small shareholders?
- DMC explained that most had opted to receive digital comms
- It was agreed to give more thought as to how the Club could recognise those small shareholders more in the future. – Action DMC/DL
ACTION POINTS
1.1 Provide DMC with THST details for Beta testing the App at upcoming test events - KL
1.10 Digest info on Ticket Exchange and Ticket Share and pick up queries with IM - KL
1.11 Follow up on UEFA / European issues with THST - DMC
1.14 Better articulate the mascot offering at THFC - IM
3.2 Use the introduction to the new stadium to tell the story of the stadium build - DMC/ DL
4.6 Club to confirm contact for holistic view of Premium ticketing - SB
4.7 Look at away ticket allocation as part of a wider review of ticketing and of the composition of the season ticket package in the summer - IM
4.7 Clarification as to how many away tickets go to sponsors, staff and players - SB
4.8 Actions taken against unauthorised ticket sites and people selling over face value be more clearly publicised - IM
4.10 Communication to ST holders clearly stating there will be no seat moves this summer - IM
4.12 Reinstate the regular ticketing meetings - IM/ KL
5.1 MC to be invited to Haringey SAG meeting on 1 April - JB
5.3 Reintroduction of regular safety meetings - JB/MC
5.4 Barcelona planning if drawn in Champions League - DS/ KL/ MC/ DMC
6.3 Advise THST as to when the App is ready to upload local event information - DMC
6.4 Consider ways to better recognise the small shareholders - DMC/ DL
The meeting closed at 8.00pm.
**********END***********
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