Idea for the trust

You make a good point, Kingston Mariner.  Retro-fitting would be expensive and I'm sure if it were that easy it would have been done.  I think things like allowing the fans to move around and improving the quality of food and drink are acceptable quick fixes that might improve the situation in the short term.

Great post by the OP and mirrors my thoughts and sentiments on things. I don't understand why food at the ground has to be so mediocre these days, when other clubs have proven (e.g Kidderminster) that it doesn't have to be. I think however fans should somehow be polled to find out what sort of prices they'd be willing to pay - I fully accept that times are hard and that £3 for some food at a game might be affordable, but perhaps twice that for something very decent might be out of reach for many people.

But to make something of the food situation could make for a real talking point for the club, and of course, be great for the fans. I know I *never* buy food when I make it up to Blundell Park (I'm not a local) but I know if they did decent fish & chips or good stuff like good quality, locally sourced sausages then it'd be a real incentive for me to buy when I was at the ground.

The thing is all the out side catering stands are owned by the current company providing food so if the trust was to take over the old kiosks which have not been used for years would need updating, secondly if you wanted to serve fish and chips then you would be looking at major investment in fish fryers etc. lastly cooking hot food that turns out edible can be done without some skill and training which the trust may not have currently.

Quoted from cleethorpes_mariner

The thing is all the out side catering stands are owned by the current company providing food so if the trust was to take over the old kiosks which have not been used for years would need updating, secondly if you wanted to serve fish and chips then you would be looking at major investment in fish fryers etc. lastly cooking hot food that turns out edible can be done without some skill and training which the trust may not have currently.

They wouldn't necessarily need to have the skills themselves. There's no reason why the actual provision of the service couldn't be outsourced as it currently is. It's more about the overall vision, the standard you set out for the external company to provide and the overall management. If the object of the exercise is just a quick win, lowest common denominator approach designed to bring in the most cash for the club in the short-term then you end-up with something like the existing arrangement. Within the existing resources, time and skills of the commercial team at BP, this may be the best realistic result.

The big question is at the expected price point, and the costs and challenges of working in BP, and the costs of higher quality ingredients, is there enough of a margin to make it work for all involved? What the Trust could bring is the time and the energy to (a) find those suppliers and caterers who meet those quality standards and share the vision; (b) provide ancillary support and even make the investment in equipment and facilities needed to keep costs down. There might even be some financial advantages if this was done under the auspices of the Trust (I don't know what but I bet there's an accountant out there who could find it!).

The benefits of providing good quality, locally sourced food at affordable prices won't be just about maximising revenue on match day.

Same here the food and drink is awful.  The reason why its awful is because they can't cope with the demand in such a short space of time so they tend do the food way before H/T.  Me I go to Maccy D's for my lunch when nip for a smoke.  

Putting the minutiae of what sorts of sausages or crisps we sell aside for a moment, the overall aim needs to be "How can the Trust and GTFC work together to get a greater proportion of fans into the ground earlier and to spend more money with the football club rather than outside the club"

Let's say I want to come and watch Town on a Saturday.  I also want to see the lunchtime kickoff on Sky and have lunch and a few drinks.  How is the football club going to make it as easy and attractive as possible for me to do those things at BP, rather than say at a combination of home/pub/McDonalds/Hobsons/Wetherspoons/BP Hotel/The Imp?   What competitor analysis has the club done on the offering of these nearby establishments and how is it proposing to entice customers away from them so they stop taking money away from the club?

If I want to watch the game from the Pontoon, but have a beer before the game and at half time, as well as lunch and be sat indoors in the warm, how easy is the club making it for me to do that?

If the club and trust can make even incremental improvements in these areas, then there are probably hundreds of people who instead of spending all of their money away from the club then rocking up a five to three, would come into the ground earlier and put their money back into the club.

I've had a Turners sausage roll ( they are excellent) from a local café for 63p. I'm sure they could be sold , hot for not a ridiculous amount at BP and still be profitable. This is only one item but I'm sure lots of other examples could be found.

I reiterate a point I have made many times about pre/post match at BP. Trust member should maybe get discount on their first pint/drink before the kick off of the televised games. Not only is getting people to use the clubs facilities, but also taking money away from others. The imp, blundell hotel et al all offer the same product to what is a very limited demographic. Am sure there are people that have looked at this within the club/trust, but I am sure there are many out there willing and wanting to help the club with their experience if they can.

The tric, here you see is that all offer a crap product......raise the bar......keep the prices real.

Quoted from Meza

Same here the food and drink is awful.  The reason why its awful is because they can't cope with the demand in such a short space of time so they tend do the food way before H/T.  Me I go to Maccy D's for my lunch when nip for a smoke.  

Partly down to do with the physical constraints of the site I guess.