| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone 15:08 - Sep 5 with 2671 views | Churchman |
How did it go for people? Improved?
I noticed there seemed to be more queuing lanes and stewardy magic wand people.
I arrived at 6.40 and went into the Fanzone with no wait. Entered the stand again with no wait at 7.10, apart from a faff with the ticket not working. It improved when I stopped trying to get in with a train ticket on my Apple-Wallet and waved the season ticket. Ooops!
How did you all do?
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| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 17:16 - Sep 5 with 2404 views | mellowblue |
I got there about 7.20. Quite large queues by them. Queues were snaking in all directions. Possibly about 150-200 in my queue which was served by 4 turnstiles. Got in about 7.50. Presumably everyone already in the Fanzone are starting to queue when the bulk of people are arriving so it suddenly snowballs. There used to be 18 turnstiles of which 15 were manned. Now we have 16 in 4 groups (if I am remembering properly). Difficult to see how it will improve as it was not teething issues with the digital access. The queue moved slowly but steadily. I did notice Ashton watching the queues from the directors area, before he moved off. He must be thinking that this was not the plan. The turnstiles are heavy big things, over-engineered. I missed the Sunderland game, but my son felt it had improved since that game. |  | | |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 17:32 - Sep 5 with 2339 views | Bluespeed225 |
I was told they stopped serving because of numbers? | | | |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 17:35 - Sep 5 with 2329 views | WestStanderLaLaLa |
No security queue, then 20 minutes. Against Leicester a steward told us to go over to the hospitality entrance. Tried that last night and they said we haven’t been told to open to everyone, yet. |  |
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| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 17:52 - Sep 5 with 2280 views | Churchman |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 17:16 - Sep 5 by mellowblue |
I got there about 7.20. Quite large queues by them. Queues were snaking in all directions. Possibly about 150-200 in my queue which was served by 4 turnstiles. Got in about 7.50. Presumably everyone already in the Fanzone are starting to queue when the bulk of people are arriving so it suddenly snowballs. There used to be 18 turnstiles of which 15 were manned. Now we have 16 in 4 groups (if I am remembering properly). Difficult to see how it will improve as it was not teething issues with the digital access. The queue moved slowly but steadily. I did notice Ashton watching the queues from the directors area, before he moved off. He must be thinking that this was not the plan. The turnstiles are heavy big things, over-engineered. I missed the Sunderland game, but my son felt it had improved since that game. |
The digital turnstiles on the stand will improve speed when people get used to them. It took me twice as long as it should have because I wasn’t careful enough with the ticket on my phone. I’ll not make the same mistake again. People will naturally go through those the rest of it quicker and get used to the process too.
They are clearly playing around with the organisation of this to improve it and will do. The back of the West Stand work is by no means finished too. However, it would seem they have a way to go to get this right.
They may need more turnstiles and I seem to remember in the plan that the Fanzone was separated from the back of the stand as it used to be, but that maybe bad memory. | | | |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 17:56 - Sep 5 with 2255 views | backwaywhen |
No issues getting in , but boy they could improve the concourse , no drink / food shelves to be seen anywhere once inside , surely that basic customer comfort wherever you go …..and don’t start me on the drink and options price , don’t mind if it’s a pint , but those cans of Aspells are an insult for the price…..Rant over . | | | |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 18:04 - Sep 5 with 2217 views | Churchman |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 17:56 - Sep 5 by backwaywhen |
No issues getting in , but boy they could improve the concourse , no drink / food shelves to be seen anywhere once inside , surely that basic customer comfort wherever you go …..and don’t start me on the drink and options price , don’t mind if it’s a pint , but those cans of Aspells are an insult for the price…..Rant over . |
There was food and delink down the NS end. The walls are unfinished and there’s a lot of work to be done on it. I’ll reserve judgement until it’s finished. It looks a long way from that to me. It’ll certainly be better once the poor weather comes than what was there before.
The bogs are a big improvement. The pricing? Very much ‘event’ pricing - I.e. rinsing a captive audience. Not good though I know it’s has to brought in etc. I do wish they’d show a bit more imagination. | | | |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 18:15 - Sep 5 with 2186 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 17:32 - Sep 5 by Bluespeed225 |
I was told they stopped serving because of numbers? |
It wasn’t especially busy when they started packing up. Given the fanzone was supposed to be closing at 7:15 (how does that work for West Stand entry?), it seemed like a pre-planned tactic to get people to hurry up and move on. |  |
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| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 18:16 - Sep 5 with 2182 views | mellowblue |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 17:52 - Sep 5 by Churchman |
The digital turnstiles on the stand will improve speed when people get used to them. It took me twice as long as it should have because I wasn’t careful enough with the ticket on my phone. I’ll not make the same mistake again. People will naturally go through those the rest of it quicker and get used to the process too.
They are clearly playing around with the organisation of this to improve it and will do. The back of the West Stand work is by no means finished too. However, it would seem they have a way to go to get this right.
They may need more turnstiles and I seem to remember in the plan that the Fanzone was separated from the back of the stand as it used to be, but that maybe bad memory. |
hope the queuing does improve, otherwise it is a backward step. The concourse itself is an improvement, just needs finishing off. Still a complete traffic jam behind the North Stand. | | | |
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| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 18:34 - Sep 5 with 2111 views | jasondozzell |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 18:16 - Sep 5 by mellowblue |
hope the queuing does improve, otherwise it is a backward step. The concourse itself is an improvement, just needs finishing off. Still a complete traffic jam behind the North Stand. |
I thought the whole point was that this was supposed to ease the congestion behind the north stand. But now we seem to have a long Way Stand queue going all the way down SAR way which you have to cut across to get into the NS.
Obviously people are coming from town so it's going to happen but shouldn't they be about to improve it? |  | | |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 19:34 - Sep 5 with 1932 views | southnorfolkblue |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 18:34 - Sep 5 by jasondozzell |
I thought the whole point was that this was supposed to ease the congestion behind the north stand. But now we seem to have a long Way Stand queue going all the way down SAR way which you have to cut across to get into the NS.
Obviously people are coming from town so it's going to happen but shouldn't they be about to improve it? |
The queues for Upper Sir Bob were a bit chaotic tbh. There were 4 security guards but it felt like queues were springing up everywhere with no staff controlling them. Became a bit of a free for all. Took about 45 minutes to get in | |
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| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 20:15 - Sep 5 with 1858 views | jasondozzell |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 19:34 - Sep 5 by southnorfolkblue |
The queues for Upper Sir Bob were a bit chaotic tbh. There were 4 security guards but it felt like queues were springing up everywhere with no staff controlling them. Became a bit of a free for all. Took about 45 minutes to get in |
Yeah, the west stand queue means the north stand queues are even more ragged. It's a right pain. I don't know what can be done but whatever they've done so far isn't having the effect they wanted. | | | |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 20:16 - Sep 5 with 1852 views | Trequartista |
The apple wallet scan didn't work, they just waved us through. |  |
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| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 21:18 - Sep 5 with 1730 views | Joey_Joe_Joe_Junior |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 17:56 - Sep 5 by backwaywhen |
No issues getting in , but boy they could improve the concourse , no drink / food shelves to be seen anywhere once inside , surely that basic customer comfort wherever you go …..and don’t start me on the drink and options price , don’t mind if it’s a pint , but those cans of Aspells are an insult for the price…..Rant over . |
In the new west stand there isn’t extra facilities for food and drink? |  |
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| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 21:48 - Sep 5 with 1665 views | Dubtractor |
As a contrast to the West Stand issues, getting into the Upper North has been a breeze so far this season.
Any concerns about the digital tickets causing chaos have proved unnecessary. |  |
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| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 21:51 - Sep 5 with 1657 views | mellowblue |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 21:18 - Sep 5 by Joey_Joe_Joe_Junior |
In the new west stand there isn’t extra facilities for food and drink? |
don't think it has been fully finished off and facilities installed yet. hopefully it will look more completed for the Fulham game. | | | |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 22:14 - Sep 5 with 1580 views | Joey_Joe_Joe_Junior |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 21:51 - Sep 5 by mellowblue |
don't think it has been fully finished off and facilities installed yet. hopefully it will look more completed for the Fulham game. |
Surely there will be way more facilities than last year when it’s completed?
Guessing Fulham at home might look a bit different. | |
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| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 11:22 - Sep 6 with 1144 views | southnorfolkblue |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 20:15 - Sep 5 by jasondozzell |
Yeah, the west stand queue means the north stand queues are even more ragged. It's a right pain. I don't know what can be done but whatever they've done so far isn't having the effect they wanted. |
They could use some barriers to actually help form queues.
There’s also a certain amount of self help. People could actually have their bags open ready for inspection. Perhaps a staff member in each queue who could do a preliminary check on tickets and remind people to be ready etc.
The crowds aren’t significantly bigger than recent seasons so it’s difficult to understand what is causing the problem. The digital tickets is the only real change | |
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| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 11:36 - Sep 6 with 1102 views | Churchman |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 11:22 - Sep 6 by southnorfolkblue |
They could use some barriers to actually help form queues.
There’s also a certain amount of self help. People could actually have their bags open ready for inspection. Perhaps a staff member in each queue who could do a preliminary check on tickets and remind people to be ready etc.
The crowds aren’t significantly bigger than recent seasons so it’s difficult to understand what is causing the problem. The digital tickets is the only real change |
If you wanted to access the West Stand at say 2.15 (my usual time give or take) there was always a wait and a faff once the6 started doing those security checks. The length of time varied, but there has always been a mob of people outside NS and West Stand for the last few years.
There’s just such a lack of space behind. But queuing barriers, more stewards telling people what to do etc? I really don’t see organising a queue and getting people in promptly and comfortably as an insurmountable problem.
But people do need to help themselves too. | | | |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 11:53 - Sep 6 with 1060 views | DublinBlue84 |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 17:16 - Sep 5 by mellowblue |
I got there about 7.20. Quite large queues by them. Queues were snaking in all directions. Possibly about 150-200 in my queue which was served by 4 turnstiles. Got in about 7.50. Presumably everyone already in the Fanzone are starting to queue when the bulk of people are arriving so it suddenly snowballs. There used to be 18 turnstiles of which 15 were manned. Now we have 16 in 4 groups (if I am remembering properly). Difficult to see how it will improve as it was not teething issues with the digital access. The queue moved slowly but steadily. I did notice Ashton watching the queues from the directors area, before he moved off. He must be thinking that this was not the plan. The turnstiles are heavy big things, over-engineered. I missed the Sunderland game, but my son felt it had improved since that game. |
They had 15 out of 16 turnstiles on for this match it seems, only had 13 if I remember rightly out of 16 on for Sunderland.
For me it was a lot better getting in the gate and the security checks but still too many leaving it to the last minute to try and go through the turnstiles and people not knowing what to do was slowing things up. Still people scanning their phone and expecting the turnstiles to move and looking like idiots at a screen that says enter and not even trying to enter. | |
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| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 11:58 - Sep 6 with 1053 views | DublinBlue84 |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 17:56 - Sep 5 by backwaywhen |
No issues getting in , but boy they could improve the concourse , no drink / food shelves to be seen anywhere once inside , surely that basic customer comfort wherever you go …..and don’t start me on the drink and options price , don’t mind if it’s a pint , but those cans of Aspells are an insult for the price…..Rant over . |
They haven't finished this yet, from what I have seen they have made good progress over the last two weeks, there is better signage, far better lighting, more operational turnstiles, and they now have screens up in the area and a massive LED near the hospitality area with wayfinding information for the whole stand. Things look a lot less rough and ready, but there is still clearly a lot more work that needs to be done.
Not all the food and drink outlets are open yet, there's going to be another right at the end of the West Stand near to the Sir Alf Stand which isn't fitted out and ready yet, the one near block M is operational however.
Surprised people are complaining about the price considering there were promotions on Friday night with considerable discounts on drinks, All Soft Drinks were £2.50 in all the bars in the West Stand and alcohol and hot drinks discounted too. [Post edited 6 Sep 12:00]
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| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 12:33 - Sep 6 with 948 views | mellowblue |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 11:22 - Sep 6 by southnorfolkblue |
They could use some barriers to actually help form queues.
There’s also a certain amount of self help. People could actually have their bags open ready for inspection. Perhaps a staff member in each queue who could do a preliminary check on tickets and remind people to be ready etc.
The crowds aren’t significantly bigger than recent seasons so it’s difficult to understand what is causing the problem. The digital tickets is the only real change |
coincided with security being introduced in 24/25 season, but has got steadily worse. | | | |
| Entry to the West Stand and Fanzone on 13:03 - Sep 6 with 888 views | BloomBlue |
More stewards actually providing directions, which meant when the queue began increasing to the West Stand security check they actually directed people to the other 2 entrances. And not as rude as some where at the Sunderland game
They also changed the entry signs at the back of the West Stand. So at the Sunderland game they had the Block letters above specific turnstiles. For example if your ticket was for block M, people in block M queued at just those 2 or 3 turnstyles (which made sense).
On Friday the new signs above the turnstiles just had numbers ie 42, 43, 44, 45 etc etc. So the club decided having the block letters did add to the queueing as many of us told the club in our emails to the club.
I didn't experience this but others have told me they did. At Sunderland the NFC ticket states 'use turnsiles 42 - 57' so when some people spotted the queues around 50 - 57 they went in via turnstiles 42-48, which made sense as they followed the instructions on the NFC ticket. But then found they couldn't walk along the undercover enclosed area to the far end of the stand because the hospitality section in the middle of the stand prevented that. On Friday the temp wooden walls of the hospitality area had been taken down, letting people walk along the entire undercover enclosed section. This added to people using any turnstile and reduced some of the queueing
So some improvements |  | | |
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