The last few weeks have been fairly busy and, as people become aware of our willingness to get involved, so the variety of tasks falling under the title of "greater community engagement" has grown. I feel that in June in particular Bees United (BU) have acted as a catalyst to enable a few of the other groups in and around the club and community to achieve more than perhaps they would on their own, and the concept of “one Brentford” within BFC is certainly gaining momentum.
On 2nd June, there was the second meeting of the Lionel Road Liaison Group which involves all those parties affected by the new stadium construction. Brentford FC is well represented through both BU and BIAS at these meetings, and Mike Power, who recently joined the board of Brentford FC (Lionel Rd) company was also there with Brian Burgess. John Assael, the principal of Assael Architects, who are responsible for the overall project, including the Griffin Park and Fountains Leisure sites as well as Lionel Rd, presented the outline plans and answered questions.
As at the previous meeting, all of the attendees were enthusiastic about the scheme, with transport links and access and egress to and from the stadium emerging as key issues. One of the questions raised was how the local people could be made more aware of the scheme and BU suggested using a stall at the local summer fairs. BU had already encouraged the club to take stalls at these fairs and so this will serve to increase our presence at these events, and not only publicise our family and child season ticket offers but also do so in the context of a club clearly progressing and, in so doing, giving the local area a higher profile. We are now working hard to ensure we present a united front at these events, the first one being the Chiswick Fair on 5 July.
On 3 June, BU (DK) attended the council meeting for the local Chamber of Commerce and was able to help firm up the plans for BFC to host a meeting at the club in the autumn where the Lionel Rd project can be discussed specifically in terms of how it might impact on local employment and commercial opportunities for local businesses. This will help local businesses understand the details of the project but will also put the club in a good light and enable them to publicise the corporate offers available at GP in the meantime.
On 4 June, BU (DK & NJ) was at Griffin Park discussing a major fundraising idea for next season. This was suggested to us by Allison Franklin who wrote to me in late June with the outline of a project. I contacted Natasha, our fundraising expert, and she felt that it was possibly too large for BU to attempt on its own, and so we drafted in Peter Gilham and the resources of the club. As a result of that initial meeting, there will be a “One Brentford” fundraiser announced at the start of the season and the event itself will take place in April 2009. Details will be announced in the near future – however, it is a big event open to people of all ages and will certainly reflect very positively on Brentford FC.
I am delighted that BU is able to progress Allison’s idea and with help from others in the club turn it into reality. I’m also delighted that we are making "One Brentford" come to life in this way and we will be enlisting the help of all groups within the club once it gets underway. Please don’t hesitate to send us any fundraising ideas.
On 11 June, BU (DK) spent a very productive couple of hours with Matt Davis, the Commercial Manager at BFC, going through the club’s promotional ideas and marketing programme. We reviewed the outline layout and copy of the club’s new commercial brochure, which contains all the various ways that companies can get involved with the club. It will be used in all presentations to local companies over the near future and will be mailed to those on the database, and it presents the club in a very positive and professional light. We also discussed producing a flyer for the stand at the local fairs and this will be produced in time for the first event on 5 July. The main focus of this will be the £20 family ticket and the fantastic season ticket price for under 16s.
We all have to publicise these offers and the efforts we are making to recruit new fans. It is now true that for almost the same price of one child’s seat for one game at Arsenal (£55), the same child can come to Brentford all season (£60). Matt supplied BU with a copy of the Football League Supporters’ Survey for last season and I hope to do a brief summary of this at a later date.
On 13 June, BU (DK) was at the offices of the Brentford FC (Lionel Rd) on the Great West Road firming up the details of the publicity material that this company will display at the local fairs. It was also an opportunity to talk more broadly with their communication company, Four Communications, about how they are engaging with the local communities on the project and to discuss opportunities for BU to help or to benefit.
16 June was the monthly BU board meeting, details of which are on the BU website.
On 22 June, the Community Sports Trust helped manage the Sports Jam in Gunnersbury Park. This was a huge undertaking with an estimated 5000 kids involved, all taking the opportunity to try out new sports being showcased by the different sports organisations. It was another example of the expertise and capability of the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, and it was a real pleasure to wander round and see their logo across the event. This is our future fan base and we all need to support the great work that Lee Doyle and his team do across the area, as we will all benefit from it.
On 25 June, BU were involved with our other great asset, the Griffin Park Learning Zone. As covered in a previous update, the GPLZ team provide a wide range of educational support throughout Hounslow borough, a service much more varied than most units of this type. Jo Emmerson, who runs the GPLZ wanted to ensure that all the external stakeholders were satisfied with the service her team delivers and furthermore that it should be more clearly understood and defined. This is important to sustain funding and to develop the service in relevant ways. BU (DK) was able to persuade a former work colleague, who is experienced in facilitating workshops of this type, to attend a meeting of all the stakeholders and direct the debate.
The attendees included the Hounslow Education authority, local councillors, principals of local educational establishments, the library service and Hounslow Sports, the Community Sports Trust and BU. It was a reminder of the work they all do for local children, and particularly the unique role of GPLZ, much of which is attributable to its location within our stadium. This is the only time these people might visit Griffin Park and consider Brentford FC beyond the football context and it was great to see their appreciation of Jo’s service develop through the session.
On the same evening, once again in the GPLZ, BU were represented by Mark Chapman and myself and Brian Burgess in the first meeting of the stadium consultation steering group with the stadium architects, AFL. Phil Marchant from BIAS was also in attendance. This meeting was convened to discuss the architect’s response to the results of the fans’ survey, a full version of which will be on all the relevant websites. It was also an opportunity to be taken through the plans for the stadium, which are still at a very early stage. Another meeting is planned in 2 or 3 months.