BU Survey 2025 : The results are in…
A huge thanks to the 686 members who responded to our Survey this year. You gave us a range of thoughtful comments on what is working for you and what could be better. We’ve summarised the results below, but we’ve also collated the over 2170 comments and discussed these at our May Board Meeting. We have a clear action plan for feeding your views into the Fans Advisory Board and various Working Groups we sit on with the Club.
About You
The majority of responses were from Season Ticket Holders :
Your views on Five Year Rolling TAPs
We received over 400 comments on this question and fans had mixed views. Many felt the new system was fair and comments included :
- ‘There’s no perfect system; I think this one gets it better than most’
- ‘Something had to change. Newer, perhaps more regular fans in some cases, needed to rise up the ticket pecking order.’
- ‘Although personally affected slightly adversely, I am in favour of the change as it is overall a fairer system.’
- ‘It’s the right thing to do, I am in agreement with the policy, my status is now further rewarded by my away match efforts… I should add that one of my family drops down but understands the approach.’
However, many expressed strong views that fell into two broad categories :
- Fans wanted to make the point that there is a difference between loyalty and attendance at matches. Many had supported Brentford for years but because of age, ill health or changes in personal circumstances had not been able to attend matches as regularly recently. They felt unfairly penalised because of this; and
- Many felt legacy TAPs should be retained and continue to be recognised in some way by the Club.
Several fans also felt the communications and consultation on the issue had been poorly managed.
Your Awayday Experience
Bees United Members love awaydays! Many of you already travel regularly to support the team :
There were positive comments about the fun of following the team around the country and the GEN10, Trainline, £5 coaches to Newcastle and Travel Together initiatives were praised as helping fans with their away experience.
While the family area, singing section and ability to choose where to sit at away games were all seen as positives, the main issue raised here was in relation to fan behaviour.
In particular fans standing in the family area which had been designated as seated and issues around fans not sitting in their allocated seats.
Facilities at some away grounds were seen as putting some fans off travelling to those matches.
Your suggestions to make the awayday experience better included :
- Opportunities for fans to meet up ahead of games with more information well in advance of where fans can gather with fellow Bees
- More information including about discounted travel and hotels, coach travel and parking, and for Overseas members attending away games
- Cheaper coach travel
- Prizes/raffles to encourage coach travel and away travel generally
- Screenings at Gtech for fans who can’t make away games but want to come together
- Changes to the booking system to allow friends & family to book more than 6 seats at once to accommodate larger groups, and to allow families to sit together
There was frustration at changing times and dates for away games and a call for longer notice on ticket purchasing windows.
Your thoughts on sustainable travel to home and away matches
You appreciated the schemes already in place such as the Trainline 20% discounts and coach travel when applicable.
You made the following suggestions :
- Carsharing : Encourage regional car sharing schemes/ dedicated parking for car sharing
- Information : Have more information available on travel options
- Parking : More assistance with awayday parking information; Park and ride schemes for away games; More safe parking around the Gtech for fans who travel longer distances/have mobility issues
- Coaches : Coaches to London games for those who cannot travel otherwise; Cheaper coaches, more pick up points
- Cycling : Better bike storage and security at Gtech; Information on secure bike parking at local away grounds; Organised rides to away matches in London via train/tube stations to pick up fans (Baller FC ground hop model); More cycle parking; Cycling Club – charity rides to away games
- Train : Extending the Trainline offer to home games for those who travel from outside London; A better service to the Gtech on match days; Discount tickets to matches for those taking the train; Organised train travel/football specials
- Hotels : Discounts for home and away games
- Connecting : Helping solo fans meet and travel with each other
What you think of Digital Tickets for the 2025/26 season
This question had the greatest number of comments with over substantive 500 responses.
Views here were mixed. While some welcomed the change or already used their digital tickets, and many fans understood why the Club had to move to digital tickets, others strongly opposed the change or had reservations about how it would work in practice. Comments included :
- ‘I think it’s definitely a good idea. I’ve used the current digital season ticket and it’s worked really well. And if the new QR coded version really does combat the threat of ticket touts and non-Bees fans accessing tickets then that’s brilliant and a major step forward.’
- ‘Anything that keeps away fans out of home areas is, in principle, a good idea. However, I don’t like being told I can’t have an actual card as it is a back up if my phone is lost or runs out of battery. Also, for my elderly father an actual card is essential. I don’t feel he should have to apply to be considered for this, it should be offered to all fans as an option i.e. do you want a digital only ticket or digital and/or card.’
- ‘I strongly disapprove. I suppose at some point I shall have to give in and get a smart phone, but I’m avoiding it as long as possible.’
Other issues included :
- Those who had previously used digital tickets seemed to feel more comfortable with the change
- There were also concerns that anyone who required a card should be able to get one
- Some fans liked to collect tickets and felt it was a shame that they would no longer be available
- How will it work for children where tickets are managed by family members?
- There were some concerns about how robust the technology would be and how exceptional circumstances (forgot to download/can’t access tickets) would be dealt with
- Concerns about how easy it would be to transfer tickets to friends and family and some confusion about how this would work in practice
- Concerns about Wifi coverage around grounds
- Not having a card as a backup if phones are lost or stolen
- Concern about security issues of having phones out around the stadium
- Premium ticket holders raised issues about lounge access and transferable tickets
Generally it was felt that the move to digital tickets was worth doing if it restricted touts and kept away fans out of home areas. It was suggested implementation could be helped by having sessions for fans to show them how it would work in practice and how to navigate the new system, so they are comfortable with it.
We asked if there were issues fans would like us to raise at the FAB/working groups
Issues raised included :
- More fan consultation on key issues and early warning of any changes
- Better food and drink choices at Gtech, particularly more healthy options and those catering to fans with dietary restrictions
- Safety of fans at Gtech, particularly the lack of hand rails on stairs
- More inclusive merchandise with a greater choice for women and girls
- Better Wifi at the Gtech, particularly with the introduction of digital ticketing
- Keeping away fans out of home areas
- Changes to ensure a more user friendly ticket platform
- Issues with toilet provision in some areas of the Gtech
- Continuing to ensure affordability and looking for ways to mitigate the cost of living increases wherever possible
- More rubbish and recycling points at the Gtech
- More benefits for Members, particularly those who attend regularly
- Making it easier for overseas fans to get tickets and to plan their visit in plenty of time
- More information/profile for the B Team, Academy and Women’s Teams
- Better information on how to view TAPs, how digital ticket transfer will work, what it means for families/children etc
- Better management of the Premium Lounges to avoid overcrowding and ensure only those entitled to be there
Which areas of the Brentford story you would like to know more about
Many responses showed that BU Members were long standing fans who have lived much of Club’s recent history. Many were also keen to visit or view the archive or have online access to the information.
Suggestions included :
- Recording fan memories of key points in the Club’s history
- ‘100 or 50 years ago today’ facts
- Stories of players and ‘where are they now’
- Old photographs, including of the crowd
- The pre-war years especially the 1930s
- Brentford shirts through the years
- A child friendly version of the Club’s history
- The story of the War Cup
- The QPR takeover bid
- A club primer for new supporters – Brentford history 101
- Matchday programmes and their history
- Awaydays from the past
- The history of building the Gtech
- History of commentary, particularly for blind supporters