LISC / LISR Meeting - 2nd September 2003

LISC Notes
By LISC
September 10 2003

Meeting between LISC and LISR held on 2nd September 2003

REPORT ON MEETING BETWEEN LISR & LISC
TUESDAY 2ND SEPTEMBER 2003, 7.45PM, SUNBURY

Present at the meeting were:

Conor O'Shea, Pat Coyne, Patrick Tahany, Ken Armstrong, Sarah Newton, Claire Gosney, Pauline O'Connor

Apologies: Chris Weldon, Ken Emerson

The Chairman opened the meeting at 7.45pm and welcomed those present.

Pre-season BBQ:

The Chairman thanked the club for the support given to the BBQ, by way of encouraging players to attend.

Pre-season Tour:

As a follow-on to that, the committee asked for their thanks to be passed to those team members who spent time with supporters while on the pre-season tour. It is always nice for the travelling support to feel valued and that was very much the case.

Conor said that the players themselves had really appreciated the support and that, in his opinion, the tour had been very useful for seeing how 'match fit' the squad are. There are a few injuries but they are minor and not causing too much concern.

Season Tickets:

3000 tickets had been sold at the time of the meeting with two weeks remaining before the start of the season. This is a genuine figure and while sales are very slightly down on last year the revenue generated by them is up by 10%. The club finances are therefore looking healthy compared to the budget and the Board are therefore pleased. It was mentioned that a significant number of the 3000 are new season ticket applicants and the club are confident that the number will continue to grow.

Conor and Pat both said they felt that the figures are indicative of the London Irish supporters' loyal nature so they are feeling 'happy and comfortable'. Those who have yet to renew will be contacted on a more direct basis over the next few weeks.

Official Website:

The club are very pleased with the new website and report that the number of hits is growing daily. The message board is still a little cumbersome but it will be made more 'user-friendly' in time. The committee all said they felt the site was excellent and a vast improvement. So far it has lived up to, and in many cases, exceeded expectations.

New Shirts:

The committee raised the issue of the new shirt quality. A small number seem to have colour-fast issues and a badge has come unstitched from another. Pat took note of the feedback and said he would look into it. Sales of the new shirt continue to impress. A huge number have been sold and were highly visible throughout the pre-season tour.

The Craic for 21 September:

Planning is now well underway for the match against Gloucester. So far there are three bands (possibly 4) booked to appear, plenty of Guinness wagons and food. All we need now are the folk. David Law has been inundated with requests for advertising posters and in addition, 15 local newspapers will advertise the game and there will also be radio coverage.

Future Meetings:

It was agreed that future LISR/LISC meetings would be held on the first Tuesday of the month on an as required basis.

AOB:

The Chairman announced that Pauline O'Connor had resigned from the committee. Pauline has been a member since the committee was founded and is by far the longest serving member. She will be missed. Conor was disappointed to hear the news and thanked Pauline for her many efforts.

LISC AGM:

Conor confirmed that both Pat Coyne and Gary Gold would speak briefly once the AGM has been concluded.

Hospitality:

Sales for this are going well although there are still some packages available, details can be found on the website.

Ken Armstrong raised a question as to the possibility of upgrading from a Season Ticket to hospitality for some of the matches. The club have said they will look into this as it's possible the new restaurant facility would be a suitable vehicle.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending and the meeting was concluded at 8.45pm.