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#Post#: 87707--------------------------------------------------
The State of Play
DIR By: Admin
Date: April 3, 2022, 5:29 am
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HTML https://youtu.be/AlCW5_aRMqY
#Post#: 87978--------------------------------------------------
Re: The State of Play
DIR By: Adrian
Date: April 6, 2022, 2:03 am
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HTML https://www.quins.co.uk/news/the-state-of-play-your-questions-answered/
CATEGORY:ALLCLUB NEWSRUGBY NEWSQUINS TVWOMEN'S NEWS
THE STATE OF PLAY – YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Tuesday, 5th April 2022 @ 15:57
THE STATE OF PLAY - YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
The Club would like to say a big Thank You to everyone who
joined our Supporter Update meeting on Wednesday 30 March,
titled ‘The State of Play’.
CEO Laurie Dalrymple was joined on stage by colleagues, players
and coaches from the Men’s and Women’s teams and welcomed over
200 people at The Stoop, with thousands more watching the video
online since the event.
We received a number of questions that we were unable to answer
them all on the night, but felt it was important to share
updates with supporters. Please read below the most asked
questions across some key themes that have come in over email or
during the live stream.
Q: Do you have plans to expand the capacity at The Stoop?
We remain clear that our long-term aim is to build a suitable
home for Harlequins. We have been working with the Council and
relevant authorities for some time to re-develop The Stoop but
the impact of COVID on our finances means that this ambition
cannot be immediately implemented. In the short-medium term, we
need to improve our facilities and matchday experience for our
supporters, which will also support the Club to generate more
funds on matchdays. Initially, the plans announced for a new
North Village do not include an increase in capacity, but it is
something we are looking at carefully for the future.
Q: Are Season Ticket Membership prices going up and if so, by
how much?
The Club continues to turn over every stone to find ways to
break even, however we must address the fact that we have an
imbalanced ticketing model within the Club – a critical income
stream of our business. As an example, a Jester Member is
currently only paying for the equivalent of 7 matches per season
(16 home Men’s matches this season). This simply is not
sustainable and something the Club intended to re-align just
before COVID struck.
Price increases will differ depending on multiple variables, but
we have tried to fairly bring the discount we provide at each
level in-line with other London Sport Venues and Premiership
clubs. We have taken measures to make sure we are not pushing
people away from the ground and help families continue to enjoy
matchdays at The Stoop. Details will be released when we launch
Season Ticket Membership renewal in mid-April.
Q: Are supporters effectively paying for the North Village/CAPEX
improvements?
No – the plan was always to make the stadium improvements to
provide the best experience we can for Harlequins’ supporters
and visitors. We continue to have the financial support from our
owners to invest in The Stoop and its facilities.
Q. Will Big Summer Kick-Off return in 2022/23 and will we see
the same pricing approach for Big Game 14, with Members no
longer able to claim the best seats for free?
We believe that both Big Game and Big Summer Kick-Off represent
superb value for money for our supporters, with full days of
entertainment that are consistently rated amongst the best by
our supporters and the envy of the other clubs in the league. We
think that our pricing strategy for Big Summer Kick-Off is
absolutely fair when compared to other events at Twickenham
stadium. We also don’t feel it is unfair to offer an optional
upgrade starting from £10 to move into Category 1 seats. A
Jester Member for example can choose any Category 2 or 3 seat in
Twckekenham for the equivalent value of £17 at today’s prices,
rising to £27 f they choose to upgrade to Category 1. The same
seat is often worth over £150 each for an England match.
While we realise the tradition of the previous Big Game events
pricing, we hope our supporters will appreciate the good value
for money and fair and balanced approach we are taking in
2022/23 as we move both Big Game 14 and next season’s Big Summer
Kick-Off to the new pricing strategy to help support our plan to
break even within 3 years.
Q: All Premiership clubs received some income from the recent
CVC Investment. What happened to this money?
As with the majority of other Premiership Clubs, this payment
went into historic debt and surviving COVID over the last two
years. The Club made a loss of over £21m in the last 5 years and
over £3m in 2021/22 is anticipated, with our Owners heavily
supporting
Q: The salary cap has just come down by £2m for the Men’s squad
– where is that money going and how are we investing in Men’s
and Women’s team?
This salary cap reduction is league-wide due to the current
financial pressure on clubs. Reduced costs will feed into the
10-year roadmap to be a debt free and profitable organisation,
that succeeds on and off the field.
Q: Should Big Summer Kick-Off be a success can we expect more
games at Twickenham Stadium?
The Stoop remains our home, but we are very excited to launch
Big Summer Kick-Off on 21 May at our second home. Our players
love playing at Twickenham Stadium, and it has been a happy
hunting ground in recent seasons for us. While we do not have
plans to move a third league match over the road - we have every
intention of continuing this as an annual event alongside Big
Game. This is one part of the Club’s wider strategy to grow the
Club, bring in new audiences, and continue to put on great
events for the league and the world to see. With every Men’s
Gallagher Premiership matches sold out for the first time this
season, we need to find ways to let our supporters come to see
Harlequins play and to inspire the next generation of fans.
Q: Are there plans to review the in-game music used on a
matchday and reinstate some traditional songs from the past?
Music is always an emotive subject! We have worked hard to
create the best matchday entertainment in the league, including
a change in music, with an emphasis on our Friday Night Lights
fixtures. This has been very favourably received by many of our
supporters, reflected in increased Matchday Atmosphere survey
scores and the consistent sell-outs. While it will never be
possible to please everyone, we will work harder to consult
through our matchday surveys to review our playlists, so they
are appropriate to the scheduled fixture and respond to demand.
Q: There have been a few long-term injuries this season (e.g.
Will Evans, Tyrone Green, Aaron Morris) - is the Club able to
provide more regular updates on their progress?
While we hope you can appreciate it is not always possible to
provide accurate or detailed updates on players’ medical
records, we know that this is an area you would like to see more
information. This needs to be a careful balance between keeping
our supporters updated and keeping important Club tactics and
team selection close to our chest so as not to give our
opponents a competitive advantage. We will provide updates on
our website and team announcements wherever possible.
Q: The Six Nations Ballot for Season Ticket Members wasn’t
launched until after the Twickenham Hospitality tickets went on
sale. Can the Club confirm that this does not reduce the Member
allocation?
No, it does not. We send Ballot communications as soon as we
receive our RFU ticket allocation, and the Season Ticket
Members’ allocation is protected and not linked to the
Hospitality packages we sell. Season Ticket Members always get
access to the same number of tickets at each game regardless of
when we go on sale for Hospitality.
Q. Are there plans to improve the quality of beer and the bar
service on a matchday?
We listen carefully to our supporters’ feedback and we hear loud
and clear that bar service and drinks available, especially
beer, are crucial areas to get right. We are currently reviewing
our beer offering along with other drinks so have not yet
confirmed the plan for 2022/23 but will do so shortly. The
well-publicised staff shortages in the hospitality sector have
impacted us too this season as we aim to increase the number of
experienced staff and their training to raise the quality of
service delivery. While we have seen our matchday survey scores
improve in his area, this remains a focus as we look to 2022/23.
Q: Will adidas continue to be the kit supplier next season?
We are currently in discussions regarding our kit supplier for
the 2022/23 season and will be able to provide further updates
on this matter shortly.
Q: There has been a shortage of merchandise this season in-store
and online. Will there be an expanded selection and more
products available next season, especially for Women and kids?
Yes, working with our retail partner this is a key area of focus
for us for the new season. We are aware of the stock shortages
from this season which has been caused by an unprecedented
demand, especially for our Home and Away shirts, off the back of
becoming Double English Champions.
Q: Will mobile ticketing be available at The Stoop next season?
It is our aim to introduce mobile ticketing for Season Ticket
Members and match ticket purchasers as soon as possible, however
there is some wider investment that is first required, including
a replacement of all turnstiles at The Stoop to allow for mobile
entry. While we cannot commit to a full roll-out for the 2022/23
season it is certainly a system we are looking to introduce, so
long as it improves our supporter experience when entering the
ground.
Q: Can you do more to stop people moving around during games?
We understand that this can be an ongoing issue, not just at The
Stoop but at all live events. We have in the past used tactics
such as holding people back until there is a break in play,
however this is not always a suitable solution as crowds gather
and cause obstructions at pitch-side. In response to feedback we
are introducing more communication and stadium messaging to ask
supporters to be considerate when moving from and to their
seats. The increase in bars, tills and toilets around the ground
will also positively impact the time that people leave their
seats, for example before half-time.
Q: Do you feel the Club could have given a discount to the Round
of 16 match v Montpellier on 16 April for Season Ticket Members
to ensure a high attendance?
We are delighted to be in our first knock-out fixture since
2015, and still be challenging for silverware on all fronts.
Season Ticket Members were provided a one-week priority window
to secure tickets for this fixture, at an Early Bird ticket
price. However we understand that with the continued success of
the Club, there are more matches at The Stoop outside the
regular season. We are therefore looking to provide discounts
for knock-out fixtures for the 2022/23 season. We have also
recently introduced a new £5 Under-18s price for the Montpellier
fixture to support families looking to bring kids on the Easter
weekend.
Q: Can we get a download of Pete Tong’s Big Game Mighty Quins
remix?
We are delighted that this has proved so popular with our
supporters. Unfortunately, Harlequins do not own the rights to
this remix and so while it can occasionally be used at our live
events, it is not something the Club has the ability to
distribute to the public.
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