Fan Advisory Board October meeting

We remain committed to this taking place in the coming weeks and will provide a verbal update on the plan in the meeting. We acknowledge and agree with the point about suitable notice and are planning on that basis.

We have a robust sign-off system, complete with photos, to make sure that we are matchday-ready. Cleaners are deployed around the stadium to carry out their duties and respond to calls from the control room. We advise anyone who encounters an issue to contact their nearest steward so that the team can be notified and rectify it. We are continually rolling out upgrades during breaks in the season, with the objective of improving facilities. We have had no reported issues regarding the water supply to the Trinity Stand this season, but please feel free to put any fans in touch with us should they report concerns to the FAB. As for tracking and logging, the Club has an internal platform where such issues are raised and then tracked.

On the PA system, we are sorry to hear that some fans reported being unable to hear the PA announcements. In terms of the process, we check all systems, including the bowl PA, on Matchday -1 with a full walk-around. We then check again on Matchday. Ahead of the next fixture, we are adjusting the levels in the Holte End, as these seem to be slightly lower than normal this season.

On the F&B question, if the FAB can provide more detail about the poor quality and service, we will happily investigate this further. If the issue concerns the products being served, we can address it and make immediate improvements. If the issue concerns the offer - such as no chips being available - we are restricted by the Doug Ellis Stand and our existing footprint. The constraints of the stand limit the changes and improvements we can make; for example, we are at capacity for the number of taps, lines and pieces of equipment we can add to the kiosks. Planning for GA investment is ongoing, and we are considering the full site in line with the North Stand developments, but we do not yet have timescales to share for each stand.

The works on Witton Lane are ongoing and are due to be completed in mid-October.

Once complete, the Mezzanine will be usable to its full capacity of 520; this number includes staff. Upcoming events can be found on the Destination Villa Park website (here) or by following us on Instagram: @SI_Warehouse.

We are happy to provide a verbal update at the meeting, but the changes to those areas in terms of day-to-day responsibility, other than the executive-level reporting line, are minor.

Whilst we understand that the FAB would like direct access to individuals, we are also keen to make sure that communication between the FAB and the Club remains co-ordinated. As such, and in line with our answer when the organisation chart question was raised previously, we politely ask that the FAB continue to liaise with working groups, the SLO or other known senior stakeholders regarding specific questions. We will then happily co-ordinate any responses on the Club's side.

As above, we can provide a verbal update at the meeting on this topic and some recent organisational changes.

Thank you, noted. 

Jude is already on the Accessibility Network Group and the Junior FAB. He can be co-opted onto the main FAB as a stand-in for Joanne McKibbens if she is unable to attend for any reason. Guy is happy to be involved with the Culture FAB, provided that the subject matter is relevant.

As discussed previously, Oliver Bland will join the Culture Group from the Club's side to lead on Club heritage initiatives, and we will invite the matchday activation team to meetings concerning tifos, fan displays and similar matters.

The Club is more than happy to facilitate a meeting to discuss the issues raised, some of which were addressed at previous TWG meetings and actioned the following day. Ticket information requires input from various departments, including Communications, Marketing, Content and Ticketing. These departments work together to provide information to supporters and will happily attend a meeting to discuss the points raised.

The current provision is rather rudimentary from a sensory room perspective due to the need to use the rooms for displaced disabled season ticket holders during the 2026/27 season. At the moment, we have three rooms, two of which are being used by displaced disabled season ticket holders, whilst the third is made available by ballot on a match-by-match basis.

Upon completion of the North Stand, the rooms will be restored as industry-leading sensory rooms. The DSA will be invited to consult on and provide feedback about these proposals via the Accessibility Network Group.

Yes, we are happy to facilitate this for all Saturday 3pm kick-offs. These pop-ups will be communicated to fans via the matchday guides, preview emails sent to all attendees, and the new matchday information WhatsApp channel.

Thanks for the suggestion. This is something we are considering as a way to collect more feedback. The obvious benefit is, as you say, that feedback would be collected in close to real time. However, there are also some challenges, specifically because the survey is lengthy and not designed for that purpose. Of course, we could create a mini-survey, but we are keen to avoid having multiple surveys for the same purpose in order to keep things operationally simple. Mobile signal can also be a limiting factor in concourse spaces.

In short, we will consider whether this is feasible and share an update on our plans through the working group.

We can confirm that the Liverpool fixture on October 18 is moving to Keys Park Stadium. While no other fixture falls on that date, Villa Park is hosting six first-team fixtures in October, including two UEFA Champions League home ties for the men's team, creating wider scheduling pressure across the month. 

The Club recognises the FAB's concerns and agrees that current wheelchair provision at Keys Park is not where it needs to be.

An accessibility platform was scheduled for completion in September, but construction issues outside the Club's control have delayed it. In the meantime, the Club is working with Hednesford Town FC to resolve the issues as quickly as possible.

We are aware that, due to turnstile queues on the day, the accessible entrance was opened more broadly than intended, with priority given to those with visible physical disabilities. We recognise that this caused distress to supporters with hidden disabilities and neurodivergent supporters, for whom a dedicated accessible entrance is important, and we apologise for this.

We are reiterating to security and stewarding staff that this entrance must remain reserved for accessible use and should not be opened to accommodate overflow from general queues. We will reinforce this guidance ahead of future fixtures.

The Club can confirm that stewards were correctly enforcing the requirement for supporters to remain seated, including in the Trinity Stand. This reflects our obligations under the Safety Certificate and SGSA licence, which apply stadium-wide and require us to address standing in seated areas consistently.

We recognise that this has been felt more acutely this season, partly due to seating changes in the Trinity Stand and increased scrutiny following the North Stand closure. We are aware that this has particularly affected the supporter who plays the drum and are working directly with him on a practical seating solution, alongside a review of the stewarding approach to ensure that it remains fan-focused.