Working Group Minutes

Chair

Elliot King (Head of Supporter Engagement)

Attendees

Norwich City FC attendees:

Elliot King (Head of Supporter Engagement)

Nathan Stevens (Commercial Manager)

Supporter Panel attendees:

Elected members

Michele Savage (Supporter Panel Chair), Caitlyn Winsor-Gray

Supporter group members

Gary Field (Supporter Panel Vice Chair, Canaries Trust)

Invited attendees

Neville Townsend (Forces2Canaries)

Apologies for absence

Ryan Kelsall, Russell Blake

1. Welcome / apologies

The meeting began at 18:00 and apologies were given.

2. Armed Forces Membership

The meeting began with a recap of the discussion held at full Panel. The club stated that it had looked into Tickets for Troops and other similar sites but felt that it would prefer to keep with its current in-house operation where it provides complimentary ticket codes to local armed forces. This means that no administration fee is passed onto the fan, which is usually around a £5 fee for similar sites. The club also stated how it makes tickets available in larger bulks for its dedicated and annual armed forces fixture as well as for Remembrance.

The Forces2Canaries informal ticket swapping scheme was discussed which allows those not attending to gift tickets to other serving members or veterans with charitable proceeds going to Kitchener’s in Lowestoft. It was agreed that this should continue to run alongside and be separate to any membership.

A discussion was held around potential take up for any memberships and any wider knock-on effects. Forces2Canaries agreed to canvas its members to see how many of them were already home members.

Agreed that the membership would provide home ticket access and be named the ‘Armed Forces & Veterans Membership’ to effectively give the members a sales group, so they have priority access to purchase tickets for home games at Carrow Road. There will be no membership pack or match pick, and this will be a digital card. The 5% club discount available on other paid memberships will also apply to this membership.

A suggested timeline for the launch was discussed and it was agreed that the membership will be ready in time for the 2025/26 season. It was agreed that the press release would highlight the Forces2Canaries group and signpost to register for the Government’s Veteran’s ID card which will be required to get the membership. As the club is moving to new ticket provider, SeatGeek, it will report back as to how the membership will work and what it will look like as well as how to claim this. The Panel and Forces2Canaries were invited to provide ideas for the design of the membership and will report back in due course.

It was recalled that Tottenham Hotspur have an armed forces membership, and the club will explore this further and speak with Tottenham.

The club explained its work on the Armed Forces Covenant, and it was agreed that the minutes of the meeting could be shared as part of this work.

3. A.O.B.

With no other business, the meeting closed at 18.44.

Chair

Elliot King (Head of Supporter Engagement, NCFC)

Attendees

Supporter Panel attendees:

Gary Field (Supporter Panel Vice Chair, Canaries Trust), Ffion Thomas (Capital Canaries)

Invited attendees

Jane Hughes (Football Supporters’ Association), Jess Grundy (Football Supporters’ Association)

1. Welcome / apologies

The meeting began at 10:30 and introductions were made to invited attendees.

2. Supporter Panel Terms of Reference

Following a discussion at full panel, a working group on the Supporter Panel’s Terms of Reference was created. The club agreed that it would work with both the panel and the Football Supporters’ Association in order to strengthen the terms of reference and be in line with best practice. This was the first meeting of the working group.

The Panel raised the below areas in relation to the terms of reference:

1. Font. The Panel were concerned with the font and whether this is the most accessible font to use for such a document given it is all capitalised. Although this is the club’s bespoke ‘single weave’ font, it was agreed that this is better used for larger signage and design pieces, rather than a formal document. The club agreed to change the body of the text to ‘DM Sans’.
2. Shortlisting process/Membership (D). The panel raised the club’s shortlisting process and were seeking an independent body or someone from the Panel to have oversight of this stage of the process. The Football Supporters’ Association offered themselves to be the independent body and to work alongside the club and the panel. It recommended using its 4-step process (application, shortlisting panel, interviews, election). The FSA agreed to share their elections policy with the club.
3. Code of conduct/Membership (I). It was agreed by all that a robust code of conduct was required for members of the panel, including stated terms for the removal of members. The FSA offered to send across its policies in relation to this as well as offered oversight on the removal point.
4. Terms of office/Membership (J). Improving continuity across the panel, both for elected representatives and supporter groups was discussed. The FSA proposed 3-year terms, but with two new elected members each year on a rolling basis.
5. It was agreed that to be in line with any external shortlisting process, that supporter group seats would need to reapply at the end of their terms and that it was up to the supporter groups to democratically elect their representative. Other recognised NCFC supporter groups would also be invited to apply to join the panel, and the FSA would review the shortlist and make the necessary recommendations when required. The club was open to extending the terms of both elected and supporter group representatives to enable the panel to get to the strongest possible position in terms of rotation.
6. Confidentiality/Responsibilities (G). As per the code of conduct discussion, it was agreed that the FSA would share their confidentiality agreements and discussed training opportunities it can provide to panel members.

It was agreed that the club would work with the Panel and FSA to edit the terms of reference to be inline with the FSA’s template of which it would share the PDF for in the first instance. It was agreed that this would be in place in time for the start of the 2025/26 season.

3. A.O.B.

With no other business, the meeting closed at 11.23.

Chair

Elliot King (Head of Supporter Engagement)

Attendees

Norwich City FC attendees: Sam Jeffery (Commercial Director), Ed Turnham (Head of Commercial), Bonnie Dillaway (Head of Venue Operations), Sean Crisford (Stadium Bars & Kiosks Manager)

Supporter group attendees: Russell Blake (Supporter Panel), Kim Farthing (Canaries Trust – in place of Richard Clinnick).

External supporters: Tracy Mastin, Vicky Hopkins, Dave Thomas

Apologies for absence: Dan Savage (Head of Catering), Jack Sherry

1. Welcome/apologies

The meeting began at 18:00 and apologies were given. As this was the first meeting, introductions were made and there was no set agenda. Objectives of the group were set out. The group were reminded of confidentiality as they would be presented with information not in the public domain, including new product deals which have yet to be formalised.

2. Food & Beverage

The club provided the background to the change of direction following the winding down of Delia’s Canary Catering and move over to the Carrow Road brand. The club confirmed that all existing staff have transitioned over as part of this. As part of the changes, the club are looking to maintain the high standards and legacy set by Delia’s Canary Catering as well as evolve and diversify the offering; hence the creating of the working group to test ideas, seek feedback and ensure the products selected are reflective of our supporters wants and needs.

Although the offering will evolve over time, the question was asked of the room on what they would consider as “quick wins”. Some responses given were:

• Food to be ready when turnstiles open
• Collect data through the kiosk tills on what is sold and in which timelines
• Change supporter behaviours and routine to bring them to the stadium earlier
• Improve the pre match offer
• Healthy options including rice bowls, jacket potatoes, pasta and baguettes
• Survey what fans want
• Free samples
• Add post-match food offers

Food and beverage samples were provided, including new products. These were received positively.

The following general comments were raised:

Positive:

• Supporters enjoy the Lion & Castle offer – how more be made of this?

Challenges/Ideas:

• City Stand – have to make decision to go to the toilet or get some food at half time
• Can the club introduce pre orders for pre match and half time?
• Introduce meal deals
• Changing the coffee supplier
• Will the club continue to allow supporters to bring food into the stadium?
• Look at spaces in the concourses to put food or drink down – particular struggle for those with disabilities
• Swap stirrers for spoons
• More vegetarian and vegan options
• More confectionery options
• Communicate more about offers and products available and any improvements

General Feedback:

• Supporters don’t mind prices as long as the quality is high
• Hot drinks in general are not good, can soup be considered
• Can more ‘diet’ drink options be provided
• Would the Gunn Club be able to operate on a QR code ordering system
• Supporters more likely to purchase from food vendors that belong to the club – can the club advertise which ones are club operated
• Could the burger van go back near the away fans entrance
• Does the club set metrics when it trial food/drink offers – how long does it trial it for and where, what data does it collect and the decision making process
• Can more seating be provided outside the stadium
• Move screens in concourses so not above the condiment shelves
• Could there be vending machines/hawkers
• Drink selections – more cask ale, better wines, cider, low alcohol/no alcohol options

Club information:

• Do have some issues due to sizes of kiosks which impacts functionality and equipment within them
• Food is mostly prepared in centralised kitchens and moved to kiosks
• The club is part of a networking group across EFL and PL called Stadium Experience Group where it discusses offers, pricing and challenges across clubs
• Based on feedback regarding the knowledge of Yellows offer at half time to those in the Regency lower it will look at signage in the concourse
• The club gave key updates on data from its free drink offer – data very useful and deemed as a success and looking at other offers for next season
• The club is looking at the whole fan experience to support getting fans to the stadium earlier
• Updated the group on current fan zone and possible future plans
• Supporters asked for suggestions for the fan zone stage, the club took away the suggestions of music, DJ, legends on the stage and player photo opportunities
• The club will take away all suggestions as part of planning for this area

3. A.O.B.

It was agreed that the group would meet quarterly going forward with pre-set agendas, with the next meeting being held in August.

With no further business, the meeting closed at 19:48.

Attendees

Elliot King (Head of Supporter Engagement, NCFC), Danny Casey (Head of Ticketing, NCFC), James Barton (Head of Data & Insight, NCFC), Nathan Stevens (Commercial Manager, NCFC), , Caitlyn Winsor-Gray (SP Chair), Gary Field (Canaries Trust, SP Vice Chair), Lynne Hammond, Michele Savage, Nicol Nicholls (NCWSC), Ffion Thomas (Capital Canaries), Neville Townsend (Forces2Canaries)

Memberships

Memberships working groups occurred on 26/02/26 & 23/03/26. Due to the nature of the breakout sessions, full minutes were not taken but a list of topics covered can be found below:

• Ticket system automatically defaulting to adult tickets
• On sales dates and communications/timing of these
• Retro night and the refund mechanism
• Memberships survey data
• Percentage of allocation available for Match Pick
• Match Pick & Group 1 sales dates
• Membership figures
• Communication of membership competitions
• Women’s team membership
• Membership groups

A separate Women’s membership meeting took place on 26/03/26 following an action from the working groups.