Big topic and one I could rant on but just a few thoughts on the experience for youngsters and families.
For those who use the family area the club are running a survey to get feedback and ideas.
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/OllysDenOUFC Closes tomorrow mind.
My feedback was roughly this:
1: Ollie's Den is fine and could consider bringing Ollie back to entertain the very young kids. But overall not sure this has a massive impact because so similar to thousands of other experiences kids can have.
2: Catering in family area could be improved easily for everyone by just having a simple snack and sweets bar in one of the programme booths to quickly flog crisps, cokes and chocolate. Kids love that, keeps them and their parents away from the main bar and improves things for everyone. Never underestimate the importance of junk food to children.
3:
Nothing the club can do is anywhere near as important as focusing on the real heart of live football. Encouraging singing, noise and atmosphere, actively improving relations with East Stand fans for sure and prioritising that section. The club made a wise move after the 16/17 season bringing the family area away from the dead zone in SSL to be nearer the action but not much use if the overall atmosphere is flat. Basically, everything WuTang said earlier. I've been taking my lad since he was 7 and he was instantly hooked. When we started it was in the crappest part of a terrible ground with equally crap catering, no family room or any of that jazz. We also lost the first five games he attended. So why did he get into it and would still never miss a game despite temptations of YouTube and Playstation? He's clear. It was the same reason most of us did. It was the noise, the ultras, the songs, the swearing, the what-happens-at-football-stays-at-football deal we struck, the edge. Ultimately it was that going to footy is unlike anything else he experiences in the sanitised, safety-first, often virtual world he's grown up in.