Kassam Stadium Match Day Hospitality 24/25

[Stanford yellow]

Wondering if anyone has done matchday hospitality this season?I'm with a group of 6 doing this for the Sheffield Wednesday game in December and was wondering whether the Price increase is worth it?Nothing mentioned on the website promoting it (shock).

 

[Essexyellows]

@Manorlounger or @Colin B are probably best placed to respond....... they mix in those echelons and get biscuits....

 

[Colin B]

@Manorlounger or @Colin B are probably best placed to respond....... they mix in those echelons and get biscuits....

Not anymore I don't.

I stopped being an Associate Director at the end of the 2022/2023 season. Part of my reason for doing so was a lack of value.

It was never a particularly good value package anyway, if you took it in isolation, but they then took away many of the benefits and cranked the price up. It now costs nearly double what it did two years ago (for far less benefits) and the restaurant package now costs the same as the previous AD package, with even less benefits.

 

[Manorlounger]

Not anymore I don't.

I stopped being an Associate Director at the end of the 2022/2023 season. Part of my reason for doing so was a lack of value.

It was never a particularly good value package anyway, if you took it in isolation, but they then took away many of the benefits and cranked the price up. It now costs nearly double what it did two years ago (for far less benefits) and the restaurant package now costs the same as the previous AD package, with even less benefits.

@Stanford yellow

Have to agree with @Colin B on this. The restaurant package is way overpriced for what is delivered. There was supposed to be a season ticket holder discounted rate but that appears to have disappeared. Checking just now, for the Hull game, the only ticket on offer was £162.00 per person! That's for a two course meal, tea/coffee, a programme and a seat behind the directors box. (Colin and I both sit at the front of the SSU and have a much better view) Add in a few drinks and the cost is (almost) on a par with eating at Le Manoir. ( 3 courses A La Carte £205.00 per person)
At some point in the past, there was a deal, I thought, for £90.00 for season ticket holders to upgrade to the Icons Restaurant. Cannot see that on the ticketing site.
Quite frankly, Mrs L and I trot over to F&B's for some of their standard fayre and, along with a bottle of red usually come away with having spent less than £60.00 for both of us. We've eaten in the restaurant three times, once by invitation, once as a prize and once, only, we paid. Not once did we think it value for money. Granted, the surroundings are pleasant enough and it's very welcome on a cold evening to go somewhere warm at half time (hot water in the toilets) and, the entertainment from Rosy and others can be good fun. But, is it worth it? No.

 

[Steve Gilbert]

One of the benefits that season ticket holders should get is 10% off the match day restaurant or equivalent.

 

[werthersoriginal]

One of the benefits that season ticket holders should get is 10% off the match day restaurant or equivalent.

We just need to move. Can't believe there isn't even a bar in the big downstairs concourse any more.

 

[holdsteady]

We just need to move. Can't believe there isn't even a bar in the big downstairs concourse any more.

Me and a few mates walked past last home game and said about that. Not the best bar but if for whatever reason you don’t have time to get a drink away from the stadium for 99% of our paying customers the only option is the concourses while a bar space sits empty, wasted opportunities all over the stadium though.

 

[OUFCGav]

@Stanford yellow

Have to agree with @Colin B on this. The restaurant package is way overpriced for what is delivered. There was supposed to be a season ticket holder discounted rate but that appears to have disappeared. Checking just now, for the Hull game, the only ticket on offer was £162.00 per person! That's for a two course meal, tea/coffee, a programme and a seat behind the directors box. (Colin and I both sit at the front of the SSU and have a much better view) Add in a few drinks and the cost is (almost) on a par with eating at Le Manoir. ( 3 courses A La Carte £205.00 per person)
At some point in the past, there was a deal, I thought, for £90.00 for season ticket holders to upgrade to the Icons Restaurant. Cannot see that on the ticketing site.
Quite frankly, Mrs L and I trot over to F&B's for some of their standard fayre and, along with a bottle of red usually come away with having spent less than £60.00 for both of us. We've eaten in the restaurant three times, once by invitation, once as a prize and once, only, we paid. Not once did we think it value for money. Granted, the surroundings are pleasant enough and it's very welcome on a cold evening to go somewhere warm at half time (hot water in the toilets) and, the entertainment from Rosy and others can be good fun. But, is it worth it? No.

I think you can upgrade your ticket (ie take off the value of one match of your season ticket from the cost of the hospitality ticket) but don't think you can do it online.
But frankly if the cost is that much for the package, unless the catering has improved several hundred percent that is not worth it.
It looks like something that will vastly improve in the new ground.

 

[Yellowmania]

We just need to move. Can't believe there isn't even a bar in the big downstairs concourse any more.

I just can’t believe it’s not profitable for the Stadium Co to put a couple of bottle bars in the Quadrangle. They’ve been in there once before if I remember correctly and were well used.

 

[Essexyellows]

I just can’t believe it’s not profitable (enough) for the Stadium Co to put a couple of bottle bars in the Quadrangle. They’ve been in there once before if I remember correctly and were well used.

Think that`ll be it, must be hellish expensive to employ 4 or 5 folk on MW to serve us some warm and vastly overpriced cans/bottles.

 

[Morris Oxford]

The Exhibition Hall

The exhibition hall is available for hire and has a private bar according to the above link.

 

[OUFCGav]

Think that`ll be it, must be hellish expensive to employ 4 or 5 folk on MW to serve us some warm and vastly overpriced cans/bottles.

Even paying more than "normal" just getting people for the role will be hard in Oxford.

 

[holdsteady]

Even paying more than "normal" just getting people for the role will be hard in Oxford.

Really? Its just the same as the catering and stewarding etc, only a couple more staff needed.

 

[OUFCGav]

Really? Its just the same as the catering and stewarding etc, only a couple more staff needed.

catering have issues getting enough staff. It is a wider issue in hospitality.

 

[Manorlounger]

Really? Its just the same as the catering and stewarding etc, only a couple more staff needed.

The catering within the concourse is down to Farr's. The bars are Firoka. In the days of the Manor and Maurice Evans lounges, both had a bar for the members. The Manor bar went first quickly followed by the Maurice Evans. Staffing was never good and the prices made it prohibitively expensive for most. The exhibition bar - ground floor - has no access to toilets unless the doors are opened to the entry by the stairway to the boxes etc. These toilets are also by the lifts and changing room access. i.e. one or more stewards are required at all times. The logistics of this made it unworkable and so, no more bar. The very short lived Fan Zone with marquee on the car park caused Kassam's eyes to twinkle with the prospect of more profit and so that became untenable.
In short, nothing will change until we move to our own stadium.

 

[LeftSideLarry]

The catering within the concourse is down to Farr's. The bars are Firoka. In the days of the Manor and Maurice Evans lounges, both had a bar for the members. The Manor bar went first quickly followed by the Maurice Evans. Staffing was never good and the prices made it prohibitively expensive for most. The exhibition bar - ground floor - has no access to toilets unless the doors are opened to the entry by the stairway to the boxes etc. These toilets are also by the lifts and changing room access. i.e. one or more stewards are required at all times. The logistics of this made it unworkable and so, no more bar. The very short lived Fan Zone with marquee on the car park caused Kassam's eyes to twinkle with the prospect of more profit and so that became untenable.
In short, nothing will change until we move to our own stadium.

They had bars, you say? For the purposes of clarity for those who had the fortune not to have paid the prices, the ‘bar’ was actually a foldable table with some bottles (warm, obvs.).

I knew from the moment I walked into the lounge against Rochdale, that we’d been shafted by FK on the whole project. To say it had all been done with a bare minimum approach doesn’t even come close.

 

[Manorlounger]

They had bars, you say? For the purposes of clarity for those who had the fortune not to have paid the prices, the ‘bar’ was actually a foldable table with some bottles (warm, obvs.).

I knew from the moment I walked into the lounge against Rochdale, that we’d been shafted by FK on the whole project. To say it had all been done with a bare minimum approach doesn’t even come close.

From a purely commercial point, and as someone with some history of working in the hospitality trade, I would say that Kassam, through his proxy Firoka, has little talent. The notion of offering the bare minimum for the maximum profit is not a recipe for success. Not when you consider the potential of the customer base. The Manor bar was understocked, had no draught beers and was staffed by young people with no training or experience. The Maurice Evans bar was marginally better but only just.
I have sought reassurance from those responsible for the new stadium that things will be different, better and aligned with the tastes and desires of us supporters. Nothing concrete as yet but, the desire to get it right is apparent. This is why I think it absolutely vital that those responsible consult with the fanbase and get real feedback. My biggest fear is that the current divide displayed by the Icons Restaurant pricing is repeated. There is scope within the new stadium design for a multitude of hospitality levels. Mico brewery to fine wines, burgers to fine dining, tea, coffee and biscuits - The potential is huge. Get it right and the stadium will fulfill that seven days a week occupancy ambition.