The new season ticket holders bar

[Hog]

Did anyone try it on Saturday? i intended to but our plans were scuppered by a crash on the A34 which meant we arrived at the ground with five minutes to spare.

I have read in other places that it was the same old rubbish beers with long queues and high prices. I understand that work has been done, funded by supporters, to make the hall more attractive to OUFC fans but was horrified to read something posted by OxVox Trevor about the prices: he said "Comments about pricing are understood and will be taken on board and passed on to the powers that be. Of course coupled with this is the on going negotiation about revenue share". Have our charitable organisations really spent all their time and money adapting the room to attract customers to Kassam's empire without knowing what percentage of the revenue they're going to get?

I have also read that there seems to have been a falling out amongst senior members of OxVox and all is not well - can anyone shed any light on this for those of us who are not involved?

[Kernow Yellow]

Yes, I tried the new bar. In the sense that I arrived at 2pm, saw a queue running the entire length of the room, with only 2 or 3 staff serving, and all the beer taps I could see were advertising Carling. I can't say I noticed the decor - that is certainly not a place I ever want to frequent unless significant changes are made. We then went to the hotel bar, which has to be one of the most horrible places to drink disgusting beer. But at least the queue was only a few metres long and there were four staff serving drinks. After the game we went into the Blackbird, which doesn't seem to have any cask ale at all any more, but at least feels like a pub. The Priory will be very sadly missed by me at least.

[Yankee Clipper]

Yeah the Priory will be sorely missed. I agree the Hotel Bar is appallingly soulless. Not sure where to go before the next home game as driving down and back in day which makes stopping off in town difficult.-

Really enjoyed the night out in Oxford after. The Blackbird, Angel and Greyhound, Half Moon and The Bear were all entertaining then that somewhat generic bar that you find in every city in England (not sure what it was called) before the Wheatsheaf. Good fun, good company and some lively banter. Am staying down next after Rochdale so will have to do it all again!!

[Hog]

Most of the exiles I sit with popped into The Catherine Wheel but were disappointed there too. I think we'll try The Golden Ball next (we used it regularly about 5-6 years ago for evening games).

[Hog]

Did anyone try it on Saturday? i intended to but our plans were scuppered by a crash on the A34 which meant we arrived at the ground with five minutes to spare.

I have read in other places that it was the same old rubbish beers with long queues and high prices. I understand that work has been done, funded by supporters, to make the hall more attractive to OUFC fans but was horrified to read something posted by OxVox Trevor about the prices: he said "Comments about pricing are understood and will be taken on board and passed on to the powers that be. Of course coupled with this is the on going negotiation about revenue share". Have our charitable organisations really spent all their time and money adapting the room to attract customers to Kassam's empire without knowing what percentage of the revenue they're going to get?

I have also read that there seems to have been a falling out amongst senior members of OxVox and all is not well - can anyone shed any light on this for those of us who are not involved?

This situation has now been clarified by Mark Sennett on the 'other side' quote "Some of it also stems from questions about us being independent. Well just last week we proved that as we refused to endorse the new 12th man bar until a revenue share agreement is announced."

[Snake]

Tsk, top of the League and Firoka’s latest money making scam is making internet headlines. Just enjoy looking at the table rather than the queue at the bar at home games...

[GodalmingYellow]

I tried the bar, but it was indeed the same old.

The supposed food on offer was a handful of pies brought down from one of the Lindleys catering spaces in a warming cabinet, and that was literally it.

The decoration consists of a number (I would guess at about 10) of historical photo prints enlarged and put onto modern canvas frames, each measuring about 3' x 2'.

Apart from the entry fees for non-season ticket holders, you wouldn't really notice anything different.

As Snake has pointed out, this is probably more a money making scam for Kassam than an additional benefit for season ticket holders.

[OUFC4eva]

What happened to the £2,000 of Johnstones paint the club won last season?

Surely there would have been a lick of yellow/blue emulsion somewhere in the bar
along with club memorabilia. Sounds like not much has actually changed despite
a lot of time and effort going in from fans.

Have we been "Kassam-ed" again?

[slappy]

What happened to the £2,000 of Johnstones paint the club won last season?

Surely there would have been a lick of yellow/blue emulsion somewhere in the bar
along with club memorabilia. Sounds like not much has actually changed despite
a lot of time and effort going in from fans.

Have we been "Kassam-ed" again?

The walls / blocks behind the dug-outs have been painted yellow and the fence end has been redone (at least on the side facing the pitch).

I've seen pictures of the upstairs Manor Bar which has had some pictures put up too.

In the tunnel is a "roll of honour" of all the players to feature each season since 1949.

[Brahma Bull]

GY is right about the bar in that there were 10 new 3"x2" colourful images up on canvases. The stadium company have Stadco images on the reverse so in the week they can go all corporate.

The Roll of Honour boards as seen on YP look very impressive. I assume they are permanent fixtures and won't be taken down often - I wouldn't extend that to when our Welsh friends turn up for the Rugby. Last season every OUFC reference where possible was removed and replaced with the Red of LW.

Upstairs in the 'corporate bar' the circular pillars most people will recognise have been covered with large images of past players. These are about 3m in height and wrap around the pillar. I noted Paul Moody at the top of the stairs, a young Joey Beauchamp and if I remember, Ron Atkinson amongst others. Apparently the lounges have been decorated too.

I know of one fan who has donated a framed signed shirt from the Oxford versus Slumdon game. That is being prepared to be put up. Plenty of other bits to follow.

The club and the four man group heading up the Yellow Army certainly have a list of improvements they intend to work through.

[Kernow Yellow]

Have our charitable organisations really spent all their time and money adapting the room to attract customers to Kassam's empire without knowing what percentage of the revenue they're going to get?

My understanding (from reading various public sources of information) is that, while the Yellow Army fans' groups (including OxVox) have been involved with planning for the bar together with OUFC, it is certainly NOT their bar - it is a stadium bar. The bar is run by Firoka as ever, and OUFC should be getting a cut from the revenue, but the details of this have not been released. Apparently this is because a wider revenue agreement covering other aspects of matchday income are being (or have been) agreed, but my suspicion is that we will never know. For their part, Oxvox have refused to promote or endorse supporters' use of the bar until this is clarified.

I have also read that there seems to have been a falling out amongst senior members of OxVox and all is not well - can anyone shed any light on this for those of us who are not involved?

This one may be worthy of its own thread, but since the OxVox forum has now moved to its own section on Yellows Forum, maybe that would be the place to discuss it? A brief perusal of discussions there seems to reveal that a small but determined group of people, including one or more former committee members and other assorted shit-stirrers, are pissed off that the current Oxvox committee secured the Right To Bid protection for the stadium without publicly consulting their members on the subject first, and have been wittering on on internet forums about it for some time, even setting up their own new forum to do so.

Now, in an (I think) entirely unrelated move, the current Oxvox committee are encouraging their members to vote to adopt new rules governing the formation of the trust, in line with recommendations from Supporters Direct. The aforementioned group, sensing the opportunity to air their rancour further, have been trying to scupper this by encouraging people to vote against the rule changes, but without in any way explaining why they think people should do this.

So nothing too serious I think, but I feel sorry for committee members who are taking a lot of stick (some of it very personal), and feeling duty bound to respond, when all they're trying to do is give up their own time to represent OUFC fans and OxVox members like myself.

[Brahma Bull]

I have also read that there seems to have been a falling out amongst senior members of OxVox and all is not well - can anyone shed any light on this for those of us who are not involved?

This one may be worthy of its own thread, but since the OxVox forum has now moved to its own section on Yellows Forum, maybe that would be the place to discuss it? A brief perusal of discussions there seems to reveal that a small but determined group of people, including one or more former committee members and other assorted shit-stirrers, are pissed off that the current Oxvox committee secured the Right To Bid protection for the stadium without publicly consulting their members on the subject first, and have been wittering on on internet forums about it for some time, even setting up their own new forum to do so.

Now, in an (I think) entirely unrelated move, the current Oxvox committee are encouraging their members to vote to adopt new rules governing the formation of the trust, in line with recommendations from Supporters Direct. The aforementioned group, sensing the opportunity to air their rancour further, have been trying to scupper this by encouraging people to vote against the rule changes, but without in any way explaining why they think people should do this.

So nothing too serious I think, but I feel sorry for committee members who are taking a lot of stick (some of it very personal), and feeling duty bound to respond, when all they're trying to do is give up their own time to represent OUFC fans and OxVox members like myself.

That is a pretty accurate description of events as I have seen. What a refreshing post.

[Hog]

Against our better judgement we popped into the ST holder's bar on Saturday for the first time this season after arriving too late to go to a 'near by' pub, having previously decided not to use it until we knew what sort of percentage OUFC would be receiving.

£3.20 for a pint of diet Coke? Ha ha ha etc etc!

A few nice pictures on the wall but really, why would any supporters group condone this sort of nonsense?

[OUFC4eva]

Out of curiosity what would a pint of Diet Coke cost
In a pub?

I don't drink it myself.

[Hog]

I don't drink it either! But Hoglette does. In a Hampshire Wetherspoons at the weekend it was £1.40