Caley Thistle fans have highlighted areas they would like to see tackled by the club to improve the matchday experience at the Caledonian Stadium.
On the eve of the new league season starting against Queen’s Park on Saturday, the ICTFC Supporters’ Trust has published an extensive 80-page “matchday experience” report.
A total 316 people were surveyed, almost two-thirds of whom are season-ticket holders, on a range of aspects relating to attending games at the club’s home venue.
Inverness are entering their seventh successive season in the second-tier of Scottish football following relegation from the Premiership in 2017.
Having been Scottish Cup runners-up to Celtic last term, the goal is to win promotion this time around.
Boss Billy Dodds and his players would love more supporters to come to the Longman-based stadium to roar on the team.
However, while fans who attend feel safe, there are many areas where they believe the club falls short, including with car park, catering and toilet facilities.
Car park, food stalls, toilets on list
The summary section of the report pinpoints the key areas they would like ICT chiefs to consider to help attract more people along and retain those who already attend.
It said: “In the central part of the survey, we identified 25 factors relating to the matchday experience and asked how important each one was and how satisfied people were with the current provision.
“Fans told us the most important aspects were the atmosphere inside the stadium and the attitude of club staff and stewards.
“Feeling safe inside the stadium was the aspect which scored the highest for satisfaction.
“Several aspects scored below 50% for satisfaction.
“These were, with the lowest ranked first, the queue time for food and drink, the atmosphere inside the stadium, the quality of the parking areas, pre-match/half-time and post-match entertainment, activities for children and families, the audibility of the PA system, the quality of the food from the serveries, the availability of alcohol in the sports bar, accessibility and facilities for disabled supporters, the cleanliness and availability of hand-washing items for the toilets, and the price of food and drink at the serveries.
“Free text answers provided a bit more detail about fans’ concerns and several good suggestions were made.
“Whilst not specifically an aspect of the matchday experience we asked about, perceived poor general communication from the club was a major topic raised in the free text.”
Higher attendances is overall target
Last term, ICT’s average home league game was just below 2300 – the third-highest behind champions Dundee (4865) and Partick Thistle (3122).
The trust appreciates the club has financial issues to tackle, but hopes that by kicking off talks to improve aspects of visiting the stadium, it will lead to higher attendances.
It added: “The survey has been forwarded to the club. The Supporters’ Trust recognises the club has significant financial challenges and addressing the concerns will not be straightforward.
“However, addressing some of the concerns will represent an investment and significant improvement of the matchday experience should help to boost regular attendances.
“In the spirit of togetherness, the trust is seeking to work with the club in exploring what the options are to address the wide range of issues raised in the report.
“Only by the fans working collaboratively together will we be able to bring the matchday experience up to the level that supporters clearly desire.”
Caley Jags keen to work with trust
Caley Thistle said they have been actively behind the trust’s survey.
A club spokesman said: “The club was very active in making the fan survey happen and we sent it out to all season-ticket holders and made the survey available to fans in and around the stadium on numerous match days and non-match days for a number of months.
“It was even discussed with directors and guests of visiting clubs who had access to it in the boardroom on a matchday.
“The club felt that our wider participation in getting it out there to the public was particularly important as, despite having a small and committed group on their committee, the supporters’ trust has not been successful in recent years in terms of having any sizeable reach within the ICT fanbase.
“Compared to previous attempts by the supporters’ trust to engage with the wider support, the 300 or so fans who completed the survey in the future should be seen as a reasonable cross section/sample.
🎟️ Tickets are available for Saturday's game against Queen's Park
Get behind the team for our first game of the league campaign! 🔴🔵
Get tickets before 12pm on Matchday to save money
Tickets available online from👉https://t.co/apUZaqHl3H pic.twitter.com/Jgo5hcLven
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) August 2, 2023
“If we could have a strong and relevant supporters’ group going forward, it would be very helpful and we will do what we can to try and increase their membership for the benefit of the club and, of course, the fans.
‘Feeling very positive’ about future
“As is the way in most surveys, there is a propensity for folk to be negative and it is much easier to be critical than not, but constructive criticism is better than a compliment in many situations.
“As a business, we had already identified a number of the areas highlighted within the survey as requiring attention and in more than one case, steps have been taken towards addressing some of the issues outlined.
“Of course, football finances in the Championship in Scotland restrict a lot of what can be done, but we are feeling very positive about the future and what can be done within our budget.
“It is also hugely encouraging to see what the club is continuing to do well, but like anything, we can always do better, on and off the pitch.”
