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Pretty annoyed with the club at the late call off yesterday afternoon. I'd organised 2 tables totalling 20 people. Mostly season ticket holders wanting to put money into the club. Yes, £50 was quite pricy for a curry, a pie and 2 drinks. But, as has been said, a lot of our group thought it was an opertunity for a good get together while putting money into the club. I think only one other table had been booked but even with 30, we had thought it would have gone ahead in some form. After all some money for the club is better than none.

I wonder if hospitality is somewhat old fashioned to a lot of the support many of whom will prefer going to the pub in town before a game to watch whatever football match is on then head out to TCS. It just doesn't seem like it's something that interests a lot of people any more. That said, there is potentially still a fair amount of apathy towards / burnt bridges with the club for a lot of fans after the mess of the last few months / couple of years. Whilst many would normally want to do their bit to help support the club after how so many fans have been treated they will be thinking twice about digging into their pockets even with the likes of Gardiner gone.

You're always abroad! i'll have to remind you that Harris is not abroad! 😄

That is a real shame and I know there were people who were involved in organising this that will feel that they have wasted their own time and energy on this. Sorry. I was still mulling over whether to treat my other half to this, but although it is a lot cheaper than normal hospitality, it is still a lot of money for many of us. I'm not trying to say that it is not a fair price, just that there is not a lot of money to go around just now and at the least it would be a £100 spend as someone is unlikely to attend alone. I feel guilty that I didn't commit, but in all honesty season tickets were purchased recently, players have been sponsored, tops bought and I do have other commitments. Christmas is coming and winter fuel prices are also a concern for many. At the end of the day, in a club with a fan base the size of ours, in this economic climate, the fans are always going to find it hard to help the club out financially.

Unfortunately I can seldom get to the ground on time to do hospitality but on the occasions I could make it I'd pay £25 for a bacon roll a bowl of soup and a pint with access to a proper bar before the game a pie and cuppa at half time and bar access for a couple of hours after the game. That way they'd get my £25 and bar spend. Did they not have some kind of cheap exclusive access thing in the past?

I think the hospitality was mainly taken by local firms treating their customers for a day out but the way the club has been run in recent years that has not helped.

There is also no small matter of the ongoing demand for money from the aforementioned former CEO whose shadow hangs around like a bad smell, and some comments from AS that show we are not out of the woods yet. Some may be reticent to part with cash in those circumstances if they think it will end up in the wrong pockets or in administrators' hands instead of the club. Its a catch-22 situation, and I have to admit that the same thought crossed my mind as I contacted Keith to ask him to bill us for the player sponsorships. I do have to admit that I did prefer to have a beer or several at the Innes before the game, avoided the sports bar, and just got to my seat at around 2:59pm. I tended to avoid hospitality because it meant an early start at the stadium, a suit and tie job (at that time), and then a long night ..... Wonder if there are any innovative ideas on what might be more popular? I know at TFC they have a buffet type arrangement for what they call the "tunnel club" and fans who have bought premium season tickets that include this option for the entire season, can simply float from table to table like you might in a pub and go grab food (or drink) as needed. No formal sit down or three course meals. I can't afford that personally, so for the plebs like me, there is the option of a beer garden that opens early and serves bottled beer at normal prices (as opposed to stadium prices) in an effort to get more people to the stadium early. There are random prizes or swag to be grabbed to entice people to attend. Perhaps we can take the grains of ideas like this or others and see how they might be scaled to ICT size?

Possibly, I understand there was at least 20 in our group I was booked in with. At the end of the day £50 (or £70 with no ST) isn't cheap for essentially a curry, 2 beers and a pie. However for me it was a chance to celebrate a new fresh start at the club and get the craic with a group of friends I've not seen much off and rarely get all together. Plus give the club a few quid in the process. I know most of the group is pretty gutted. Now looking at alternative options in town.

Very cheap for Hospitality, it’s a shame we don’t have a support that can fulfil these things. Maybe next time a few months notice will be needed in order to round them up.

Your ongoing defence of Gardiner is getting even more bizarre. No wonder the club is in the mess it is.

It’s disappointing that we couldn’t make this work, even at a much more accessible price point than previous attempts. Was Gardiner basically right all along that there’s not enough demand for hospitality amongst our support? Other, smaller clubs seem able to run a regular offering.