An update from the General Manager

Chester FC General Manager Albert Davies provides an update from within the club…

Hello everyone. It has been just over two months since my appointment into this role, and I am thoroughly embracing and relishing the positive challenges that lie ahead as we look to progress.

Having been a volunteer here, as well as working part-time and full-time in the media team, I firmly understand the responsibility I have towards our supporter base and club – and have been working closely with the Board to ensure we make strides on and off the field.

Here’s just some of things we have been working on behind the scenes…

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1. The Fanzone

This has been mentioned in CFU member meetings and also in Boardroom programme notes, but nothing formally on our club channels until now.

We are in the process of looking into a phased construction of a Fanzone at the Deva Stadium. This would make use of an area of the Car Park and be a space for supporters to congregate before and after games to improve the matchday experience.

Directors Ollie Hill and Nick Phillipson have worked tirelessly on this project in recent months, along with relevant stakeholders.

The Fanzone would be fenced and roofed and contain space for food and beverage, a bar to sell alcohol, and a stage for entertainment.

There will be different elements of funding as part of this process – and we will provide more information on that as soon as possible.

2. Ticketing

As I’m sure you would have seen yesterday, we announced Fanbase as our new Ticketing and Fan Engagement Partner for 2024/25 and beyond.

This is something I am really excited about. When tasked with undertaking a review of our ticketing, it was clear that Fanbase checked all of the boxes; financially, commercially and also future-proofing our product – which should always be at the forefront of our minds where possible.

Being able to communicate with supporters via a built-in app and push notifications will be hugely beneficial from a marketing standpoint, as will the customer journey for you to be able to purchase tickets much quicker and easier.

Moving to ‘digital-first’ for 2024/25 will see supporters finally able to store their Season Tickets in their Apple/Android Wallets or indeed the Fanbase App Wallet – as well as reducing the need for as many Season Ticket Cards which helps us in working towards our net-zero target.

For clarity, supporters will still have the option to have physical Season Ticket cards. More information on this will be provided in due course.

Just finally, a huge thank you to Kaizen, who have been our ticketing partner since 2020. They really helped us take that initial leap into the online ticketing world and their tireless hours of support have been hugely beneficial for us.

We are all now very much excited about the next chapter with Fanbase and will have further dates and arrangements publicised very soon.

3. Commercial

It was very disappointing to see Commercial Manager Darren Court depart last week. We both started in our respective roles at the same time, and you could see Darren’s passion and enthusiasm in his job but also for Chester Football Club as a whole.

Darren was offered a full-time role at a club closer to his home, so it was a shame but completely understandable. That’s football sometimes!

Equally though, Darren put in some really solid foundations alongside Commercial Director Will Lamb for us to build on – and we will be advertising for a new Commercial Manager in due course.

In the interim, we always look to explore every potential opportunity we can at this club. So, if you feel you know someone that might be interested in sponsoring the club, feel free to pass on my email that is at the bottom of this article. I’ll pop the kettle on and we can work through ways our club and your business could collaborate in a way that is beneficial for both parties.

On a Commercial/Income side, something myself and Darren worked closely on together was utilising the space we have in the Car Park here, and there are some really exciting projects in the pipeline that will generate some vital income to the club – not just for the next year but also in the long term in some cases. Stay tuned!

4. On The Pitch

What a fantastic win it was on Saturday at Gloucester! As soon as the full-time whistle sounded, Historian Chas Sumner was already rattling his brain to find out the last time we scored six on the road. It was at Hinckley in January 2013, by the way.

With just two games to go now, the task is clear – to win both games – and hopefully that will be enough to get us into the play-offs.

Statistically speaking, 74 points from 46 games would be an impressive points return and a tally that would get you in nine times out of ten.

I see it first-hand every day. Calum, his staff and this team give absolutely everything in order to bring success to Chester FC. We all want the same thing here – and that is promotion.

Everyone is giving absolutely everything, and will continue to do so right until the very end. Let’s hope for a positive result this Saturday at Brackley!

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I am almost always on my emails, so if you feel that you have a suggestion that could benefit us in any way please drop me a line at albert.davies@chesterfc.com. Up the Seals!