Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who came out and braved the VERY cold and windy conditions last night. I was delighted to see so many of you there given the awful weather.
For a first outing at our new home I thought the majority of things went very well. Last night was the first time that many of our volunteers had seen the stadium, let alone worked it. There are areas we need to improve but we now where and what they are and we will be sitting down tomorrow morning to conduct a thorough review of all our game day operations from Saturday. That said, I have to pay a special tribute to Alex Wolf and his operations team who worked 18 hour days for the whole of last week getting everything ready.... you guys were amazing, THANK YOU.
We won't be satisfied until everything is running smoothly but I don't think that will take us too long given the lessons learned from Saturday. On that note, I would encourage any of you that have constructive feedback or suggestions about the operations to get in touch with us, either by responding to this blog or emailing me directly. It's only by knowing what worked and didn't work for you that we can improve.
Also spare a thought for the players from both sides who struggled through the conditions. I spoke to several of them right after the final whistle and they were "literally" freezing!!! The gusting wind helped neither team to settle or play good football. Let's hope for more favorable weather this weekend against Houston.
Last but not least, thanks to the boys from East Austin Soccer Club who were our youth club of the night. And to the players and families from Forza FC who tailgated out on the parking lot before kick-off. As I drove up to Nelson Field it was great to see such a large crowd of the Forza folks already there enjoying BBQ and music before the kick-off. I hope we can make this a regular feature of game day as the weather warms-up!!
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3 comments:
Hey,
The game was a blast, except for the cold! Everything went very smoothly from the media standpoint, but one common theme echoed by those in attendance was the lack of a numbered roster before the start of the game. It turned out OK though, as the players jersey numbers matched the order they were printed in the program. A couple of us were worried we wouldn't know who was who though.
The banners on the side of the stadium looked great! I'm excited for the rest of the season! See you all Saturday!
www.patrickmeredith.wordpress.com
It was great to see so many people come out to what was awful weather. I heard that the gusts actually got up to 40mph. Congratulations to the organization, as you did a wonderful job planning and adjusting on the fly.
The biggest suggestion that I have is the location of the Aztex Supporters Groups. Although we appreciate Section Z, it's impact is truly minimal to the home side on the other side of the pitch. We could only see the flags, with none of the noise reaching the home fans. Additionally, those of us who are members of the various supporters organizations, as well as Founders Clubs, are not able to move between the sides of the stands during the match. Saturday, all of this was resolved in the second half when the supporters moved to Section A where the sound, sites, and experience really made the game better. As the President of one of the supporters groups, we'd ask the organization to find a place on the west side of the stands to become the supporters section. We continue to ramp up the drums, horns, flags and banners to support our Aztex. We'd love to work with the organization as we have historically to find a home that will fit the needs of the supporters without adversely affecting the logistics of game day.
I also enjoyed the game on Saturday night and wanted to express my satisfaction with the experience. I was able to encourage two friends (who are not big soccer supporters) to join me, and both said they had a great time as well.
Things I enjoyed/liked:
-Awesome Aztex banners hung on west side of the stadium. They really made a great impression as we drove up.
-Cops helping direct traffic as people were leaving. They may have been provided or even required, but they were a big help.
-The intimacy of the venue and the game. It was really great to hear players yelling directions to each other, and to know that our support would definitely be heard.
-Accepting CC for ticket purchases. I was unsure if CC payment would be taken, and I was glad to see that it was.
Things I thought could use improvement/changes:
-Player numbers on the gameday roster. Unlike Patrick, myself and the fans near me did not realize that player jersey numbers matched the order of names in the program.
-Music selection. I realized that this is a personal thing, but I felt the music was quite out of date, and even detracted from the match day experience. People in stands made jokes about "1990s Jock Jams" CDs.
-Announcer overpowered the PA system. I saw on the website that the team is searching for an announcer, but whoever announces needs to make sure that while they are enthusiastic, they don't speak so loudly that their voice is distorted.
Overall, great time, and I intend on joining everyone for matches in the future! Feel free to contact me at JustinR1015 at netscape dot net.
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