Blues Bar

[JHRover]

I see the club have announced that the Blues Bar will cease to open each day and instead will be just matchday and functions.

Anyone heard any more about this?

I assume just another Waggott cut and downsizing job. Surely in an era of Ffp and non matchday income this sort of thing is important?

I was told previously that the Blues Bar was run separately to the club e.g. wasnt covered by Northcote and that was why they could charge sensible(ish) prices for food and drink.

[Mattyblue]

As other club's look to constantly boost their income streams, we downsize and downsize.

AFC Fylde, currently bottom half of the fifth tier rake it in with their conference centre, hotel, cafe, sportsbar, Italian restaurant. Yet, we are pretty much a shell operation.

The 'Club that Jack Built', ay?

Edited November 28, 2019 by Mattyblue

[tomphil]

Trouble is the era we are in now with pubs and bars closing everywhere, the demographic changing and peoples attitudes to going out.

Pretty inevitable i'd say which is a shame.

[islander200]

Just now, OnePhilT said:

I didn't even know it was open on non-matchdays! Surprised to hear that it was, as I can't imagine it receiving much footfall at all.

I live on nuttall street been in a few times on non match day and place is always empty 

[Nelsonthedog]

It's so sad to watch rovers become a hollow shell of what it once was.. and probably never will be again.

[Mattyblue]

33 minutes ago, MCMC1875 said:

Waggott: 'I want to see this club used every day of the year'.

Well, fresh from closing:

Radio Rovers.

DE lower.

BBE upper.

Legends Lounge after a trial.

He's now closing Blues Bar on non match days.

If he keeps prices high, he will use the lack of attendance argument to close summat else.

Wonder what will be next?

Town centre club shop and cafe too...

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

52 minutes ago, MCMC1875 said:

Waggott: 'I want to see this club used every day of the year'.

Well, fresh from closing:

Radio Rovers.

DE lower.

BBE upper.

Legends Lounge after a trial.

He's now closing Blues Bar on non match days.

If he keeps prices high, he will use the lack of attendance argument to close summat else.

Wonder what will be next?

Or maybe they’re pragmatic business decisions that have been made because no one is making use of the facilities you’ve listed..

We had 11k on last night. I don’t think you can blame the club for shutting parts of the ground if only 1/3rd of it is full.

 

Edited November 28, 2019 by magicalmortensleftpeg

[Doogs]

3 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

As other club's look to constantly boost their income streams, we downsize and downsize.

AFC Fylde, currently bottom half of the fifth tier rake it in with their conference centre, hotel, cafe, sportsbar, Italian restaurant. Yet, we are pretty much a shell operation.

The 'Club that Jack Built', ay?

No one goes in. Thats way its closing.

[Doogs]

1 hour ago, MCMC1875 said:

Waggott: 'I want to see this club used every day of the year'.

Well, fresh from closing:

Radio Rovers.

DE lower.

BBE upper.

Legends Lounge after a trial.

He's now closing Blues Bar on non match days.

If he keeps prices high, he will use the lack of attendance argument to close summat else.

Wonder what will be next?

How and why do you expect all the above to be open when no one uses them...

[old darwen blue]

I used the Darren End lower, I can feel the blood pressure rising, must stop thinking about it........

[Cherry Blue]

Just now, MCMC1875 said:

How about a decent choice of food and drink at reasonable prices.

Wouldn't work sadly. Place is empty mid week, no game weekends and close season. If we don't get back to premiership soon place will close, believe me, and they'll have just the beer tent.

 

Edited November 28, 2019 by Cherry Blue

[Mattyblue]

Just now, Doogs said:

No one goes in. Thats way its closing.

So work on it. New menu’s etc.

Our approach is to just shut stuff down. Fair enough, but don’t then moan about not having enough revenue streams.

[DeeCee]

2 hours ago, MCMC1875 said:

Waggott: 'I want to see this club used every day of the year'.

Well, fresh from closing:

Radio Rovers.

DE lower.

BBE upper.

Legends Lounge after a trial.

He's now closing Blues Bar on non match days.

If he keeps prices high, he will use the lack of attendance argument to close summat else.

Wonder what will be next?

Hope it's the door behind him for the last time

[chaddyrovers]

 

Ive been in Blues bar some times but the place is always dead despite a decent menu but now people habits are changing and with Blackburn not exactly the wealthiest  place in the world. 

Will it real affect me cos I just go the pub down the road

[Stuart]

2 minutes ago, MCMC1875 said:

Ok crowds are poor. Instead of staffing all concourse bars with poor choice at high prices, open one in two.

Stanley sell a good choice including Bowland cask at £2.50 a pint. Catering not contracted out.

Bowland sell their own cask at their Holmes Mill Brewery for summat like £4 a pint.

The prices at Ewood are just not reasonable.

Guess the deal's been done with Sodexho.

Nobody with any business sense at Ewood.

Our concession pricing sums up the club. They would rather charge top dollar and sell very few. A bit like match tickets.

We have a huge empty stadium. Why not try to maximise footfall by making it the best priced stadium around. Do a deal with Wetherspoons about running the concourse bars and the Blues. We just have no imagination, no innovation and no appetite to do anything about it.

Oh for an Andy Holt or a Dave Hawthornthwaite!

[Amo]

Just now, chaddyrovers said:

 

Ive been in Blues bar some times but the place is always dead despite a decent menu but now people habits are changing and with Blackburn not exactly the wealthiest  place in the world. 

Will it real affect me cos I just go the pub down the road

"I'm alright Jack"

[JHRover]

Its got nothing to do with changing habits. As @Mattyblue correctly points out non league minnows like AFC Fylde have built a ground in a field near the motorway yet have a smart Sports Bar open 7 days a week bringing money in for the club. The reality is that like everything else at Rovers it has been left to rot for years then shut down because it doesn't make money. Apply the same principle to the town centre store/cafe, legends lounge. Expect the club shop to be next - only open on matchdays.

The truth is that it follows everything else at Rovers. If it costs money do away with it rather than work out why it isn't working and turn it around. Take the easy money saving option.

Clubs up and down the country have spent the last 20 years desperately trying to redevelop their stadia to obtain the sort of facilities we have to enable them to generate non matchday income and we are going against the flow by shutting things down and not using what we've got.

One of the first things Waggott reckoned he was going to bring to this club as CEO was using Ewood on non matchdays and generating extra revenues. How's that working out now?

 

[JHRover]

Just now, chaddyrovers said:

 

Ive been in Blues bar some times but the place is always dead despite a decent menu but now people habits are changing and with Blackburn not exactly the wealthiest  place in the world. 

Will it real affect me cos I just go the pub down the road

Charge London prices in Blackburn you won't get people buying when there's a plethora of alternatives within a short walk. Accy Stanley sussed that one out a while ago and hey presto its £1 a pint.

[Stuart]

Just now, JHRover said:

Its got nothing to do with changing habits. As @Mattyblue correctly points out non league minnows like AFC Fylde have built a ground in a field near the motorway yet have a smart Sports Bar open 7 days a week bringing money in for the club. The reality is that like everything else at Rovers it has been left to rot for years then shut down because it doesn't make money. Apply the same principle to the town centre store/cafe, legends lounge. Expect the club shop to be next - only open on matchdays.

The truth is that it follows everything else at Rovers. If it costs money do away with it rather than work out why it isn't working and turn it around. Take the easy money saving option.

Clubs up and down the country have spent the last 20 years desperately trying to redevelop their stadia to obtain the sort of facilities we have to enable them to generate non matchday income and we are going against the flow by shutting things down and not using what we've got.

One of the first things Waggott reckoned he was going to bring to this club as CEO was using Ewood on non matchdays and generating extra revenues. How's that working out now?

I’m really worried that this bloke will see us return to the dark days.

John Williams leaving was such a disaster. If the numpties in Pune had just left him to it this club would be thriving right now and they would have saved loads of money and opened their Venkys shops. Maybe even had the Riverside names after them. Shit, with the money saved they could have even redeveloped it first! It’s like we are in some nightmare parallel universe. Meanwhile, in the real world Rovers are where Leicester are and Burnley are in L2!

Bastards!!!

Edited November 28, 2019 by Stuart

[JHRover]

2 hours ago, OnePhilT said:

Just curious @JHRover, but were you a regular, there? If so, it's obviously sad to see it close, but if it's not making money due to lack of customers, then I'm not sure how sensible it is to keep it open as a loss-maker for the club. Sure, it would be nice to keep it open, but if it's there just for that sole reason and, at the same time we're not using it enough, then I'm not sure what else we can expect. We still have a Blues Bar for match-days at least, and if the atmosphere is still reasonably bustling on match-days as I remember it from even a few years ago, then it's still something that we can be grateful to Jack for having.

Let's face it - the club is hardly at the most popular point in its entire history, and although things seem to be improving, the fan-base numbers will continue to pay for previous Mr. Meaners (remember that lad on here who thought that's how it is spelled ?). The club is simply on a long road to recovery, whether we like it or not, and I think it's a bit unfair to lay this on Waggott. He might be insane for thinking that fans would pay those bonkers prices that exist in the concourse, but if people can't afford this "sensibly-priced" Blues Bar, then there are surely wider issues with the economy at play that the club can't do a great deal about.

 

No I very rarely go in and rarely buy any food or drink from the club outlets. I'm a real ale drinker and don't like being ripped off. So I won't be paying £4 or whatever it is for a pint of Fosters or John Smiths.

They could relaunch the Blues Bar. Change the name. Call it the 'Rovers Return' and refurbish it to give it a 'real ale pub' style feel.  If worried about changing habits then what is popular at the moment? Real ale rather than keg beer. Traditional decor and furniture, cask ales on tap, pub grub at sensible prices e.g. not £15 for burger and chips. 

Sheffield Wednesday did it at Hillsborough and opened the 'Hillsborough Tap'.

Give season ticket holders the option of membership for an extra £10 a year. Membership gets you 2 pints per game at a reduced price. Get people into the habit of going in. Market it to local businesses as a place to get a decent lunch during the week. Put a quiz on one night. 

Too much effort though. Just close it.

[chaddyrovers]

Just now, JHRover said:

Charge London prices in Blackburn you won't get people buying when there's a plethora of alternatives within a short walk. Accy Stanley sussed that one out a while ago and hey presto its £1 a pint.

I've just spend the day in Manchester with my missus and seeing some of those prices in some restaurants and we didn't in them. 

The price of Rovers food is similar to Weatherspoon prices for burgers. 

Yes I will agree the prices of pints/drinks or food inside the stadium is overpriced. I don't drink at football matches cos I drive to the games so the prices. 

I don't support Stanley 

[Vinjay]

Just now, JHRover said:

No I very rarely go in and rarely buy any food or drink from the club outlets. I'm a real ale drinker and don't like being ripped off. So I won't be paying £4 or whatever it is for a pint of Fosters or John Smiths.

They could relaunch the Blues Bar. Change the name. Call it the 'Rovers Return' and refurbish it to give it a 'real ale pub' style feel. 

That's an awful idea. Why would you want it to look like a typical public house? People can find those anywhere besides the many that have gone out of business. It should have a sports bar theme being part of a sports stadium.

As for the name how about something creative? That's unlikely though this is the club that chose Rover the Dog in a mascot competition. Why even bother?

[chaddyrovers]

on non match days during the week its dead so why open it? 

Most people are working during Monday till Friday. 

Would I go there on Saturday if I wasn't attend Rovers home game or go to away game? highly unlikely

Would I go there on Sunday to watch Premier League super Sunday games? No

[Stuart]

Just now, chaddyrovers said:

on non match days during the week its dead so why open it? 

Most people are working during Monday till Friday. 

Would I go there on Saturday if I wasn't attend Rovers home game or go to away game? highly unlikely

Would I go there on Sunday to watch Premier League super Sunday games? No

It’s dead because what they are offering is not value for money.

They should do something about that.

Sadly they won’t. They will just shut it down.

[Vinjay]

17 minutes ago, Stuart said:

Our concession pricing sums up the club. They would rather charge top dollar and sell very few. A bit like match tickets.

We have a huge empty stadium. Why not try to maximise footfall by making it the best priced stadium around. Do a deal with Wetherspoons about running the concourse bars and the Blues. We just have no imagination, no innovation and no appetite to do anything about it.

Oh for an Andy Holt or a Dave Hawthornthwaite!

Isn't one bad enough?