Notes from the August Supporters’ Forum Drop-In
Chair: Phil Tooley; Vice-Chair, Marcia Bigg.
Also present: Pete Whiteley (PW) Supporters’ Liaison Officer; PC Adam Collins (Derbyshire Constabulary) (PC), Committee Members and 18 others.
Matters arising from previous meetings:
1. Away match ticketing.
New system now operative with points based on away tickets purchased via CFC only. Points for tickets bought from away clubs will be difficult to administer and will not count. The system will be reviewed but points acquired over three years will count towards the total at this stage. This may be reduced to two years in the future. PW (Pete Whiteley) emphasised that the wording used, rather than the process, is the main problem.
Multiple ticket purchases are capable of being allocated to individual accounts.
No issues arose last season in acquiring seats for away matches for wheelchair users.
2. Season tickets.
PW reported that approximately 5290 had been sold, which was similar to last season.
3. Fleetwood (away): 8 August 2026.
To be noted that Blackpool Airshow at Squires Gate would be taking place concurrently and there will be likely to be traffic delays.
Other Matters.
The Club Heritage Group provides plaques for former Spireites who had progressed to play for England. Particular mention made of Willis Edwards from Newton who went on to captain England, Sam Hardy, Gordon Banks, Kevin Davies and Aaron Ramsdale.
8. The Supporters’ Outside Bar has been moved by about 30 metres in the interests of security.
The meeting closed at 20.20.
Chesterfield FC Supporters’ Forum Committee Meeting.
Notes of Meeting held at The Hub on 15 August 2026 at 10.00.
Present: Phil Tooley (Chair); Pete Whiteley and Paul Stankard (CFC); Adam Collins (Derbyshire Constabulary) and Committee members- Mark Barton, Marcia Bigg, John Church, Stella Mitchell and Adele Thomson.
Apologies: Luke Searston
In reference to the make-up of the committee an invitation was put out for anyone interested in taking up a position.
Theres was just one expression of interest from Darren Yates who is part of the RainbowSpireites.
It was agreed that any members of an official supporters’ group will have a place on the supporters committee. If there was suddenly an uptick in official supporter groups, then a limit would have to placed on members.
It was discussed the amount of work and visibility that the Rainbow Spireites have the community.
Chesters Champions
There was no recent uptake of volunteers to be a Chesters Champion and that they currently had 8 regular volunteers. It was suggested that this would be pushed more when the new family/community stand was due to be launched properly for the Barnet game on the 5thSeptember 2026
Toilets and Ancillary
There was an issue with malfunctioning paper towel dispensers, this is to be monitored. It was stated that cleaners are on duty throughout a match so any issues should be notified and rectified fairly quickly.
In reference to provision of free sanitary product that had been noted as available at other grounds, members of the supporter’s group to liaise with the club with ideas. Maybe look into local companies being able to support.
It was also suggested that each stand could have a volunteer representative that could report any issues directly.
Ticketing & Points System
The introduction of the points system for away tickets had generally been well accepted. It was just the timing and wording of the announcement that was off.
The club to make a final decision on the period when points will drop off and it was suggested after two years the oldest point will drop off.
There was discussion of fans buying tickets just to get away points. For example, there were 150 no shows, maybe this is something that can be monitored.
Coaches
Due to the issue with the late coaches to Fleetwood, the coach company, Wilfreda Beehive apologised for the service and the inexperience of the drivers they sent. A refund was issued to club from Wifreda that allowed the club to refund the fans who had travelled by coach.
The Zone
The Zone has been moved to a new position for safety reasons, and more outlets are to be added to create a better outdoor fan zone with the hope that shelter can be provided at a later date. This area is being run by an external catering/hospitality company and due to issues with paperwork there will be a delay in opening.
Family/Community Stand
The tuck shop will be moved from the East Stand.
There was a strong desire to get the Young Spireites up and running again and it is the general consensus to make this a priority to keep younger fans engaged.
A suggestion for a kid’s questionnaire was made to ask the younger fans what they would like to have at the stadium
A suggestion of having a small desk on the concourse that kids could fill out and hand in the questionnaires.
Drums
There is an issue with fans on the East Stand regarding the loudness of the away fan’s drums at times. There was a call to have them banned. It has always been the norm to allow drums on a reciprocal basis. Could there be an agreement the away fans with a drum are placed in the far top corner of the away stand.
Safeguarding/H&S/EDI
Everything is all on track and the club will begin work to increase its status from Bronze to Silver for EDI
The club has volunteered to be a pilot club for the upcoming IFR and preparations are underway to submit the first application. Once feedback has been received improvement can be made.
The fans questionnaire which will be part of the new IFR was discussed. Time constraintsand the appointment of a new commercial director were part of the issue that feedback from the last questionnaire hadn’t been published. Going forward the club are looking at ways to restructure the questionnaire and use technology better before issuing to the fans. A suggestion of an incentive to complete the questionnaire was also discussed as it was thought a number of long-term fans may not be bothered to complete it.
AOB
Lack of communication from the club was raised again. One incident regarding a personalised shirt, the club failed to email the buyer to let them know the item was ready for collection. They were told they were too busy to email back. Another incident was someone trying to boo hospitality.
It was noted there seemed to be a reluctance by the club to publish the minutes of the meeting. If there is no response from the club within 72 hours of receiving the minutes, then they will be issued.
Out of date website, this is in hand and will be updated.
Members of the committee re-iterated that if the club are in need of fan input or any help then to please reach out to the supporters committee.
Next Meeting: 24th October 2026
