Kent CC (N/G)

feewaybill

feewaybill

Vital Youth Team
I visited Canterbury yesterday evening to take in the T20 with Surrey. What a bloody shambles.

I can forgive the fact that the game was abandoned due to the rain, that's just bad luck, but KCC offered up the WORSE facilities I have experienced at any spectator event attended in say the last 5 years.

I know there are never enough seats so made sure I got there early, but the encroachment of corporate tents has reduced viewing for the paying public even further. The sale of various areas has reduced the ground to a sad and desperate facility with no investment for the paying public.

From the start it was clear there were not enough catering points so there were unacceptable queues at every station, and there were even less toilets so ridiculously longer queues for these. It got to the point where they had to station crowd management in the trees to prevent those desperate relieving themselves. You couldn't make it up.

And the game was continually interrupted by some poor lass from local radio interviewing selected members of the crowd on the 'large screen'. On one occasion the players were unable to start the next over because we were waiting to find out what a stag party planned to do next. WTF...

I won't be returning any time soon, and next time I want to watch Kent I'll travel away.

If anyone wants a sense check on the facilities at Priestfield take a trip down to Canterbury. Fred Karno's Circus.
 
I blame KCCC rather than the Council but I agree that, if it can be fucked up, then Kent will do so. Canterbury is not sustainable and why they played Surrey there instead of Beckenham, God only knows, but even then the facilities would have been grossly inadequate. The Cricket Club has been alienating supporters for years and it continues, it seems.
 
As a Kent supporter of.many years standing I naively thought that when they announced redevelopment at Canterbury, that at least some of that would improve facilities for the public. Sadly, apart from the cafe, that seems to have been completely ignored. When decisions were made, we could have gone down the Hampshire or Glamorgan route. Sadly, from a facilities standpoint, we are more like a Leicester or Northampton.
 
I was a ST holder in the 70's. What a shambles now. Pathetically amateur. Really sad how the ground has shrunk as if it's a small space in a housing estate. Cretinous mismanagement over the years from a really strong base 40 years ago. It's not as if all the sell offs bought success.

I will say that this season we have at least performed better on all fronts.

They need to use Beckenham more for these one dayers.

Don't even get me started on f###ing corporates ( who we, the customers, ultimately pay for).
 
I also went last night for the first time in a few years. I was surprised by how big the crowd was, given the dodgy weather.
Had no trouble getting a good seat with a side on view of the wickets, but the tannoy system was worse than Priestfield’s, so couldn’t really hear anything about who was coming in to bat or what was going on generally, ie who won the toss etc. Not really knowing any of the players this made it frustrating. Also I couldn’t properly hear the KMFM presenter as she interviewed random people from the crowd.

The manual scoreboard was very slow to update and sometimes wrong, but the big screen was good at showing replays of wickets etc.
The Lime Tree Cafe is a new addition since I last went, so took shelter from the rain in there after Surrey’s innings, but there were huge queues inside, and some confusion over whether people were queuing for the toilets or the cafe!
The new retirement flats only set back a few metres from the boundary do spoil the look of the ground, and most residents were out on their balconies watching the match.
I think the corporate tents were there for Canterbury cricket week so wouldn't be there normally.
One point that annoyed me was the Dover Road park and ride was advertised on the Kent website as being only £1 after 4pm, but no, it was the standard daily rate of £3.50 as apparently the council have recently put the prices up!
Kent were at least saved from a probable thrashing by the weather.
 
I thought they were playing Surrey - another tale of woe from a supporter and I'm sure many will share the experience with similar negative reports.

I'm a life member and a few years back was told in a casual letter from a junior that I was considered a financial burden and all privileges effectively withdrawn.

That's how to treat the fans.
 
Wayne.Kerr said:
I thought they were playing Surrey - another tale of woe from a supporter and I'm sure many will share the experience with similar negative reports.

I'm a life member and a few years back was told in a casual letter from a junior that I was considered a financial burden and all privileges effectively withdrawn.

That's how to treat the fans.
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And people complain about PS!
 
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