Another update for you to try and keep you informed what the MKDSA committee are up to as one of the biggest criticisms in the past of the supporter’s association has been that fans have no idea of what is going on behind the scenes.
The MKDSA membership continues to rise as more and more people sign up, and in basic terms, the more that sign up the more we can do for you the fans. Our focus has been on getting the Fan Bar right, but we won’t be doing that forever and we would like to turn our attentions to other projects, sadly most of those involve money so we are reliant on fans joining or sponsorship. To that end we are pleased recently to have received a kind donation from the CazBar for the season, with an additional pledge for next season as well. We are extremely grateful to Caz and his team and hope you will continue to support the best matchday catering in the league.
Membership for the season is just £3 for an adult (other membership packages are available) and for that we include you in our monthly members draw.
This month we are giving away a matchday experience where the winner and their guest will go down pitchside and watch the pre-match warm up from close quarters, plus an opportunity to be interviewed by the MKFM Matchday Live show ahead of the kick-off.
For the end of season draw we have acquired a Club Black box for the Shrewsbury Town game on April 2nd, 2022. The box holds 10 people, so we are giving away 5 pairs of tickets for that match to lucky winners and their guest. Tickets for this experience would normally be over £100 per person, but you could win two tickets for just £3 by joining the MKDSA. There are two ways to join, either in person at the MKDSA stand in the Fan Bar or online via the MKDSA website, it really is, quick and easy.
The Fan Bar….and it’s no secret that its going to be called Lewington’s and it’s scheduled to be opened officially by the skipper at our next home game against Rotherham on Saturday. Branding of the bar and entrance is already well underway and hopefully we won’t have to delay the opening, but we will keep you up to speed with news on that as we get it.
Of course, we cannot talk about the Fan Bar (Lewington’s) without mentioning one or two other important issues. It’s obvious that its going to get cold in the bar and we have constantly reminded the club that the winter months are almost upon us, and work needs to be done to make it warmer, sooner or later people are not going to want to sit up there if its bitterly cold. I’m pleased to say the club have acknowledged this and are committed to getting the area closed off to the elements as soon as possible, hopefully that will come sooner rather than later.
One thing we must mention is the superb amount of donations given by fans so we can adorn the walls with memorabilia, we have been blown away with your generosity and we still have many such items still to go up, but we are still happy to take anything else you may have hidden away in cupboards or the loft, just contact one of the MKDSA committee and we can arrange collection or delivery.
Another issue is the bar itself; it has grown so popular before the game its almost outgrown itself in just a matter of weeks. We understand the frustrations of the fans seeing the line waiting for drinks to be served, we are equally as concerned that this could be another reason to put fans off going to the bar, and it’s frustrating to the MKDSA team that have put in so much effort to make it feel like our home.
With that in mind the MKDSA have engaged in dialogue with two breweries local to MK who produce craft beers, ciders, and lagers with an aim to providing a pop-up stand in Lewington’s. I’m pleased to say the club have agreed to this and we have already had a meeting at the stadium to progress this project. Although we have not had a definitive answer, we very much hope that the additional bar will be in place for the Cambridge United game on November 13th, If that comes off and works, we are contemplating getting an additional food outlet in the bar, more news on that in our next update.
We have also spoken to the club regarding having the bar open one night a month (when insulated) and having a club night, a quiz night is one thing on the agenda, and we are after suggestions for other types of functions.
We are also looking at getting some live entertainment in Lewington’s ahead of kick off, I did have a conversation with one such gentleman who posts on here and Facebook, so if he has any updates, perhaps he can drop me a DM and we can see if we can progress that.
Whilst we have been working on getting the bar right, we have not lost sight on the many other issues that frustrate fans and we have had regular Zoom meetings with the club to try and iron out the issues whilst offering a fans opinion to the club. It’s not been easy, and frustrating at times what with the issues of the Spurs game, the season ticket issues, digital tickets, travel arrangements, a cashless stadium, and a lot more besides. I’m pleased to say that the club are listening to what we have to say and are becoming more engaged with the MKDSA as of course they should and acting on some of our concerns. I’m not going to say it’s a perfect world just yet, but we are getting there, and I don’t want fans to think that by airing their complaints to us those things are going to miraculously improve as soon as we point things out to the club, they aren’t, we can only highlight issues, it’s up to the club to act.
One thing that has not yet come up for any sort of meaningful discussion are the games against AFC Wimbledon. The MKDSA have made it very clear how they stand on bubble arrangements so we have no doubts we will be having some very interesting conversations soon.
That’s all for now, don’t forget join the MKDSA today.
#TogetherAsOne
