People are rightly unhappy with this. The real disappointment for me is that the initial fundraising material and communication included local, independent, high-quality vendors as the centerpiece of the fan zone, of which Libero was prominently advertised:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/altrincham-fc-fan-zone/While I'm sure it does make pure economical sense for the club to DIY, that's not what the fans bought into.
The development of a new Fan Zone at the J Davidson stadium is a collaborative project between Altrincham Football Club, Define Architects and Libero.
Altrincham FC is known for pushing boundaries and innovative thinking, and the vision for Moss Lane 2030 is an exciting glimpse into the ambitious future of the club. Phase one of the Fan Zone will begin this summer as a way to give something back to the loyal supporters and wider community.
Altrincham is a thriving, dynamic town with excellent local businesses and a strong community spirit. Providing an inviting space within the stadium for hospitality and retail vendors both on match days and beyond will vastly enhance the experience for the fans, and provide opportunities for the club itself.
All supporters of this project will be kept up to date with progress, and will be invited to get involved in future phases of the development.
The new Fan Zone will create an inviting space for match days and function hire, and will include a covered canopy area and three custom built pods to provide units for:
Libero pitch side craft beer bar.
Seasonal food vendor.
New home for the existing programme shop.
I do appreciate that COVID, the pitch being knackered, the Council etc have all likely pulled the club's resource away from the project but I always saw Libero as a bit of a glowing ember throughout that period, working as hard as they could to try and get some form of the project off the ground. They were certainly the most public-facing party involved - unfortunately, the club's communication on this has been poor throughout, noted in bold above is a commitment to keeping us up to date and involving us in 'future phases of the development.' And have we heard from Define Architects at all since the grand presentation at the Meet The Board event, a few years back now?
All the while, we've managed to launch a newly refurbished sponsors lounge and rip out the old Noel White Suite for the Vice Presidents, and clubs like Colne have started and completed projects of their own in shorter periods of time.
Ultimately, I'm just disappointed that the club appear to have shafted a business that flies the flag for us so well. I do hope the bridge hasn't been burned entirely.
As for the the fan zone, in whatever form it does finally take, it was created to drive footfall to the ground earlier, and generate more revenue from food and drink. I do not think it will achieve that aim if it is 'standard' bottled and canned options akin to the CSH. The fans who were interested in this project will likely to continue to drink in the town centre pre-game, probably at the bar that we could have had at the ground...