The Northampton Saints management has thanked supporters for their compliments and constructive feedback about the new Barwell Stand at Franklin’s Gardens.
The first phase of the £6 million development was completed last week and open for the first time at Saturday’s Aviva Premiership game against Saracens. The game drew a modern-day record attendance of 15,169, which is also the maximum crowd that Franklin’s Gardens can hold until phase two is finished towards the end of 2015.
Chief executive Allan Robson said that while he was happy that the day went relatively smoothly from an operational perspective there are still things to be worked on, and that supporters will continue to see more changes over coming weeks.
“Although we were disappointed by the result on the field, we were pretty satisfied with how things went in and around the stadium,” he said. “The Barwell Stand has been the single biggest change at Franklin’s Gardens in the past decade, but thanks to a massive amount of hard work from all our staff last Saturday was successful from an operational perspective.
“I would also like to thank all our supporters for their continued understanding with the development, for getting to the stadium and into their seats early, and for their general patience.
“I would also like to assure them that we have not finished yet, and over the coming weeks there will more changes, for example with the new Members Bar that will have limited seating and tables introduced, and where we will be displaying the history of the club in a new and imaginative way.
“Meanwhile in the Village we will be using the new Real Ale and Speciality Bar to offer different products on a weekly basis, such as prosecco or mulled wine, and some Welsh ales for this Saturday’s European Rugby Champions Cup game against the Scarlets.
“We have had a lot of constructive comments and feedback, which we will continue to welcome as we strive to maintain our place as the club with the best stadium and match day experience in the Aviva Premiership.”
Tickets are now on general sale for every home Saints game until the New Year, including this Saturday’s European Rugby Champions Cup opener against Pro 12 high flyers Scarlets. Book online at www.northamptonsaints.co.uk/buytickets and use Print@Home to beat the match day queues and save the admin fees!
