A fans forum was held in Radfords on Saturday.
Hereford chairman Chris Ammonds took the meeting with general manager Jamie Griffiths at his side.
Around 70 supporters listened to the questions and answers.
The first subject discussed was the new floodlights and the delay in getting them in operation. The chairman said that when the contractors had dug the holes for the lighting column they found that the water table was higher than expected. Therefore they decided to stop work and redesign the bottom of the columns. As well they will put more concrete into the bases to ensure their stability. The extra work will have to be paid for but hopefully this will be covered by grants. It's not yet known when the work will be completed.
Next club finances. As reported earlier the club made a profit of circa £120K last season. Some of this profit has been put into reserves. The club made around £100K ( not £160K as originally reported in this article ) from the FA Cup run but Ammonds made the point that you can't budget for that every season. Hereford are already out of the FA Cup this season. Manager Paul Caddis's budget is up 15% this season.
The Main Stand roof. Ammonds said that the last annual inspection of the stadium said that the roof of the main stand would need to be replaced in the next two years. Initial estimates say the cost would be around £150K. The work would take around eight weeks so would need to be done out of season. It was hoped grant funding would cover the cost but this wasn't certain as yet.
The Hereford Suite. There are problems with the roof which is not water-tight. Estimates to put matters right are around £50K.
Streaming of games. The chairman was asked if the club was making any money from this. He felt there would be very little profit from streaming this season.
The cost of watching games. A question was asked about the age of concession tickets and whether that could be lowered to age 60. The view from the chair was that 65 was reasonable. Half season tickets would be on sale soon. 'It is very difficult to set prices' said Ammonds. Prices for the FA Trophy games will be a little bit lower this season to 'give a little back'.
The Blackfriars End. No news on any progress. Ammonds set to meet with the Council this week to discuss the future. It was revealed that the Meadow End currently has a capacity of 1783 and when it is closed for renewal that 1783 would need to be spread around the ground. So there is a view that the bigger the stand in the Blackfriars End the better.
Profits from the club shop has noticably improved. Ammonds praised the work of those volunteers who run it in particular John Sadler.
Recent article about National North League club's budgets. The chairman felt that whilst many of the figures reported might be accurate he wasn't sure what budgets included. For example was it just the playing budget or did it include staff as well.
Hereford FC or Hereford United. The chairman pointed out that he wasn't involved in the decision as he wasn't a member of HUST or a shareholder. Mention was made that some young fans only knew the club as Hereford FC. There was the financial consideration of making a change which some thought would be more that the 'Bring Back United' had suggested. Another view was that the vast majority of supporters did not have a say on the matter.
The meeting lasted around one hour and at the end the chairman said that would continue to hold fans forums on a regular basis.