Half full South Stand. Go back five years it was filled most matches.

You can argue the point all you like, I attend football as well as rugby, and can absoulutely assure you if we are talking 18-25 year old's, the amount of this age range at football compared to rugby is literally ten fold. Probably, as harsh as it sounds because its more "edgey" and cool to go to football than rugby these days.

So because crowds for sunday games are smaller, the club are going to move games to a sunday to try and attract fans?

As a bloke who goes watching Latics and the rugby you probably have a point, although by the same token football could say they have a real problem attracting women to games. If I go to a Latics away game, the crowd is made up of 80-90% males, between the ages of 12-60. A big reason behind that is the lads culture and that element of hooliganism that exists with the vast majority of football clubs. Away days feel like you’re on a stag do/lads day out but that doesn’t then making it an ideal atmosphere to entice in females or families.

The ideal is that you have it all ways but it’s difficult. I don’t think the answer is banning the Riversiders from the Fanzone because they’re not ‘cool’ enough.

You just sound like the average Football supporter!

Did anyone suggest "Banning them"?

The trouble i have with it is that it becomes an event/place that is sculpted in a particular way to suit one particular demographic and that in itself either lends itself to or against each individuals perception of what it should be.
I virtually never went into the south stand and any inclination I did have to make the fan zone my pre or post match location of choice has been eroded because I didn't like the feel of how the SS Bar pre and post match was run and feel too many similarities may exist.
I would rather it have organically grown and as others have said theres nothing stopping the Riversiders selling tickets or whatever (and I dont give a toss about reserved seats). But they have their events st their own riversiders meetings and I dont feel as though the fan zone becoming an extension of that organisation helps.
I'm 50/50 on the attracting new fans argument.
We have got an ageing demographic, but it's always been that way.
I dont want the "football, more edgy feel" and dont think its needed unless you want to go down a particular route (and most people know my feelings on that).
But as someone who is involved in 2 organisations that IMO are suffering because of an ageing demographic I can tell you that there is an element of people that want things run in the 2020's because that's how they did it the 1970s/80s/90s and im afraid those organisations will wither and die because the older element dont want to change. And as someone who sits mid way between both camps (but more towards the older age, I'm 48) I've always thought that we have to constantly evolve.
Having a band pre match, yeah,
Different surroundings and money going to the club, yeah
Club shop etc, yeah
I wont say the words JTB and others have used but I agree and it just sounds a bit same.old same old.
I had a free pass Sunday post game, I didnt take much persuading to go into town rather than listen to the interviews being described on here.

You know what?
Scrap that, I'm blaming the Riversiders!

Typing my reply and I've gone straight through my stop and now half hour wait plus return trip to get back to where I should have been 10mins ago!!!!

Banning them is obviously a strong term and nobody has suggested that but plenty have said they should be stopped from doing this, that and the other. Maybe they should be given less influence but it’ll make no difference to me either way. I’m not over thinking what the bar is meant to be in all honesty. I see it as a place to have a pint before the game with other fans and put money in the clubs pockets. I’ve not done that in the South Stand since probably 2007/2008 (at a guess) because the money didn’t go to the club. Maybe not having that 10+ years worth of going in the South Stand bar has meant I’ve not had the chance for them to get on my nerves.

We’ll see how the facility evolves but it’s been a positive start IMO.

Nowt worse mate, well there is, I once fell asleep on the last train back to Wigan from Manchester and when I woke up I was in Blackburn. It took me a few minutes to work out that to be in Blackburn, I’d got the wrong train in the first place....and then fell asleep on it

I had the umpteen pints of Guinness to blame it on mind

Pull the other one