Are kids allowed in Dick's Bar?

[Easy 10]

How do those with children have a choice, exactly? They can go to a cold concourse or nowhere (pre-game).

Well now you're talking about who's choice it is that you are going to take away. If fans bringing children want a pre-match beer then they have the concourse (not all of which are cold), or The Swan. You believe people should not have the option of choosing to have a drink in the one small part of the ground which is a child-free area. You believe that choice should be removed from everyone, and that no bar at the stadium should be off-limits to kids.

I disagree.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Protective , well being vehemently against children being admitted.

They could click 10 or 20 in per match perhaps.

The only time I went in there a guy had taken his kids in , but the uproar this created ensured he had to leave, drinks ordered or not.

I'll reword the question. Who are the 'I sat next to Dick Knight at Withdean' brigade and how are they involved in "protectively guarding" the admission rules that apply to Dick's Bar?

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Well now you're talking about who's choice it is that you are going to take away. If fans bringing children want a pre-match beer then they have the concourse (not all of which are cold), or The Swan. You believe people should not have the option of choosing to have a drink in the one small part of the ground which is a child-free area. You believe that choice should be removed from everyone, and that no bar at the stadium should be off-limits to kids.

I disagree.

Sorry but that's a bullshit way of looking at it. Pre match there are TWO choices of places to drink or socialise. The concourse of your stand, or the 'Supporters' Bar'. One important group of supporters is denied any choice.

Crucially, the choice they are denied is the ONLY place where people with tickets in different stands can meet pre-match.

Trying to include The Swan in this discussion is pathetic straw-clutching.

 

[Brian Fantana]

Sorry but that's a bullshit way of looking at it. Pre match there are TWO choices of places to drink or socialise. The concourse of your stand, or the 'Supporters' Bar'. One important group of supporters is denied any choice.

Crucially, the choice they are denied is the ONLY place where people with tickets in different stands can meet pre-match.

Trying to include The Swan in this discussion is pathetic straw-clutching.

Is it not then equally unfair for those who want to have a drink without children around to not have a suitable location at the ground?

 

[Brovion]

My God, that's badly written. I KNOW you don't care about the music. I paraphrased and I don't have the quote, just a good memory. My point is very clear, I think that you and the other farts are hypocrites to demand a special little area away from other football fans at a football match...attended by children. As you and the others misanthropes have said, we're here for the football, not for an adult only drinking experience.

My God I've seen some crap arguments, some crap reasoning and some crap logic on NSC and that's up there with the best of them. Surprised at you.

 

[Deleted User X18H]

I'll reword the question. Who are the 'I sat next to Dick Knight at Withdean' brigade and how are they involved in "protectively guarding" the admission rules that apply to Dick's Bar?

Erm.... a lot of the people who suggest that sat near Dick Knight at Withdean. I don't know their names. But the few times I have been in the bar , there does appear to be a 'clique ' relating to the very subject of of kids being admitted. Perhaps they were consulted regarding the admission rules. I am sure someone was.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Erm.... a lot of the people who suggest that sat near Dick Knight at Withdean. I don't know their names. But the few times I have been in the bar , there does appear to be a 'clique ' relating to the very subject of of kids being admitted. Perhaps they were consulted regarding the admission rules. I am sure someone was.

As someone who WAS involved in the early discussions about the principle of a supporters' bar (and - on one occasion did sit near DK at Withdean, but only because the ticket office sold me a ticket in the North Stand for some Tin Pot Cup match), I can report that the first proposal that I heard from the Club was one that would have had the supporters' bar only open on NON-MATCH DAYS. Once DK and Derek Chapman had intervened to ensure that this ridiculous idea was dumped, I don't recall any consultation about admitting kids or not.

But since Dick's Bar isn't the supporters' bar that was originally requested, I would assume that the rules that now apply are simply those decided by the Football Club's management (possibly with one eye on the licensing authority's requirements).

 

[Buzzer]

My God I've seen some crap arguments, some crap reasoning and some crap logic on NSC and that's up there with the best of them. Surprised at you.

Blimey. Ordinarily, I'd brush that off but seeing as its you, and I always respect your opinions, I'll try to explain my position and I'd be interested in your rebuttal. Apologies for any repetition.

I got shouted down on here for asking for the club to do something special for children on match days. I got told that we're here for the footie not the music and that there was a large part of the crowd who wouldn't like my request.

Dick's Bar is something special for a certain type of bloke on match days. The argument that we're here for the footie not the drinking experience doesn't wash, apparently. The fact that a large part of the crowd can't participate is also not important.

I find it difficult to reconcile those two positions and I do think they're analogous. If you add in that it's the supporters bar, that is the only place fans from different stands can mingle pre-match, that we seem to be the only club who does this. I think it's pathetic.

 

[Easy 10]

Sorry but that's a bullshit way of looking at it. Pre match there are TWO choices of places to drink or socialise. The concourse of your stand, or the 'Supporters' Bar'. One important group of supporters is denied any choice.

Crucially, the choice they are denied is the ONLY place where people with tickets in different stands can meet pre-match.

Trying to include The Swan in this discussion is pathetic straw-clutching.

Its not a bullshit way of looking at it at all. Whether you like or agree with them or not, thems the facts and thems the choices. If you have young children who require your care and attention, then there is sometimes going to be an element of parental sacrifice that comes with that, in that they will not always be admissable everywhere you want to go.

If people with children who have friends in different stands wanted to meet pre-match at the stadium for beerage, then maybe they should've bought tickets for the same stand. Otherwise, arrange to meet in a pub somewhere else beforehand. I don't see why the choice of having a drink in a bar at the Amex without children should be binned in order to cater for that. Dicks only holds a relative handfull of people anyway, its not like 10,000 miserable parents are moping around the concourse with their kids thinking "oh I SO MUCH want to be in Dicks bar with Bob over in the West".

You're never going to please everyone.

 

[Hillian1]

I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would want to go in there in the first place.

Once was enough for me before Blackpool last season, mutual backslapping galore. It seemed to be the done thing to speak as LOUD as is possible about how long you'd been going for.

Strange thing was, I only recognised about 2 or 3 faces from Withdean.

 

[somerset]

Is it not then equally unfair for those who want to have a drink without children around to not have a suitable location at the ground?

But Brian, that would not fit with the HKFS view of the world. Its ok to bar adults from the ESL if they dont have a child to bring along, but its not ok to bar children from Dicks. Its a fairly sterile place to be honest, but it is a place where you can enjoy an adult ambiance, such as it is.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

But Brian, that would not fit with the HKFS view of the world. Its ok to bar adults from the ESL if they dont have a child to bring along, but its not ok to bar children from Dicks. Its a fairly sterile place to be honest, but it is a place where you can enjoy an adult ambiance, such as it is.

I think you'd better check your facts petal. Come back to me if you will, with the details of which parts of the ESL anybody, with or without children, is barred from.

 

[nail-Z]

I shall mentally categorise this thread as "if this is what people are moaning about there isn't much else wrong at the club" and move on.

As you were...

 

[Easy 10]

I think you'd better check your facts petal. Come back to me if you will, with the details of which parts of the ESL anybody, with or without children, is barred from.

Aren't those without a child attending with them banned from the family stand ?

 

[Puppet Master]

And just to clarify, Dick's are not allowed in kids

 

[hans kraay fan club]

I shall mentally categorise this thread as "if this is what people are moaning about there isn't much else wrong at the club" and move on.

As you were...

I agree with that assessment, and honestly - I've absolutely zero desire to go into Dick's Bar on a matchday, in any case. I do however, take issue with the presumption that all children are incapable of decent behaviour, and whilst I've no wish to use the facility, do feel that people should have the same choices as to whether or not they do so.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Aren't those without a child attending with them banned from the family stand ?

1. No they're not. I've been to plenty of evening matches without my kids, as have large numbers of people throughout the family seating area.

2. As stated earlier in the thread, there is NO 'Family Stand', in respect of a dedicated area / facilities / concourse. It only exists as a couple of blocks of seats. There is no concourse / bar / kiosk / turnstile / toilet / programme seller anywhere in the East stand that any supporter, with or without children is precluded from using.

 

[kevtherev]

Eh? That's putting the cart before the horse. Take it from the top - we're here for the football. There's a group of blokes who say they don't want children in one of the bars (the supporters bar no less, what message does that send?). Surely the logical response is that this is a community football stadium for football fans of all types not just for the petty-minded.

No other club does this adults-only gubbins. It's frankly pathetic but yes.....it is a soulless canteen and the old farts are welcome to it. I'm just enjoying pointing out the hypocrisy.

It sends out the message, that children are not allowed in a restricted area that sells booze at certain times of the week. Just like every pub in the country and bloody right too!!!!!

 

[ali jenkins]

Is there no chance that during the week Dick's is conciderd more of a cafe/restaurant type place and kids will be fine in there. On match days, it is very much a bar and under the licensing of a bar kids as not allowed?

 

[Easy 10]

1. No they're not. I've been to plenty of evening matches without my kids, as have large numbers of people throughout the family seating area.

2. As stated earlier in the thread, there is NO 'Family Stand', in respect of a dedicated area / facilities / concourse. It only exists as a couple of blocks of seats. There is no concourse / bar / kiosk / turnstile / toilet / programme seller anywhere in the East stand that any supporter, with or without children is precluded from using.

I stand corrected on point 1 then, but the policy must have changed. I specifically remember when they were first selling season tickets that the club were stating you would NOT be allowed in the family stand without a child in attendence, and some folk were (justifiably) aggravated at this because they don't always take their kids to evening games, and would have to fanny about contacting the club to switch to another area if their child wasn't attending.

As for your 2nd point, I wouldn't expect any supporter to be precluded from using any of those facilities, why would they ?
Doesn't mean you can't have one small area of the ground for supporters without their kids in tow though, does it ? I just don't see the harm in it, but we're clearly never going to agree on that so I'm gonna leave it there.