The Club hosted its second and final Fans' Forum of the 2022/23 campaign at Portman Road yesterday evening.
Town's Manager, Kieran McKenna, CEO, Mark Ashton, and Chairman, Mike O'Leary were on the panel in the Sir Bobby Robson Suite.
A wide variety of football and off-the-field topics were discussed, with seven of the key talking points detailed below.
Supporters can also watch the Forum back in full at the bottom of this article.
Cobbold Stand
Mark was asked about the future of the Cobbold Stand at Portman Road.
He said: "We’re working on a masterplan with the local authority on the stadium and the land around the stadium. I think the likelihood is that, at some point, we would look towards rebuilding the Cobbold Stand.
"It would certainly need to go back across the road and there are different ways in which you can do that. That will all link to what facilities we look to put within that stand.
"That project is very much in its infancy. It’s a medium to longer-term desire and there is no timeline at the moment. Someone showed me some drawings on social media that had been circulated over the last week or so; please ignore them. It won’t look like that.
"The question about it being a one-tier stand is a really interesting one. One of the things that we debate in the stadium is the atmosphere, noise and the tannoy system.
"I don’t think the two tiers help us around the stadium. It’s a little bit disjointed. I’m a fan of a one-tier stand. The reality is, again, that it will depend on what facilities we put within that stand.
"It’s something that we are definitely thinking about and are working with the local authority and highways about. It’s important that we have the space to build there as and when we want to, and potentially increase capacity."
Season ticket sales & memberships
Kieran was asked about the impact of Town's supporters, both home and away, with Mark then providing an update on season ticket sales and the current memberships scheme.
Town's Manager said: "The atmosphere that is being created and the numbers that are coming to the games is a massive attraction for players. I think every player who has played against us this year would have come away thinking; ‘wow, what a football club that would be to play at'.
"Some of the players we’ve signed from Premier League clubs are coming here and playing in front of the biggest crowds they ever have. It’s a privilege, an honour and a big boost for the players.
"In terms of the away support, the players are so appreciative and it genuinely helps us win games. From the minute we get off the bus at the away games, we feel that support. What end the supporters are at can impact in-game strategies; there has been games where the fans were behind a certain goal and we’ve said we wanted a fast start, so we’ve gone towards our fans in the first half."
Mark added: "Last season, I remember sitting with senior management and saying we want 18,000 season ticket holders. We hit 18,000. We will cap season tickets this season at 21,000. My advice to those wanting to get season tickets or renew, is to do it pretty quickly. That’s slightly more than we were going to cap it at, but I think we’ll hit it, and we’ll hit it pretty quickly.
"All memberships are currently being reviewed but there are no details yet and nothing is set in stone. With regards to away games, the reality is that we’ve only had challenges for two games this season, and that’s been for Cambridge and Forest Green.
"I don’t see any major changes imminently but I can see some tweaks with it. I understand that there is a frustration with that in League One. If we are in the Championship it becomes a little bit easier because of the away allocation. The bigger challenge, I think, will be getting your season tickets for the home games, because there isn’t going to be many."
Finances and player trading
Mike spoke about the Club's financial accounts that were released earlier this week, with Mark then elaborating on the budget for player transfers.
The Club's Chairman said: "I remember saying right at the beginning that we’d done a study of the various areas that needed investment and that we thought were important.
"We ranked them and put together a plan to find how much we need to invest over a time period. That played a part in listing what we needed to do and putting it into our budgeting process.
"At the beginning, we had a budget that was very detailed and covered the first three years. It also had some variations depending on what league we were in. Clearly, in the Championship we would have different requirements from those that we have in League One.
"Given all of that, there are no surprises in the accounts that have been signed off for the year ending June 2022. There is nothing in there that is particularly different from how we intended it to be at the beginning.
"We’ve got a long-term plan to build the Club and to restore some of the investment that we feel was missing. That is everything from the training ground to the turnstiles, to the bars, to the carpet, to the players. The plan looks rock solid."
Mark continued: "You’ll have heard me talk about player trading, and that is simply the buying and selling of players at all age groups.
"Since we’ve been here, you’ve seen us spend money on players; [Harry] Clarke from Arsenal, [Nathan] Broadhead from Everton, Leif [Davis] from Leeds, [Conor] Chaplin from Barnsley, [Wes] Burns from Fleetwood, George [Edmundson] from Rangers - the list goes on.
"We spend money on transfer fees and we pay, probably bar none, the largest transfer fees outside of the Championship. We have also paid transfer fees larger than the majority of the Championship over the last few years.
"What people don’t see is that we buy and sell; so we have sold players as well. You will read in the press the amount it has been reported we’d paid for players and it isn’t too far away. If you take last year, this year and the forecast for next year and you look at the money we’ve spent against the money we’ve brought in; the cash we’ve spent is close to zero. That is player trading and that is what we do.
"I think that is a pretty good return having spent almost nothing. Look at the value that we now have on the pitch. If we decided that we wanted to sell someone, then we’d be a lot better off than zero. The value of the team, for what we’ve spent, is really good. That will continue to grow, also because we’ve got a manager who certainly knows how to develop those players."
Portman Road tours
Mark was asked about whether tours will return at Portman Road.
He said: "On matchdays, we still do them. The mascots and a lot of other initiatives and teams have tours because we bump into them!
"Part of the challenge we have at the moment is that parts of Portman Road are still under construction and is still a building site. That is going to be a challenge again through the summer. The pitch is going to be the biggest infrastructure project the Club has undertaken in two years.
"Tours will come back, yes, but that will need to happen when the time is right."
Players in the community
Kieran was asked about the first-team squad giving back to the local community through Club and Ipswich Town Foundation player visits.
He said: "It’s really important. I’m always proud to see it and really proud to lead that group. I know that the Club and the Foundation does some fantastic work and I know that there are certain things they are invited to.
"I see how ready they are to go and willing they are to put themselves forward, and how they want to go over and above to do extras beyond the requirements.
"I know how positively they talk about those things behind closed doors as well. It’s well-publicised some of the work they’re doing; George’s [Edmundson’s] work with the disability teams, how much he has a passion for that and how he really enjoys connecting with those people is fantastic to see, Sam’s [Morsy’s] work with the refugee project recently and that again, was something really individual to him and really important to him and his family.
"I was speaking to Conor [Chaplin] after the Frame Football session he went to on Sunday morning. That’s something that is quite relevant to me and my family with a niece of mine. Conor was speaking to me about how much he enjoyed it, and that’s after a big game at Derby on the Saturday. He was saying he loved it, the kids were amazing and that he couldn’t believe how they moved the ball with the frame. The feeling you get back from the players when they go to these things is really genuine. I’ve been around football long enough to know that it isn’t always the case. Sometimes it’s considered just part of the job but with this group of players and this community, I feel that the connection is really genuine."
Fleetwood beamback
Following the success of the Portman Road beamback for Town's away fixture against Cambridge, Mark was asked if the Club will be hosting one for the final game of the 2022/23 season, which sees the Blues travel to Fleetwood.
He said: "We are discussing that at the moment. We are formally allowed to do one more because you are only allowed to do two per season.
"We would need to make formal representation to the league and to the broadcasters to do that. We’ll make that decision over the next week or so but it’s certainly a strong possibility."
Town TV
Mark was asked for an update on Town TV, which will replace the iFollow service currently in operation at the Club.
He said: "We’ve talked about that since day one. We’ve formally informed the EFL that we are exiting the iFollow platform ahead of next season. That means that Town TV will be in operation next season. We are working on that right now.
"That also means that we will put in place an Ipswich Town app. We’ll move towards single sign-on so you can go into the app to watch Town TV, for retail or to buy tickets. It’s something that the Football Club probably should’ve done a little while ago and it’s something we need to do now.
"That will give us more control of our production. It will allow us to build a pre-match show, a half-time show and allow an opportunity to commercialise it.
"It will be, if you like, within our control. Like everything, it won’t be perfect for day one but we will build and it is the right decision for the Football Club. It will get better and better. One thing is for sure, it will be fundamentally better than the current offering.
"We’re really excited about it, and it’ll be in place for the start of the season."
Last night's Fans' Forum, which can be watched in full below, was sponsored by Steven Eagell Toyota.