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Stewart Donald and Sunderland’s managing director Tony Davison participated in a question and answer session after the Red and White Army’s AGM tonight, and during the Q&A, Davison confirmed that the Fan Zone will return for this week’s League One opener against Charlton Athletic.
The Fan Zone will include activities and events that were highlighted in RAWA’s fan survey, but Davison cautioned that they will have to be sensible in regards to costs, as he pointed out that something as simple as a face-painter may cost upwards of £10,000 per year and mentioned that the club had even been paying out £1,000 per month on renting plastic pot plants as an example for the need to carefully managing costs.
The Fan Zone will evolve as the season goes on but it may not be open for every home game, as they need to be sensible in regards to the weather.
In other Stadium of Light news, they confirmed that they are open to renaming the stands but that it will be down to the fans to decide who or what they are named after - with Bradley Lowery one suggestion during the Q&A.
The likes of Coldplay, Oasis, Take That, Rihanna and Beyonce have all had hugely successful concerts at the Stadium of Light and Tony Davison also confirmed that they are actively looking at bringing those concerts back to Sunderland, as long as the financial deal is right for the club.