Ahead of our return to Championship action against Hull City at Deepdale this weekend, there have been a number of changes made to enhance the matchday experience.
Fan Zone
Our fan zone – situated by the Alan Kelly Town End car park – will once again be open to home supporters.
There will be plenty going on in the fan zone, with Simon Clarke, formerly of Freddie and the Dreamers, performing live music, while Stuart Hill is on PA duties.
Fan zone timings:
Doors open – 12 noon
Fan zone closes – 2.45pm
Fan zone re-opens – 4.45pm
Last orders – 5.45pm
Fan zone closes – 6pm
Food offerings:
Chicken Tikka Biryani, £5
Snacks and confectionary
There will also be burger, and fish and chip vans located around the stadium. The Hot Potato Tram will also be joining us again this season and will be in place from the Rotherham United fixture.
Drinks offerings:
Birra Moretti
Neck Oil
Fosters
Dizzy Blonde
Wine, Bitter and Cider (packaged)
Soft drinks
Please note, while the Bowland Brewery cask ales will no longer be on sale at Deepdale, the club have opted for a permanent in-house solution and will soon be releasing a club-branded cask ale.
There will also be family activities going on by the fan zone, provided by Preston North End Community and Education Trust.
The inflatable football game will be open from around 12pm, with a face painter in place in the PNECET gazebo from 1pm. The family room on the Sir Tom Finney Stand will also be open from 1.30pm, as will the gaming pods around the stadium.
Half-Time Drink Tokens
The club are reintroducing drink tokens on the Alan Kelly Town End and Invincibles Pavilion ahead of the 2022/23 season in order to speed up the refreshments service at half-time.
Supporters can go to any kiosks in these stands at any time prior to kick-off, and pre-order and pay for their alcoholic drinks for half-time.
Fans will receive a token in return at this point, which they can present at half-time at the designated collection points. Supporters in the Invincibles Pavilion can collect from Kiosk 7i, located on the right side of the concourse near the Kop, while fans in the Town End can collect from collection point green, which is located next to the central stairwell.
Refreshments Service For Disabled Supporters
A new service is being put in place this season for disabled supporters situated on the disabled platforms and on the front row of each stand.
Members of staff from Heathcote&Co will come to disabled supporters pre-match to take any half-time orders, with payments to be made by card.
These orders will then be delivered to supporters shortly before half-time, however this service excludes alcohol sales due to no alcoholic beverages being allowed inside the stadium bowl.
Flags
As you may have seen online throughout the summer, supporter groups PNE-Online and North End Soul have been busy working hard, in conjunction with the club, at looking to improve the matchday atmosphere at Deepdale.
There will be a band on the Town End once again, with drums refurbished and redesigned ahead of the 2022/23 season, while there are over a thousand flags for fans to utilise.
Supporters are welcomed and encouraged to take part where they can, and bins will be lined up on the Town End concourse by the stairwells of each block containing flags for fans to take up into the stands with them.
It is essential that these flags are returned into the bins at the end of the game as these will be for use at all future home games.