For the next two home games against Bury on Saturday and then Yeovil the following Tuesday, Colchester United will open a brand new pop-up bar for supporters at the JobServe Community Stadium.
The bar will be open both before and after the games, giving both home and away supporters the chance to mix and to extend their matchday experience at the stadium.
Chairman Robbie Cowling explained: “The club already get excellent reviews regarding its matchday experience, especially for families.
"However, we are continually looking to improve our offer and this is specifically aimed at those fans who like to watch the TV games and have a drink before and after the U’s match. Of course we will make families welcome too.
"The bar will be situated right next to the Hot Shots cafe, which will continue to serve café style food and drink so fans can also enjoy a cup of tea or an espresso whilst they mingle with like minded supporters and watch one of the six TVs in the bar.”
The bar will be open from 12.15pm on Saturday prior to the Bury game and then from 5.30pm on Tuesday ahead of the match against Yeovil.
On Saturday, live football and Ryder Cup golf will be showing on the specially installed TV screens prior to the match and then, after the game, the bar will also be available, allowing fans to take in the day’s results.
To get the idea up and running, it will initially be a pop-up bar serving bottles only.
However Robbie is hopeful that supporters will give their full support to the bar and help the club create an area for fans to congregate and socialise pre- and post-match.
He added: “We need our fans to really get behind the idea and make it a key part of their matchday. If they can do that, then we will invest more into making the facility a permanent feature where we can introduce other product lines such as draught beer and food.”
The new bar is also expected to help post-match egress from the stadium, allowing supporters to stagger their departure times on matchdays.