came up frequently in his early engagements with fans. In June, Donald announced that he had purchased 31,500 seats and requested Sunderland fans to volunteer to help change them. The seat change took place in phases, with hundreds of volunteering fans joined occasionally by club officials and players. Phase I was the South East corner and was completed on 19 July 2018, Phase II was the North East corner and North Stand on was completed on 15 September 2018, and Phase III the South West corner completed in October 2018. The fourth and final phase, replacing 10,000 seats in the South and West stands, began on 29 October 2018. The corners were replaced with white seats, while the sides and ends were left red. The emblem and lettering remained. The club were nominated as a finalist in 'Best Club Marketing Initiative' category at the 2018 Business Football Awards for the seat change activity. Fan Zone A 6,000 capacity Fan Zone, modeled on similar schemes at Manchester City and those at NFL games in the United States, was approved by Sunderland City Council in July 2015. It followed a successful trial prior to a game against West Ham United in January 2013. It was opened on the first home game of the 2015–16 season. The zone was located in the car park outside the East Stand and South East corner, and included live music, children's activities (including a Five-a-side football pitch), food and drink kiosks and on-stage interviews with club legends. The Fan Zone opened three hours before kick-off and for a few hours after the game, and was accessible to ticket-holding spectators, including away fans. Due to the temporary structures in use, the Fan Zone was closed for safety reasons during periods of high winds. An enhanced version of the Fan Zone was opened for the England senior international game vs Australia in 2016. The Fan Zone re-opened for the 2016–17 season opener against Middlesbrough, but as the season progressed, poor performance on the field and financial troubles off the field led to the Fan Zone being cancelled. In a Q&A with supporters association 'Red & White Army', new club owner Stewart Donald committed to bring back the Fan Zone. It returned for the opening game of the 2018–19 season against Charlton Athletic, although smaller than the 2015 version, it was open to anyone - not just ticket-holding spectators. The