Quote:
Originally Posted by Exile on Spencer St
Is this the Salford stand that was mentioned?
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Yes that's the very same one
As someone who has followed the construction of the Salford stadium with great interest and visited the ground before during and after the build inc twice since the 3 stands were completed i find Andys comments on this very concerning as all you're doing is swapping a tin shed with concrete steps for a newer tin shed with tin steps.
These stands are quite honestly bloody awful and i can't believe Andy is even thinking about one and it certainly won't attract a premium over the the standing price from away supporters which surely is one of the reasons for building one in the first place nor will it provide a facility which will attract new supporters particularly families.
Although the plans and animation for what was planned originally looked good i thought they looked a little over ambitious and were really just the results of somebody at Frank Whittle's imagination which had run away from him.
What you should be looking at is a smaller version of what Oldham have built where you build what is basically an office block whose roof extends over a dozen or so rows of seats which rake up against the back edge of it with all the facilities on the ground floor with two floors of office spaces above it [ there is even the possibility of including a row of boxes should you wish though i doubt at Accy that would be a high necessity ]
Yes this structure to provide 1500 seats would probably cost in the region of two and a half times the Micky Mouse Salford effort but would give an income which would service any loan taken out to pay for it [ look at the PNE model ] and i doubt the shed would gain you the maximum 500k grant [ which as Accy have never claimed in the past they should be nailed on to get particularly as there aren't any new stands being built at the minute to compete with for the cash ] which would in effect be a waste of free money and then of course there's our friends at Tiffosy who have just done a bond issue which raised 600k for Stevenage to build a similar capacity structure which was oversubscribed at close with straight investors who were in it simply for the returns it generates as well as supporters who are willing to take their repayments in kind as currency to spend with the club for the next ten years.
I really do think the tin shed would be a big mistake crowds of 5k might seem a long way off right now but lets say the dream came true and promotion was achieved just look at the clubs currently in division one [ many of whom have never played Stanley ] its very northern-based and to make up for the odd one who'd not bring very many you need to have the capacity headroom to accommodate those who would as well as the times the required nos go thru the roof [ for instance two years ago the final game of the season at BP was Oxford they brought over 2.5k as a victory saw them promoted]and dont forget once the far side is developed it would be very hard to increase capacity significantly without a major expenditure.
But for me its not really about the capacity of the new stand as the difference isnt really that much its more about providing a stand which could provide facilities that would entice new supporters [ look at the kids room at BP which was created utilising unused space under the stand which has been a massive success despite falling crowds and think how much extra beer and food you could sell to the way fans if it was done in the dry of a concourse.
Have another think Andy you only get one chance to get it right and i know that you only want what would be best for the club and its supporters in the long term as well as the short.