The new pitch

Quoted from Brazilnut

Now like you I have a special place in my fond memories of the Barrett Stand .....the oh so slow Mariners .....nothing like todays version .....the sway of the crowd .... they way you could go top to bottom in 1 surge or vice a versa...... the stink of stale fags .....some poor kids trying to sell the telegraph in 2nd half .... but those back steps are not 1 of them ...they wobbled there was no balustrade and seeing my head was level with the banister ...it would only have taken a slight nudge from some hefty bloke to send me the quick way down ......never liked the back way out  

That would have been me. Didn't sell many though as I was too engrossed in the football.

My paper selling career didn't last long.

Quoted from Heisenberg

The owners’ stance on a new stadium is my only gripe with them. Blundell Park is un-salvageable. Waste of money.

100% agree with this, they have been/are excellent but their stance on this key issue is extremely disappointing.

Quoted from Swansea_Mariner

100% agree with this, they have been/are excellent but their stance on this key issue is extremely disappointing.

Whilst I completely agree that BP is a money sink and we need to move to progress, it's pretty obvious that without a very wealthy backer that will fund it, we aren't going to be moving.

Quoted from Heisenberg

Which is fair enough, but there’s talk on here of re-building the main stand, for example. This is pure speculation, but that would be a huge investment and would clearly be the end of any talk of moving homes, which I think would be a huge shame.

But that's coming from a fan who would like to see the Main Stand rebuilt. I would too. Like someone mentioned, I think relocation is on the agenda but not at the same priority as previous. We've seen theyre doing all they can to improve supporter rapport with the Club as a whole and I think having a current stadium that is closer to meeting their needs/expectations will help make those improvements quicker than the start to finish of a new stadium.

Few people will know what's going on in the background but personally I hope they're progressing ideas for a new stadium but if they deliver in 15 years without 12 of them being all wishy-washy updates on how we're moving forward but going nowhere at the same time then I think we'd prefer that to the same soundbites we've heard for 30 years if not longer.

Last season we could’ve done with another couple of thousand seats for about 5 games. The temporary seats would deliver that short term, but as we build they may not be enough. Seeing as we are currently in the league we are in, is there a possibility of having standing in the corners? You’d get more fans/m sq. Not sure if we can now we are all seater though, isn’t there something to do with the grants we received way back then.

BP could be and would be in a far better state had the precious regime not completely neglected it chasing their dream, and in the process wasting thousands of club pounds on a project they were never getting off of the drawing board for various reasons…

We’re not moving from BP anytime soon so no point going on about it and the number 1 reason is cash…

Quoted from Theimperialcoroner

Last season we could’ve done with another couple of thousand seats for about 5 games. The temporary seats would deliver that short term, but as we build they may not be enough. Seeing as we are currently in the league we are in, is there a possibility of having standing in the corners? You’d get more fans/m sq. Not sure if we can now we are all seater though, isn’t there something to do with the grants we received way back then.

It would be illegal for us to do now. I believe that due to being at championship level when all seating was introduced, regardless of the level we are at now, that's how this badly thought out law works.

One thing that definitely needs improvement at BP is the main bar/kiosk/toilet set up. Any crowd north of 5,000 and the congestion in these areas is ridiculous, borderline unsafe. That’s not to mention the amount of people who must fancy a pie or a pint at half time but take one look at the stairwell and think ‘nah’, I know I have many times. I’m certainly no structural engineer but surely a new, more open plan set up by knocking a wall or 2 down will create much more space and generate more match day income. Maybe even a complete rethink of the entire of the downstairs, I know there’s a few classrooms behind the ticket office that line up with this area, could they be redesigned if they’re not used regularly? Also moving the toilets outside the main building? There’s lots of room in the corners that could free up loads of room and create a possible concourse type area. Again I’m no builder and have no idea of cost or regulations but something has to give.

I don’t disagree but literally every ground you go to, near capacity crowd and bogs and kiosks are rammo…

Possibly the redevelopment of BP and moving to a new stadium should be looked at as two entirely different projects where cash allocated for BP does not impact on future plans from a funding perspective. Project A spending two, three or even five million sprucing up BP to create a better matchday experience while increasing capacity to enable an extra two or three thousand fans to watch a match in better surroundings with better facilities. The extra income would generate enough to make Project A self-funding over a ten year period while at the same time build a larger home game fanbase to present a more solid proposition for making a move to a new stadium. If we could achieve two promotions in the meantime while creating more interest and loyalty to the club, all the better. This would give breathing space for Project B, moving to a new stadium,  to be planned alongside the developments of a club making forward moves in Project A. If circumstances and opportunities prevail in moving to a new stadium sooner than expected, the odd million or two lost in Project A aren't going to make a blind bit of difference to Project B which will need funding in the tens of millions albeit thinking our current owners will be savvy enough to make moving to a new stadium as sustainable financially as they can for the club moving forward. I don't expect the improvements made to BP in the near future will be as fancy or sustainable enough to set us on the right path for the next 100 years, but they could quite easily be a functionable building block to enable us to arrive at the much needed final destination of a brand new stadium with a larger capacity than the BP footprint could ever deliver..