No new stadium

I dont know why some people call the STH who have paid thier money up front and do not attend all the games.

They have given Hursty a pot of money at the begining of the season so he will have a better chance of knowing who he can afford to sign or not sign.

Thats as long as they want to come here.

If they dont then we do not want them anyway.

Quoted from grimsby pete

I dont know why some people call the STH who have paid thier money up front and do not attend all the games.

They have given Hursty a pot of money at the begining of the season so he will have a better chance of knowing who he can afford to sign or not sign.

Thats as long as they want to come here.

If they dont then we do not want them anyway.

The key word is in your first sentence, ‘some’, it applies both ways too, ‘some’ people and ‘some’ season ticket holders.  Let’s be clear before I jump onto my well trodden soap box, I’m not a season ticket holder quite simply because I don’t live in the area.

The issue, continuing with the ‘some’ theme is that, some season ticket holders seem to hold the opinion that they’re ‘super-fans’ and that the club plus casual/pay on the days should be eternally indebted.

I acknowledge that those who pay upfront should rightfully be rewarded for their commitment in the form of limited discounts, seat choice and favourable treatment in ticket allocation for premium fixtures.  The club relies on their support because of the cash-flow benefits and subsequent reduction in commercial borrowing costs.  However, and this is the elephant in the room, those who choose to pay for a season ticket on an instalment basis or who have received further benefit through concession shouldn’t receive the same status, quite frankly and whilst still welcome, the impact of their commitment is less.

The Club doesn’t get any real benefit from the legions of exiles that attend far more away games than home, but that isn’t the fault of the exiles, they still spend considerable sums supporting the club yet receive no recognition beyond reference in interviews.  

Of course and as ever, the system conspires against fairness, the home club is the only beneficiary of away support for league games.  It would be much fairer for visiting clubs to receive an equal share, after expenses, of away support revenues.  This would perhaps encourage clubs to introduce schemes whereby exiles can receive tangible recognition for their loyalty, instead of being ignored when availability issues or premium games occur.  But I’m not holding my breath.

Quoted from grimsby pete

I dont know why some people call the STH who have paid thier money up front and do not attend all the games.

They have given Hursty a pot of money at the begining of the season so he will have a better chance of knowing who he can afford to sign or not sign.

Thats as long as they want to come here.

If they dont then we do not want them anyway.

Exactly Pete buying one and not going is surely as high a dedication as going to all 23 games .

I mean hell if you can buy one and dont go to 1 of  23 games thats commitment

Just make sure to release the seat lol

This is a thread that truly defines this board. We couldn’t afford a new ground at the start of it and still can’t on page 17, what’s going on here I always thought we had the answer to everything.

Quoted from ginnywings

I'm no apologist for the council, but they had no choice really.

They couldn't just let the centre of town die on it's ar$e.

It died years ago when out of town shopping became popular, followed by Internet shopping. Some months ago I read that, in Dundee I think, they tried to sell a shopping centre for £1 and had no takers. Freshney Place and others like it killed the old fashioned  High Street and now it is their turn to be killed off. I liked it when it was new with big names etc. but the House of Fraser has been empty for some time now and others have left as mentioned in the GT.

It's a bit like our Main Stand, the old has had its day.

The council were always portrayed as the bad guy in Fenty’s quest for a stadium but in their defence, the plots he was desperate for weren’t the right spaces and I’d imagine, having spent some time with him, they realised that allowing that idiot anywhere near a project of that size was a flipping recipe for disaster.

Christ on a bike, he and his flipping idiot cronies thought Extreme Leisure were a good outfit…did they ever deliver on that project Mr Shut up told us about?

We haven’t the money, our current owners are unlikely to borrow that sum simply to appease a few fans who get their knickers in a twist about a new ground. I’ve no doubt it’s been a discussion and they’re well aware BP isn’t modern nor really efficient anymore but they’re also well aware that other things are important, that some TLC at least helps it out (the other idiot spent zero on it really, allowing it to go to wrack and ruin simply because he was the only moron convinced we were getting a new ground).

I suspect this conversation will happen every few months and most of us will say the same, time and time again…

Buying a ST in a prime spot and then not going to matches is just like putting a towel on a sunbed first thing and then doing something else for the day instead of using it.

Now I'm among many forced to sit in the shade near the bins while looking wistfully at an empty lounger by the pool!

Quoted from Yarborough Vaults

Buying a ST in a prime spot and then not going to matches is just like putting a towel on a sunbed first thing and then doing something else for the day instead of using it.

Now I'm among many forced to sit in the shade near the bins while looking wistfully at an empty lounger by the pool!

The difference is that you have PAID for that ST spot and it is up to you how much you use it. Sunbeds at hotels are usually free. If you go on any beach in the regular Spanish resorts you will see 'paid for' sunbeds with towels and the occupants nowhere to be seen - they could be going for a swim, at a bar or just gone shopping.

Quoted from DB

It died years ago when out of town shopping became popular, followed by Internet shopping. Some months ago I read that, in Dundee I think, they tried to sell a shopping centre for £1 and had no takers. Freshney Place and others like it killed the old fashioned  High Street and now it is their turn to be killed off. I liked it when it was new with big names etc. but the House of Fraser has been empty for some time now and others have left as mentioned in the GT.

It's a bit like our Main Stand, the old has had its day.

Ah, best just give it up as a bad job then. I'm sure all the people who work in the shops will be able to find something to do with their free time. Their kids will have Mummy and Daddy at home a lot more which will no doubt make up for the increased amount of poverty they experience. Same goes for all the cafes/restaurants/pubs, which will no longer be needed due to lack of footfall. I suppose we could set up some really big soup kitchens in Freshney Place so the space doesn't go entirely to waste?

What this thread has done is emphasised that moving stadium isn't really an option, be that anymore or just for now.  

Realistically though redeveloping BP is going to a long old slog.  Let's be really honest about it, none of the four stands are really fit for purpose anymore.  If the option was there we could replace them all.  

I think it's fair to say that filling in the corners is likely to be the immediate focus, potentially the one between the Pontoon and the Main first for obvious reasons. But unless it's a separate entity, it'll be attached to one, possibly two, stands that you'll want to replace anyway.  

We want to increase capacity, I think we can all agree on that. But we've also this huge issue that whilst we can fill in the corners comparatively easily, we'll still have to replace the other four stands at some point.  It's not just about capacity in those stands, they're on their bottom.  The facilities, the infrastructure of them...everything is just dated.  In the case of the Main especially but definitely for them all, they're just going to get more and more expensive to maintain.

At some point we'll lose capacity, short-term anyway, whilst we have to rebuild those stands - or seriously renovate them anyway.  To me that makes it even more essential that we absolutely bleed dry every single space we've got in the ground to get some capacity in there, because the moment we lose the Main Stand we're 1800 seats down straight away.  Sure we can then rebuild that and maybe even increase the capacity on it to 3000, but I'd imagine the plan is then to gain as much income as possible to then rebuild the Pontoon, or the Osmond...or the Findus...

If we're staying at BP, this could be very, very slow progress.