Ground Improvements - Well done GTFC

Quoted from GollyGTFC

We're talking about something that countless Football and Rugby clubs have successfully delivered over the past 30 years. The difficulties of delivering it might be more significant now than in the past, but if we want the club to compete with the clubs we used to walk all over and outperform we need to maximise our turnover by having a stadium that is open and generating income 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year. BP can never do that.

Countless teams have done it in the last 30 years, but how do you propose a new stadium for us is funded? York have a community stadium with the luxury of a rugby club as a tenant too.

Most of us acknowledge that BP isn't ideal for the long-term future, but nobody has put forward a viable method of funding it.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Hopefully Jason Herbert doesn't start supporting Notts if Scunny fold before then. He will want to see their ticket system so he can filter out people like you; again.

Probably wonder if sherbert has banned anymore lol

I can see the lads in the pontoon top corner relocating to the osmand behind the goal ( when allowed) this will improve match day atmosphere enormously vocal support from all areas

Quoted from Mappers

I think Donny are the wrong example (the other 2 good one's)  ,crowds inflated by a large away end (which is another argument for more capacity actually , so a contradiction ) but their home attendances are probably 4 or 5k most weeks , would be interesting to see if they go up a lot if they do well.

Yeah but they used to be lucky if they got 2000 back in the days when we was getting double that in the 80s and 90s .
If we was ever to get back in the Championship we’d be needing an away end that could hold at least 3000 probably more which would be filled 10 times a season

Quoted from grimps

Yeah but they used to be lucky if they got 2000 back in the days when we was getting double that in the 80s and 90s .
If we was ever to get back in the Championship we’d be needing an away end that could hold at least 3000 probably more which would be filled 10 times a season

Ohh yeah I remember mate , Disco Des at Belle Vue in all it's glory .


I don't disagree about the away end even in league 1 8 to 10 teams would fill it + so what would we do restrict them to the 1200 when we will take a shed load more .

I suppose if you look at Donny as an example that's them effectively making what 3000 ££££ more in the direct games against us because we can't give them anymore than 1200 and Notts County ,Bradford minimum who could bring what 3000+ on a good day if we had room ?

I think we all agree we need some sort of change , it's just none of us know how ; I would hope Stockwood and Pettit have included it in that 10 year plan they talk about though .

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Countless teams have done it in the last 30 years, but how do you propose a new stadium for us is funded? York have a community stadium with the luxury of a rugby club as a tenant too.

Most of us acknowledge that BP isn't ideal for the long-term future, but nobody has put forward a viable method of funding it.

We only finished paying off the Findus Stand 4 or 5 years ago. I can't remember anyone complaining about how repaying the mortgage on it was holding us back.

How to fund it...

External Investment.
Grants. (Leveling up money or the likely PL infrastructure solidarity system)
Council funds. (Them paying for the road improvements that would open up a site for redevelopment)
Loan/Mortgage.
Naming Rights for new stadium & individual stands).
Increased match day hospitality income.
Increased non-match day hospitality income.
Increased match day ticket income.
Increased match day bar & food income.
Rental income from building things into the stadium (such as a gym, office space etc.. PNE have an NHS Walk in centre built into their newest stand & a McDonald's drive thru is built in Stadium MK).
Selling off or redeveloping Blundell Park (the site is big enough for over 100 residential units)

They're all good suggestions Golly, but I think we've missed the boat on a lot of them.

Enabling developments are dead at the minute. There's enough prime retail and business space available to negate a need for  anyone to attach a business to a football ground.

The Gym Group set up a 24/7 in Grimsby very recently. Empty unit in a retail park, very accessible and central location, free parking. By all accounts got a very good deal on it as the landlords were desperate to fill it and recognised they'll struggle to do so otherwise.  That wasn't the case even 5 years ago.

I don't know what the situation is presently on funding and grants but the sheer costs of a new ground would surely make them look like drops in the ocean. I guess the same when comparing the mortgage on the Findus to a new ground too.

We need to do something and the typical Grimsby mentality of "well we've not had gates over 8,000 since 1996 so let's not strive to get better than that.. ." smacks of the reasons the place will never progress or even hold its ground.

I just don't think that something has an easy solution.

Quoted from Mappers

I think Donny are the wrong example (the other 2 good one's)  ,crowds inflated by a large away end (which is another argument for more capacity actually , so a contradiction ) but their home attendances are probably 4 or 5k most weeks , would be interesting to see if they go up a lot if they do well.

Its more difficult to compare attendances now because some clubs declare tickets sold and others, including us, actual attendance. I think Donny’s home fan numbers are well down on ours.

Quoted from GollyGTFC

We only finished paying off the Findus Stand 4 or 5 years ago. I can't remember anyone complaining about how repaying the mortgage on it was holding us back.

How to fund it...

External Investment.
Grants. (Leveling up money or the likely PL infrastructure solidarity system)
Council funds. (Them paying for the road improvements that would open up a site for redevelopment)
Loan/Mortgage.
Naming Rights for new stadium & individual stands).
Increased match day hospitality income.
Increased non-match day hospitality income.
Increased match day ticket income.
Increased match day bar & food income.
Rental income from building things into the stadium (such as a gym, office space etc.. PNE have an NHS Walk in centre built into their newest stand & a McDonald's drive thru is built in Stadium MK).
Selling off or redeveloping Blundell Park (the site is big enough for over 100 residential units)

A suitable stadium would realistically cost north of £30m. I doubt anyone is going to pay us a significant sum of that for the naming rights of our 4th tier (currently) stadium.

There are loads of empty retail units around the town, so I can't see any major chains being keen to throw some money at our new stadium. The only way you will get the NHS as a tenant is by having a town centre location as that helps with their net zero strategy. Unfortunately NELC have other plans for our town centre, which potentially involves the NHS too.

100 houses on BP? I can't imagine them being worth a great deal. Every little helps and all that, but still.

Building costs are astronomical at the moment, and a new stadium financed that way would absolutely cripple us.

Quoted from Limerick Mariner

Its more difficult to compare attendances now because some clubs declare tickets sold and others, including us, actual attendance. I think Donny’s home fan numbers are well down on ours.

Yeah, it makes our support seem smaller than it is - we have hundreds of empty season ticket seats sometimes!