Ground Improvements - Well done GTFC

Quoted from jamesgtfc

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.

Can we tap into anything that the Humber freeport is bringing to the area? Tax free areas, areas that will be getting a link through the need for redevelopment?

It just seems that the argument will carry on and on forever . Maybe until there seems to be a slightest sense of movement/upgrade, we can all chill out

Freeports are all about dodging tax, turning a blind eye to criminality and only ever lead to low-paid jobs. Don't expect it to do anything much for the area - unless you're a slightly unscrupulous businessman or can persuade somebody to shut down a factory elsewhere in the UK to move the jobs here. Only the folk at the top will make any money. Massive corruption going on at the Teesside freeport as uncovered by Private Eye and the government are even pretending to investigate their shenanigans (before they clear them of deliberate wrongdoing, no doubt).

We had freeports in the UK for 20-odd years until 2012 before they were closed down because they didn't achieve anything.

Quoted from Maringer

Freeports are all about dodging tax, turning a blind eye to criminality and only ever lead to low-paid jobs. Don't expect it to do anything much for the area - unless you're a slightly unscrupulous businessman or can persuade somebody to shut down a factory elsewhere in the UK to move the jobs here. Only the folk at the top will make any money. Massive corruption going on at the Teesside freeport as uncovered by Private Eye and the government are even pretending to investigate their shenanigans (before they clear them of deliberate wrongdoing, no doubt).

We had freeports in the UK for 20-odd years until 2012 before they were closed down because they didn't achieve anything.

You are 100% right they are a spivs dream. All about reducing pesky legislation like tax and employment laws. I’d not want our football club to have anything to do with them.

Quoted from Maringer

Freeports are all about dodging tax, turning a blind eye to criminality and only ever lead to low-paid jobs. Don't expect it to do anything much for the area - unless you're a slightly unscrupulous businessman or can persuade somebody to shut down a factory elsewhere in the UK to move the jobs here. Only the folk at the top will make any money. Massive corruption going on at the Teesside freeport as uncovered by Private Eye and the government are even pretending to investigate their shenanigans (before they clear them of deliberate wrongdoing, no doubt).

We had freeports in the UK for 20-odd years until 2012 before they were closed down because they didn't achieve anything.

Humber Freeport is not Teeside.
Freeports in UK shutdown due to EU and Cameron socialist view on business.
Best place for GTFC is in its historic place of BP from a financial and community aspect. Take Boston Community Stadium, where is the community? Its miles away.

No argument from the majority that the stadium should be central and accessible.  

Not convinced that Blundell Park is the best place for that though, not at present anyway.  If we're going pie in the sky and not worrying ourselves too much with realities, I would have thought the White Elephant regeneration of Grimsby Town centre would have been the absolute perfect place to tie in regeneration funds and a new stadium.

Keeps everything central, accessible, right on a train line and all local bus services and fills space that's largely empty at present.

Quite a few years back I was told that part of the 'plan' for the stadium on the former Freemo flats would have involved NELC as the anchor tenants (or vice-versa) with their main hub sites moving to the site too.  How much truth was in that I don't know but it made sense and fitted with the councils plans to reduce the number of their buildings and centralise the ones that remained.

Quoted from diehardmariner

No argument from the majority that the stadium should be central and accessible.  

Not convinced that Blundell Park is the best place for that though, not at present anyway.  If we're going pie in the sky and not worrying ourselves too much with realities, I would have thought the White Elephant regeneration of Grimsby Town centre would have been the absolute perfect place to tie in regeneration funds and a new stadium.

Keeps everything central, accessible, right on a train line and all local bus services and fills space that's largely empty at present.

Quite a few years back I was told that part of the 'plan' for the stadium on the former Freemo flats would have involved NELC as the anchor tenants (or vice-versa) with their main hub sites moving to the site too.  How much truth was in that I don't know but it made sense and fitted with the councils plans to reduce the number of their buildings and centralise the ones that remained.

I think the ship has sailed now but the only thing that would ever have brought some life back to Freemo would have been the football stadium.

I’ve got a feeling Grimsby Town centre is going the same way

The Main Stand is an area that certainly crops up frequently when BP development is concerned. A lot of the criticism seems to include obstructed views. Having not been in the Main Stand for over 50 years I am not sure what the problems are but appear to be the great number of roof supports and poor viewing from the highest seats at the back.
Now I don't profess to have any experience in structural engineering or architecture but I'm sure with modern materials and building techniques these problems could be overcome. However, if this was cost effective is a totally different question.

There are other possible benefits of a new stadium (nothing major).  York’s new ground has hosted women’s football matches, rugby and top friendlies.  Most at national or international level.

These raise the profile of a club rather than bringing in a lot of money.  Everything helps though.  Even at BP we hosted an England youth match in which Raheem Sterling played.  A new stadium would be more attractive for similar matches.

Quoted from Maringer

Freeports are all about dodging tax, turning a blind eye to criminality and only ever lead to low-paid jobs. Don't expect it to do anything much for the area - unless you're a slightly unscrupulous businessman or can persuade somebody to shut down a factory elsewhere in the UK to move the jobs here. Only the folk at the top will make any money. Massive corruption going on at the Teesside freeport as uncovered by Private Eye and the government are even pretending to investigate their shenanigans (before they clear them of deliberate wrongdoing, no doubt).

We had freeports in the UK for 20-odd years until 2012 before they were closed down because they didn't achieve anything.

Never realised that. I stand corrected.

I honestly thought it was all about bringing a touch of prosperity to the area and something that the club could utilise to their advantage.

Quoted from WOZOFGRIMSBY

I honestly thought it was all about bringing a touch of prosperity to the area and something that the club could utilise to their advantage.

It would be nice if that was the case! Only thing which can bring prosperity is investments for new industry/business and that isn't coming from either the current Government or Starmer's party, assuming they get into power next year.