Blundell Park

I support the views of RichMariner.  If we can be successful on the pitch then revenues will increase.  As well as optimism and confidence.

This will increase the need to spend on BP (maintenance and higher capacity).  We have the Main Stand and 2 corners to look at in some way.  

We don’t have a realistic option of a new stadium.  Any costs estimate would surely increase considerably over time.

New stadiums, for all their fur coat and frilly knickers, are all well and good but having the money to be able to build it is a totally different kettle of fish.

You have the land to pay for (unless it’s council land)  and go through the rigmarole of having to plan capacity, design, parking etc.

Then if it is built, you’ve maybe got to think that your pre match meal and pint, could be served in Frankie and bennys Nando’s tgi Fridays etc.

The ticketing price would then have to be rolled out so that the club/investors are able to recoup some of their financial backing.

Personally, am firmly on the fence of the new v’s old ground scenario. I love blundell park, and the memories it has contained in it goes back many generations. But, the main stand and osmond (maybe even the ponny too)  have had their day and now need to be redeveloped to bring the facilies up to an acceptable standard.

But, with regards to a new ground, I think we all know that it is very very unlikely to happen within any immediate period of time and blundell park will remain our home for the foreseeable future.

Quoted from Poojah

Land’s not the biggest issue. What you describe is more or less what happened with Rotherham. The council gave them some brownfield land on the edge of the town centre (not far from Millmoor), and they built a cracking 12,000 capacity ground for £20m. 16-18k would have cost way more, btw.

But it’s been 11 years since the New York Stadium opened, and 12 years since it broke ground. So much has happened economically since then, to the point that the same ground built by the docks or on Freeman Street is costing you more like £40m today. I’ve shown my workings out previously and, unrelated, it’s the same figure that Stockwood quoted at the recent forum.

£40m is a fúckload of money for a League Two club to try and find by whatever means. Regrettably, I think we’ve missed the boat.

Agree and can’t fathom why did the new owners turn their back on Freeman street. There seemed to be so much going for that opportunity at that time. Free land, political support and potential Government money was a first.

Could well be a missed opportunity indeed. The one that got away.

And where do you get 6 million for a training ground. Seems hugely inflated figures are being plucked out of the air to put matters promoted by professional investors on the back burner.

The talk of York is interesting.

My in laws are big York City fans, at least some of them are and the others are Leeds United fans, some are Leeds rugby fans and some York rugby fans. That is the problem for York City - there are many better and varied alternatives.

That is not the case for us. North East Lincolnshire has a population fast approaching 200k, York is about 220k or something like that. We are in a very strong position if we can find success on the field.

People might think York is a better prospect as a place but like everywhere else it has its own problems. We also have our problems but the area as a whole is well placed to take advantage of the green revolution and with owners who have a vision to put GTFC at the forefront of any renaissance the future could be good, marvellous or outstanding.

Interest rates are very high at present as well as the BoE tries to drive us into recession. Financing a new stadium in this climate would be almost impossible. Bear in mind that interest rates were in effect negative (when low inflation was taken into account) for many years following the global financial crisis back in 2008.

That probably helped a few of the smaller clubs build their new stadia. Councils across the country are beginning to go bankrupt as their grants have been slashed year on year so can't expect any help from that direction.

Redevelopment of BP the only real option so we'll just have to keep putting the sticking plasters on until conditions (hopefully) improve at some point in the future.

Quoted from Mappers

I agree to an extent

But how do the lads fund that ?

2 million down already

6 million on a new training ground

How much would a refurbished /extened Main cost
Another 2-4million probably ?

Bonkers

6 million on a training ground when we have a permanent training ground when the tide is out.  Harden them up !

Just to rub salt into the wound, Wrexham are receiving £25 million from the Welsh Government towards their new stand. Crystal Palace have also publicly stated they are seeking £45 million towards the redevelopment of their potential new stand. There are possible grants available that I’m sure Jason, Debbie and in particular Andrew, are well aware of. There’s the Premier League stadium fund, previously known as the Football Stadia Improvement Fund, which allows clubs at our level to apply for up to £750,000 worth of grants towards stadium redevelopments. At a guess, publicly funding a new main stand is our only hope of any changes to BP any time soon.

Quoted from Yoda

If we could be gifted the land by the council there must be grants available i think 20 million would build you a stadium of say 16-18k.
Taken over 25-30 years not that expensive we are spending more on BP every year.

What you think and what is reality are two different things.  No way in hell can you build a 16-18k stadium for 20 million.

Quoted from Yoda

Construction rates dropping at the moment and settling down from the crazy prices of covid.
A four sided stadium no tiers that costs a lot more a bit like notts county would no where near 40 nearer 30.
Boston’s is a cracking new ground it doesn’t have to be all seater we could have two ends standing.

We can't have standing because it would be against the law, clubs in the top two tiers when the law was made have to have all seating stadiums, regardless of what level they play at. Bonkers but the law. Terracing isn't an option for us until the law is changed.

Quoted from toontown

We can't have standing because it would be against the law, clubs in the top two tiers when the law was made have to have all seating stadiums, regardless of what level they play at. Bonkers but the law. Terracing isn't an option for us until the law is changed.

The law has changed, slightly. You can now apply to have ‘safe standing’, which was all the rage 5 years ago, but most fans who use it don’t actually like it, and it actually reduces overall attendance.