Never in this mess again

Quoted from RonMariner

If we lose our last three games and they win their last two it means at least a 5 goal turnaround on goal diff. Sutton need a ten goal turnaround so they need the winning margins in those five matches to average 2 goals.

It’s not impossible by any means but I really don’t see us losing at home to Swindon.

You would hope that the Town team that played Crewe on Saturday, turn up on Tuesday. The names might be familiar, but their game might differ from Saturdays totally. Play like strangers with boots laced onto the wrong feet, and erode our GD by losing or totally dominate Colchester who are below us and seal League status tonight. Who the hell knows? UTM

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

I'm afraid it's not - the ground is old and tired, the area behind the main stand is particularly depressing. Sitting in the ground feels like you're back in the 70s.

It's not just the ground either, arriving in the area around the ground is like driving through Aleppo. I live outside the area and maybe see it through 'outsider's eyes'.

There's a comment about it being a short walk to get a drink. There is no pub in walking distance of BP that I would go in.

I'm trying to think of how many lower league grounds I have visited and thought, wow this is beautiful- the stadium,  the surroundings etc. Not many spring to mind and the "brisk" walk I mentioned is to the High Street area of Cleethorpes where numerous pubs and restaurants await.

I'm not comparing us to big city venues or moneybags clubs obviously.

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

They are ideally at the same place because that gives you more options and economies of scale - kitchens are used on match day and non match day (building kitchens is not cheap!), you only have to buy stock for one set of bars and kitchens, you only have to clean and maintain one place, you only pay rates etc on one place, staff costs are less.

By using the ground you also have the option of using the boxes for meetings and break out rooms for the wider conferences so increasing your size without new build expenses.

And match day facilities can be used for conferences, and conference facilities can be used for match days. It's a win:win

Fair enough.  With the limitations on BP for such, be it corporate and/or commercial, be interesting to see how 1878 plan to tap into this.  

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

I'm trying to think of how many lower league grounds I have visited and thought, wow this is beautiful- the stadium,  the surroundings etc. Not many spring to mind and the "brisk" walk I mentioned is to the High Street area of Cleethorpes where numerous pubs and restaurants await.

I'm not comparing us to big city venues or moneybags clubs obviously.

We're largely not competing against the other clubs though.  We're competing against other entertainment sources.  What is it for a walk up match day ticket, £22?  For £22 you can go to the local cinema in comparative sheer luxury and stuff your face and still get change.    The new TV deal will make it more appealing for people to stay at home and watch the game rather than venture to BP, that appeal to stay at home gets stronger when the view in the ground is crap, the facilities are crap, the parking is non-existent....

Yeah, it'll be the same for a lot of clubs too.  I get it, it's our shithole and we've got fond memories of it.  But the casual fan doesn't have that connection.  We constantly need new blood coming through the gates and the more we want to progress through the leagues the more of it we need.  The current state of Blundell Park isn't helping attract those people.    It's not just the ground. No-one is going to continue to come to a lovely, plush ground if the entertainment is poor.  They have to be done in conjunction with each other, which is why it boils my urine when people say we should just invest in the playing staff and forget the Scotch Eggs...

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

I'm afraid it's not - the ground is old and tired, the area behind the main stand is particularly depressing. Sitting in the ground feels like you're back in the 70s.

It's not just the ground either, arriving in the area around the ground is like driving through Aleppo. I live outside the area and maybe see it through 'outsider's eyes'.

There's a comment about it being a short walk to get a drink. There is no pub in walking distance of BP that I would go in.

All of the above is true - except it's not a very popular thing to admit. Add to the fact that Harrington Street is like dogshit city and I'm not sure the local residents are terribly excited about on street parking either.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

I was as far from being Fenty’s biggest fan as was possible and a lot of what he did was unforgivable but he at least understood the need for a new stadium. BP isn’t fit for purpose and hasn’t been for a very long time.

Maybe but the playing surface at BP and training facilities were woefully neglected under his tenure. How can your expect a team to perform properly if their preparation is in third rate facilities and their performance surface is poor? You can't expect anybody in any trade to produce their best if their training is poor and they don't have adequate tools ie in our case a half-decent football surface.

Quoted from rancido

Maybe but the playing surface at BP and training facilities were woefully neglected under his tenure. How can your expect a team to perform properly if their preparation is in third rate facilities and their performance surface is poor? You can't expect anybody in any trade to produce their best if their training is poor and they don't have adequate tools ie in our case a half-decent football surface.

As I said, a lot of what he did was unforgivable.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

All of the above is true - except it's not a very popular thing to admit. Add to the fact that Harrington Street is like dogshit city and I'm not sure the local residents are terribly excited about on street parking either.

I'm very comfortable being unpopular so here comes another unpopular view...

Compare Blundell Park to going to MK Dons: we arrived reasonably early, parked the car about 20 yards from the gate, went and had a decent meal looking at the stadium, wandered across to the stadium, was treated really well by the stadium staff, had a great view of the game in comfort and close to a bar and was in the car and away about 15 minutes after full time. It was an all round enjoyable experience.

I KNOW we won't be building the MK Stadium but it was like watching football in another world.

Edit: I was thinking about this and have another perspective to add. I'm on my second marriage and have only been married about 4 years. My wife had never been to a football match before she met me and she instinctively wants to go to Chelsea v Man Utd because she sees them on the TV and it's all glitz and glamour. But, she is genuinely getting a real interest in Town and enjoys going to the games - she used to enjoy the people watching and the visit to another town but now she's beginning to invest emotionally in the football. I have to think about 'selling' watching Grimsby to her so I can keep her interest and make it an enjoyable shared experience.

It is much easier to 'sell' her watching Grimsby at MK Dons or Wimbledon than it is at Grimsby.

I absolutely hated going to the MK Dons stadium this year - it's about 8 times bigger than it needs to be, surrounded by a gigantic expanse of carparks and shite chain retail outlets, and they wanted close to a tenner off you for the privilege of parking next to the stadium. They then had the cheek to shove us away fans up in a corner miles away from the pitch, with thousands of empty covered seats sat unused below us. It was a dreadful experience and absolutely something we should be looking to completely avoid emulating ourselves.

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

I'm very comfortable being unpopular so here comes another unpopular view...

Compare Blundell Park to going to MK Dons: we arrived reasonably early, parked the car about 20 yards from the gate, went and had a decent meal looking at the stadium, wandered across to the stadium, was treated really well by the stadium staff, had a great view of the game in comfort and close to a bar and was in the car and away about 15 minutes after full time. It was an all round enjoyable experience.

I KNOW we won't be building the MK Stadium but it was like watching football in another world.

It depends on what you want out of life I guess but that wouldn't excite me.

I go to football for the drama, the connection to the team and fellow fans and I will quite happily put up with walking from the car and facilities that aren't the same as a plush evening out. Judging by the number of home tickets sold between 6-7000 people don't have much problem with it nor do hundreds of thousands of people in lower league grounds up and down the country.

I'm looking forward to any improvements we can make to BP but if and until we start a resurgence up the leagues it is not really too much of a worry at this stage.