|
Post by mickstupp on Jun 8, 2011 20:35:51 GMT
Why did we build a 28.5K all seater stadium when we were averaging 12-13K in the Championship? Once again the small minded nature that blights this city kicks in. Similar size clubs (Wolves, WBA) are expanding - why aren't Stoke City? 3 million to fill in a corner whether we fill the seats or not is chicken feed. It would improve the stadium no end. The stadium was built on shoestring budget and it shows - now is the ideal opportunity to start to make right the wrongs. Apart from the first sentence (we used to get more than that), that is spot on Pugs. The Brit is a skeleton of a stadium, the club needs to add some flesh to the bones. It still looks like its 80% built to me.
|
|
|
Post by seddonstandviewer on Jun 8, 2011 20:36:18 GMT
Off it? Tony Scholes and his pygmies. See stadium expansion and kit debacle. Correct, plus much more ie. Online ticket fiasco for the Final etc etc
|
|
|
Post by mickstupp on Jun 8, 2011 20:38:18 GMT
To be fair, I doubt the final decision not to expand would have been Tony Scholes`.
|
|
|
Post by eeebygum on Jun 8, 2011 20:51:54 GMT
Sorry but I disagree with the majority of the contributions to this thread. The position of the Club to hold on creating new capacity by filling in the corners is in my view entirely correct at this stage. The history of so many clubs that have overstretched themselves with naive ambition is there for all to see. The hard nose sensible business case says we should clearly have excess demand for season tickets and/or home supporter matchday tickets, we do not clearly have that demand to come close to filling any additional capacity, 'yet'! Money continues to be invested year on year to improve the infrastructure and quality of the Club. Sensible investment means the Club will remain focussed on strong sustainable growth, and that attitude should keep us in the Premier League to grow eventually to a point where we can consistently compete with the big boys. That's gona take time!!
|
|
|
Post by shawi on Jun 9, 2011 4:12:30 GMT
OK, so I'd prefer the corners filled in & subsequent extra Stokies to add to the atmosphere - but I'd also like to see the away fans moved from their proximity to the players tunnel. It's not clever It results in situations such as the abuse aimed at Etherington by the Dingles etc It could be sorted
|
|
|
Post by jarvinski on Jun 9, 2011 7:00:55 GMT
Good letter pugsley. Everything you say is correct
|
|
|
Post by jamasa on Jun 9, 2011 9:56:26 GMT
It is now costing £1M this summer to bring the ground up to the requirements of the Europa competition. If that's the case, how the FUCK do some of these smaller teams qualify with grounds no more than a pitch with railings.
|
|
|
Post by dobber on Jun 9, 2011 10:27:25 GMT
Slight random fact - when the Brit was built I went on a pre-opening tour with some of the project team, and the question was asked about raising the capacity should we ever need to.
The answer came back that as well as filling in the corners, there is the potential to build upwards on the Seddon. The foundations were put in to enable this to happen, and the stand is built in such a way that you can 'bolt on' another layer. I doubt this will ever happen, but interesting that it has been designed as such.
Oh, and someone mentioned the home dressing rooms. I was in there last weekend, and they're not great. Imagine swimming pool changing rooms with a huge sauna at the end.
|
|
duffyscfc
Academy Starlet
Sic Transit Gloria
Posts: 160
|
Post by duffyscfc on Jun 9, 2011 10:46:08 GMT
The hard nose sensible business case says we should clearly have excess demand for season tickets and/or home supporter matchday tickets, we do not clearly have that demand to come close to filling any additional capacity, 'yet'! The reason we don't have excessive demand for ST's is probably because the seats available for those who would like to purchase a ST are dotted around the stadium. Young people don't want to go on their own, and parents can not raise their children as life time stoke supporters when they are sitting in opposite ends of the ground to each other! Filling in just one corner would show the demand for season tickets that are currently unobtainable. It's all well and good being a hard nose sensible business case, but sometimes you have to look beyond the short term finances.
|
|
|
Post by slother on Jun 9, 2011 17:20:39 GMT
Why did we build a 28.5K all seater stadium when we were averaging 12-13K in the Championship? Once again the small minded nature that blights this city kicks in. How is it small-minded to build a 28.5K stadium when we were averaging 12-13K in the Championship? Our recent successes have proven that we were very shrewd to build to the size we did, and speccing a "bare-bones" stadium allowed us to spend money where it really matters - on the team. However, we're now what most people would call 'established'. We have extra ticket demand to satisfy, increased exposure which is interesting sponsors and we're in an increasingly competitive market for ever better - and rarer - players. Advocates for expansion would therefore like to see the ground "finished off" to consolidate our achievements and address these three issues: tickets, investors, players. You could, in fact, argue the case that it is less risky to expand than to not expand.
|
|
|
Post by wearestoke10 on Jun 9, 2011 17:31:20 GMT
I personally have no objections to us holding fire on a ground expansion as i feel this has only really reared its head due to Wolves and their plans/current work. We have to think real and heaven forbid anything were to happen to the club in terms of league status then wed go back to struggling to fill 28,000 seats never mind any extra
|
|
|
Post by Roy Cropper on Jun 9, 2011 17:46:46 GMT
Slight random fact - when the Brit was built I went on a pre-opening tour with some of the project team, and the question was asked about raising the capacity should we ever need to. The answer came back that as well as filling in the corners, there is the potential to build upwards on the Seddon. The foundations were put in to enable this to happen, and the stand is built in such a way that you can 'bolt on' another layer. I doubt this will ever happen, but interesting that it has been designed as such. Oh, and someone mentioned the home dressing rooms. I was in there last weekend, and they're not great. Imagine swimming pool changing rooms with a huge sauna at the end. Had the same tour and was told the same too. It would be interesting to see a mock up of The Brit at it's greatest potential. Agree with Mick that it looks unfinished.
|
|
|
Post by wingy11 on Jun 15, 2011 12:14:24 GMT
Stoke city on poll to sell more season tickets than last year, they may have to cap them, what a u turn this is to last week when they decided to put ground extensions on hold,, no ambition at all stoke, i could understand if they needed the extra funds for players but the way we are in the market at the minute id prefer to sort the ground out as pulis as no ambition in the transfer market
|
|
|
Post by spuddymagoo on Jun 15, 2011 12:33:53 GMT
No of us know the actual demand for season tickets or the business case for expansion. But what I do know is that I would not take a financial risk (anymore) on a whim or belief without having pretty strong evidence to back it up.
If there was a business case, it would be done and I believe this is what the board consider when making these decisions.
I am, perhaps, one of those that would benefit from a larger stadium as I do not have a season ticket but would buy one or two, possibly three for myself and my two sons if we could sit together. But we can't and so I don't.
However, I would much prefer to see another 3-5 years of on the pitch improvement and then a move towards improving the capacity of the ground, than to have 3-5 years of trying to pay back a loan, however structured.
Spud.
|
|
|
Post by block30row19 on Jun 15, 2011 12:40:51 GMT
Stoke city on poll to sell more season tickets than last year, they may have to cap them, what a you turn this is to last week when they decided to put ground extensions on hold,, no ambition at all stoke, i could understand if they needed the extra funds for players but the way we are in the market at the minute id prefer to sort the ground out as pulis as no ambition in the transfer market You couldn't make that last bit up. You really couldn't
|
|
|
Post by slother on Jun 22, 2011 18:17:47 GMT
STOKE CITY have invested a further £500,000 in developing the best-possible training facilities for their first team squad and Academy at Clayton Wood. The summer break has seen three teams of contractors working simultaneously to upgrade the quality of pitches on the 28-acre site following the £7 million development of a state-of-the-art training centre and floodlit synthetic playing surface twelve months ago. Work on installing an irrigation system and water supply, together with the renovation of the pitches, are all part of a busy programme of improvements during the close season which have seen the installation of a new Britannia Stadium pitch and major refurbishment undertaken on the ground floor of the administration building incorporating the dressing room areas, Superstore and Ticket Office. Article continues Advertisement The Club has made a major commitment once again this summer to upgrading facilities for players, officials, management, administration staff and indeed supporters. Contractors have faced a race against time to get the work at Clayton Wood Training Ground completed in time for the start of pre-season training early next month. "This is the latest phase of our work to ensure that the first team squad and the Academy have the highest quality of facilities," explained Nick Robinson, Training Ground Facilities Manager. "These improvements will make a big difference to the condition of the pitches and I am sure that the players will notice this for training sessions and matches. "All the dry weather in the spring meant the Training Ground pitches became very hard and so the first team squad trained up at the stadium on many occasions. "Once this work is completed, it will enhance the training facilities even more and enable Head Groundsman Andy Jackson and his team of groundstaff to control the conditions across the whole 28-acre site rather than being in the hands of the weather all the time." He added: "It has been quite a challenge to have three teams of contractors here at once and it resembled a building site once again during the early stages of the work. "It has been important therefore to ensure good integration between the three teams so that they work well together to get all the projects completed by early next month." The work at the Training Ground has involved: *The drilling of a bore hole to 18 metres in depth for the abstraction of a daily water supply. *The installation of a water tank which will hold 350 cubic metres water and three large electric pumps to feed the sprinkler system. *The installation of 232 sprinklers across all the pitches on the 28-acre site. *The renovation of the pitches including the main pitch for matches and numbers two and three for the professionals when they are training. www.stokecityfc.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10310~2379762,00.html The irrigation system is operated by computer which means groundstaff can control moisture content in the pitches at any time of the day from anywhere. Therefore, the Training Ground will be better equipped to deal with the unpredictable weather, so keeping the pitches in the best-possible condition.
|
|
|
Post by StokieBoy31 on Jun 22, 2011 19:22:45 GMT
Stoke city on poll to sell more season tickets than last year, they may have to cap them, what a you turn this is to last week when they decided to put ground extensions on hold,, no ambition at all stoke, i could understand if they needed the extra funds for players but the way we are in the market at the minute id prefer to sort the ground out as pulis as no ambition in the transfer market ??? TP has no ambition in the transfer market ? are you for real can you tell me the last transfer market that Tone didn't buy a player ?? Do i need to remind you that Ethers (2009), Beattie (2009), Abdy (2008), Huth (2009), Tuncay(2009), Kenwyne (2010) Begović (2010), Pennant (2010), Sørensen (2008), Walters (2010), Shawcross (2007), Fuller (2006), Leon Cort (2007) Gudjohnsen (2010) and many more have a signed under TP .... no ambition you say ;D
|
|
|
Post by march4 on Jun 22, 2011 19:28:15 GMT
Next summer, it looks like we will be installing under soil heating at the training ground, which will be very expensive.
|
|
|
Post by liathroid on Jun 22, 2011 19:31:21 GMT
Next summer, it looks like we will be installing under soil heating at the training ground, which will be very expensive. which means digging it all up again,why not put the pipes in now and work on the connection after ???
|
|
|
Post by bayernoatcake on Jun 22, 2011 19:37:06 GMT
Next summer, it looks like we will be installing under soil heating at the training ground, which will be very expensive. Indeed, I hope we've got a good deal with our gas supplier!
|
|
|
Post by march4 on Jun 22, 2011 19:40:31 GMT
Next summer, it looks like we will be installing under soil heating at the training ground, which will be very expensive. which means digging it all up again,why not put the pipes in now and work on the connection after ??? Laying pipes, not digging up the whole thing. Bayern, I think they will concentrate on 2 pitches. It will still cost a fortune during the winter months.
|
|
|
Post by bayernoatcake on Jun 22, 2011 19:43:13 GMT
which means digging it all up again,why not put the pipes in now and work on the connection after ??? Laying pipes, not digging up the whole thing. Bayern, I think they will concentrate on 2 pitches. It will still cost a fortune during the winter months. Yeah, energy wise I think the bill for the undersoil heating at the Brit is the biggest the club have! It inner cheap.
|
|
|
Post by liathroid on Jun 22, 2011 19:43:23 GMT
which means digging it all up again,why not put the pipes in now and work on the connection after ??? Laying pipes, not digging up the whole thing. Bayern, I think they will concentrate on 2 pitches. It will still cost a fortune during the winter months. surely they will have to dig it up to lay the pipes ???
|
|
|
Post by march4 on Jun 22, 2011 19:45:20 GMT
Laying pipes, not digging up the whole thing. Bayern, I think they will concentrate on 2 pitches. It will still cost a fortune during the winter months. surely they will have to dig it up to lay the pipes ??? Trenches, mate. The machine makes the trench, lays the pipe and fills in the trench all at once. It's a wonder of modern technology, apparently.
|
|
|
Post by liathroid on Jun 22, 2011 19:48:17 GMT
surely they will have to dig it up to lay the pipes ??? Trenches, mate. The machine makes the trench, lays the pipe and fills in the trench all at once. It's a wonder of modern technology, apparently. hope they dont hit the sprinkler pipes when their digging trenches
|
|
|
Post by mozzer on Jun 22, 2011 20:07:20 GMT
I don't think we should expand the stadium. If we sold all our tickets for every game then yes, but we don't. Good job we did not take that attitude when we bult the Brit then.
|
|
|
Post by wembley4372 on Jun 23, 2011 11:20:58 GMT
The stadium needs to be finished, but I would prefer any money to be spent on players.
If we are going to stay in the premiership is it such a risk?
One corner, 3m say 2500 seats or 1200 per seat. 60 games @ 20 quid (5 years of selling out).
Borrow the money, so paying the interest on the 3m say 180000 or 72 per seat per year. Even Stoke should be able to raise that much and anything over can pay off the loan over time.
|
|