New scoreboard?

[Vice President]

As I have often said - it's not just about attendances. As a humorous aside (although there is actually some truth in it) ... were it not for the embarrassment of the Bishop st. stand, McNulty might have signed for us and we may well have been promoted that season.
I merely use this example to illustrate that just as a good training ground can attract the best players, so too does the stadium.
A new stand could even encourage more people to attend and sit there. And then there is the improvement to the match day atmosphere. The nicer view. The ability to suddenly increase capacity for big cup/play-off games and thereby bring extra revenue (regardless of whether we are league 1 or 2).
It's not just about bums on certain seats every week - the picture is much bigger than that.

[Curry 9 Brace 7]

Never can create an atmosphere with a 3 sided ground and a edwardian disused structure with a old shed on top of it

[arsene wengers coat]

As I have often said - it's not just about attendances. As a humorous aside (although there is actually some truth in it) ... were it not for the embarrassment of the Bishop st. stand, McNulty might have signed for us and we may well have been promoted that season.
I merely use this example to illustrate that just as a good training ground can attract the best players, so too does the stadium.
A new stand could even encourage more people to attend and sit there. And then there is the improvement to the match day atmosphere. The nicer view. The ability to suddenly increase capacity for big cup/play-off games and thereby bring extra revenue (regardless of whether we are league 1 or 2).
It's not just about bums on certain seats every week - the picture is much bigger than that.

Abso-flipping-lutely

[Dave Wayne]

Or, flip it on it's head: why aren't we investing in our future during a period of minimal disruption.

If we started the process now it might be functional for a L1 campaign, IE, when it's needed - as you say.

My approach is proactive, yours is responsive.

The scoreboard and the bishop are both awful and something drastic needs to happen either way.

The figures I quoted were L1 average attendances so it wouldn't be needed unless we made it to the Championship, apart from the odd match now and again. If we make it to L1 and hold our own then yes it may be required to move forward. As things stand it would be unnecessary expenditure.

[West Ham 1969]

Personally I would rather see investment in the team first…as much as I agree the Bishop Street is an eyesore. If the team do not progress then no use developing the stadium. I appreciate it’s a ‘chicken and egg’ argument, but that is purely my opinion….bearing in mind I have enjoyed many games whilst sat in the old Bishop Street back in the day.

[Sandy Pate Best Stag]

There are currently 5 teams in League 1 which would be local derbies and potentially sell out depending on how the season is going. They are Burton, Lincoln, Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield Wednesday, all of which would probably sell out their allocation in the North Stand.

Next season they could potentially be joined by either Forest or Derby or possibly both. Whilst accepting that we may not need a bigger capacity at the moment the truth is that building work costs do not go down. Our club is currently experiencing a rise in fan interest and I expect that to grow over the next couple of years so maybe the time to strike is here and now.

If you can’t accommodate casual fans they will never become regulars as most don’t give you a second chance.

[Tess Tickle]

As I have often said - it's not just about attendances. As a humorous aside (although there is actually some truth in it) ... were it not for the embarrassment of the Bishop st. stand, McNulty might have signed for us and we may well have been promoted that season.
I merely use this example to illustrate that just as a good training ground can attract the best players, so too does the stadium.
A new stand could even encourage more people to attend and sit there. And then there is the improvement to the match day atmosphere. The nicer view. The ability to suddenly increase capacity for big cup/play-off games and thereby bring extra revenue (regardless of whether we are league 1 or 2).
It's not just about bums on certain seats every week - the picture is much bigger than that.

Fully agree with this.

[STAGS FOR LIFE]

Never can create an atmosphere with a 3 sided ground and a edwardian disused structure with a old shed on top of it

Match day , i think you have forgot the Dean/Martin show

[arsene wengers coat]

There are currently 5 teams in League 1 which would be local derbies and potentially sell out depending on how the season is going. They are Burton, Lincoln, Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield Wednesday, all of which would probably sell out their allocation in the North Stand.

You mean as well as Ipswich, Pompey, Bolton and Sunderland?

And Charlton and Plymouth Who might sell it out if they were near top of the league.

Basically, if we go up, we'll need it.

[Phill]

Genuine question

1. Do we invest in a new stand/scoreboard to improve overall stadium facilities to increase our perception across both players and fans (both ours and other team’s fans) but to the detriment of funds being available to Clough now but potentially increase funds/attractiveness to players in a couple of years time.

Or

2. Invest in the playing squad now, in the hope a 3 sided slightly broken looking stadium doesn’t impact our ability to sign players, to then invest later when the impact to the budget could be managed/mitigated.

[arsene wengers coat]

Genuine question

1. Do we invest in a new stand/scoreboard to improve overall stadium facilities to increase our perception across both players and fans (both ours and other team’s fans) but to the detriment of funds being available to Clough now but potentially increase funds/attractiveness to players in a couple of years time.

Or

2. Invest in the playing squad now, in the hope a 3 sided slightly broken looking stadium doesn’t impact our ability to sign players, to then invest later when the impact to the budget could be managed/mitigated.

Not really an appropriate dilemma.

Bridging loan from a financial institution. Football League Stadia Improvement Grant funding. Development partner etc... maybe even assistance from MDC. It might not even have to impact playing budget.

[Dan]

I don’t think we are allowed anymore grants for the stadium.

[Sneag]

I don’t think we are allowed anymore grants for the stadium.

I don't see why not. The last grants were 20 years ago.

[Rob]

I do understand the case against developing that side of the ground and I think you'd struggle to make a medium term financial argument for it. However, as SPBS has said, if we did manage to make League 1 next season our stadium's away capacity of 1800 would not be enough for a lot of clubs. Add that to a cup run then there are certain financial advantages. However, for me that's not what it's about, we have a club unrecognisable from the one Haslam left, apart from the sad, sorry and frankly upsetting sight of the Bish. It makes us look like a rundown, tinpot club, as AWC said, a laughing stock when other fans see it. We are not a tinpot, rundown club, we are a really well run club, a great manager, a great owner, a great training ground and three decent stands. In terms of the fabric of the club, it's the last piece that needs sorting out.

[The One]

Bit off the wall, but we have the oldest football league stadium in the World.

Are there any heritage type grants available to bring it up to standard ?

[part time pete]

Bit off the wall, but we have the oldest football league stadium in the World.

Are there any heritage type grants available to bring it up to standard ?

The stadium has already got 1861 standard toilet facilities.

[Vice President]

I believe that some councils have helped finance some local football clubs stadium developments - as it is a part of the community and represents the town on a national scale. Perhaps the club should be lobbying the council (if they haven't already). The streets around Bishop st. are also in need of development.

[The One]

Bit off the wall, but we have the oldest football league stadium in the World.

Are there any heritage type grants available to bring it up to standard ?

The stadium has already got 1861 standard toilet facilities.

I was being serious, stick to fredding pre season nothing games

[chip63]

How many seats would we get in there though? I can't remember its capacity when it was open.
We can't go higher or further back because of bishop street, it would need emergency exits somewhere for each block.
We'd get a really good grant if it was for disabled fans only.

[The One]

How many seats would we get in there though? I can't remember its capacity when it was open.
We can't go higher or further back because of bishop street, it would need emergency exits somewhere for each block.
We'd get a really good grant if it was for disabled fans only.

Think that might be just a tad discriminate

[Vice President]

How many seats would we get in there though? I can't remember its capacity when it was open.
We can't go higher or further back because of bishop street, it would need emergency exits somewhere for each block.
We'd get a really good grant if it was for disabled fans only.

I think the club comissioned some architect drawings for a new stand a couple of years ago - has anyone seen them/can post them?

If the houses remain in place, the stand might be able to have up to 10 rows max (perhaps with moving the pitch over towards the west stand by a couple of yards). I've seen a few other similarly sized stands elsewhere (Hartlepool? and some other grounds). I think Burton's stand only has about 10 rows, but it has exec boxes at the back and a tall roof making it look bigger.
Crawley have some strange, almost temporary-like structure on one side - clearly a cheaper option, but it does the job.
Even a small stand with 8-10 rows would dramatically improve the look of the ground.

[The One]

How many seats would we get in there though? I can't remember its capacity when it was open.
We can't go higher or further back because of bishop street, it would need emergency exits somewhere for each block.
We'd get a really good grant if it was for disabled fans only.

I think the club comissioned some architect drawings for a new stand a couple of years ago - has anyone seen them/can post them?

If the houses remain in place, the stand might be able to have up to 10 rows max (perhaps with moving the pitch over towards the west stand by a couple of yards). I've seen a few other similarly sized stands elsewhere (Hartlepool? and some other grounds). I think Burton's stand only has about 10 rows, but it has exec boxes at the back and a tall roof making it look bigger.
Crawley have some strange, almost temporary-like structure on one side - clearly a cheaper option, but it does the job.
Even a small stand with 8-10 rows would dramatically improve the look of the ground.

But you need to factor in toilet, carering facilities and space is in short supply.

[Vice President]

How many seats would we get in there though? I can't remember its capacity when it was open.
We can't go higher or further back because of bishop street, it would need emergency exits somewhere for each block.
We'd get a really good grant if it was for disabled fans only.

I think the club comissioned some architect drawings for a new stand a couple of years ago - has anyone seen them/can post them?

If the houses remain in place, the stand might be able to have up to 10 rows max (perhaps with moving the pitch over towards the west stand by a couple of yards). I've seen a few other similarly sized stands elsewhere (Hartlepool? and some other grounds). I think Burton's stand only has about 10 rows, but it has exec boxes at the back and a tall roof making it look bigger.
Crawley have some strange, almost temporary-like structure on one side - clearly a cheaper option, but it does the job.
Even a small stand with 8-10 rows would dramatically improve the look of the ground.

But you need to factor in toilet, carering facilities and space is in short supply.

Indeed! It was ridiculous that when they redeveloped Field Mill, they built it around the Bishop st. stand, with hardly any future development potential on that side. As others have mentioned before - why on earth didn't they build the 3 new stands a few yards to the west?
It can't have been a cost cutting exercise, as the land was already part of the 'estate' and it wouldn't have reduced any significant income potential. It was just plain stupidity/short-sightedness. (And all that talk about buying some of the houses on Bishop st. was ludicrous - it wouldn't/shouldn't have been necessary if they had built the stands in the 'right' place).

[Sneag]

How many seats would we get in there though? I can't remember its capacity when it was open.
We can't go higher or further back because of bishop street, it would need emergency exits somewhere for each block.
We'd get a really good grant if it was for disabled fans only.

I think the club comissioned some architect drawings for a new stand a couple of years ago - has anyone seen them/can post them?

If the houses remain in place, the stand might be able to have up to 10 rows max (perhaps with moving the pitch over towards the west stand by a couple of yards). I've seen a few other similarly sized stands elsewhere (Hartlepool? and some other grounds). I think Burton's stand only has about 10 rows, but it has exec boxes at the back and a tall roof making it look bigger.
Crawley have some strange, almost temporary-like structure on one side - clearly a cheaper option, but it does the job.
Even a small stand with 8-10 rows would dramatically improve the look of the ground.

But you need to factor in toilet, carering facilities and space is in short supply.

Thanks to the corners cut by Haslam there's loads of space in the corners of the ground to build toilet blocks & catering. There's even room there to put any turnstiles for a new Bishop St stand. All you would need in the stand itself would be emergency exits onto Bishop St or Lord St.

The main drawback with a layout like that would be you couldn't use it as away support overspill. Unless you stuck another set of turnstiles in the corner of the North Stand.

TV gantry built into the structure of the roof like the one at Scunny.

But TBH I've never given the project much thought.

[Sedgwick]

https://www.fwpgroup.co.uk/wp-content/u ... .04.13.pdf

Go down to non league clubs on the sport booklet, there's two images of stags potential plans..... I did have a copy years ago but all thats available now is the two small images on this document.

The plan, and I think the most expensive option, included working with the council to full regenerate Bishop/ Lord street, removing the streets. Stags would build a new large-ish stand with surrounding facilities like a club shop, coffee shop and a block of apartments.

Not sure if its still there, but there were plans matching these drawings on the councils website, that had the two streets marked for full demolition and another with half the street gone but all redeveloped and lined with trees and new parking.

Theres not the room for a decent stand at the minute.

Had we beaten or drawn to MK Dons, the plans would have been started on again. As quick as that