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Post by orgasmic on Jul 22, 2022 20:47:23 GMT
Why? We already know redeveloping the Mem isn’t viable so why pour money down the drain doing it? If you had an investment property with a dated kitchen, you wouldn’t put a new one in if the rent you could charge wouldn’t increase. Redeveloping the Mem does nothing but lose money. It’s a vanity project to have something shiny. Eventually a new site will be identified (if it hasn’t already) and the roi will be sufficient that it benefits the club. I share everyone’s frustration at the length of time it has taken so far but in the real world a new stadium is the only option and worth waiting for. ROI works for the Mem as well and it's not all immediately seen in turnover over the next 12-36 months. Why hasn't the East seating area been knocked down and rebuilt yet? I can't see why there would be any capacity restrictions given the space at the back, and we can see from recent builds (Brentford, AFC Wimbledon) that each new seat costs somewhere between £3400 and £4000. So why is there not already 4000-4500 rebuilt seats behind that terrace as well as all the new facilities that would come with the rebuild? When you do the maths on the extra seats over a few years, the additional match-day income from new facilities and the potential increase in non-matchday income we have to reach the conclusion that those running the club either firmly believed that a new stadium has always been closer that we publicly knew (and so it wasn't worth it) or they never considered a Plan B that clearly would have been worth it.... ...and when you consider that capacity has always been potentially needed for every non-covid season in the last few years the misjudgment looks even worse.... Because you cannot go higher due to planning restrictions and building either side restricts views for other areas so the gains are minimal. Quoting Brentford and AFC Wimbledon is also not a true reflection as they weren’t doing it to an existing stadium rather a new build so the cost is cheaper. Also, how do you remove our only real stand with seating without displacing 100s of fans with no way of relocating them? There is no way that you gain 4000 seats by rebuilding that stand. I would estimate less than half that. So you get maximum disruption and marginal gains. It simply doesn’t work in reality. |
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Post by gashead1981 on Jul 22, 2022 22:28:16 GMT
A good and fair reasoned debate WG. Heres why I said what I did and as a counter if not add some meat to the bones of your opinion/argument. 1. When Ian Holtby (lovely guy) was put in charge of commercial it was a job that really was too big for him on his own. He did a great job at what he could but look at how the marketing, sponsorship and revenue has grown since. We were using marketing agencies to help and we would have never maximised the new stadium umder the old set up. I'm not suggesting the old ownership couldnt have done it, but im doubtful it would have been maximised and if it would have broken even in terms of ROI. If we went into a blank canvass new stadium now then we would be in a much better position. I dont mean to be disrespectful but look at what is being achieved with the mem now, its the same as it was in 2001. You see it as papering over the cracks, I see it as maximising what we have knowing full well The mem is totally unfit for purpose now and no one knows that more that Wael. That is totally the correct thing to do when most of the things have been cost neutral. 2. Unfortunetatly Hamer positioned himself very well as a broker which got him the job as chairman, he came as part of the package. I'm pretty sure that he wouldnt have gotten the nod if the role was up for grabs under normal circumstances and it was his scatter gun approach and total lack of control which led to MS coming in, despite his brown nosing to Hani. Thankfully Hani eventually saw him for what he was and terminated him. I like MS, lovely guy, just the sort of person you want to go through the finances, turn over all the rocks and empty the Skeltons from the closet. Exactly what good accountants/financial directors do and what we needed post Hamer. However they can be very risk adverse or tunnel visioned in their approach. That can then become embattling or they concentrate so much on the numbers they miss other areas of the business that actually give you the numbers. TG brings that modern approach and along with that, allowing trusting the staff to be creative to move the club forward. Its also worth nothing that Wael has only had full control since his father passed, and since then, the real improvements have happened so Im still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. 3. It has to be a new stadium. To redevelop the mem would cost upwards of 30m and that wouldnt get us all sides either. Ironically that would also mean capacity reduction or a groundshare which would cost the club/Wael even more money. The ROI just isnt there to do it. So whilst all of the mems problems exist, its still the best option until we find the land/agree contracts/build a new gin palace for us to play in. Thanks for reply.... Clearly you know individuals that I don’t, you like to rub shoulders with others whereas I’m just a supporter who will travel the 5/6 hr round trip, watch the game, engage with whoever I’m sat next to and go home. I’m not ITK, never have been, never will be and that worries me not a jot. I’m a fan, just that. But to answer: 1. Can’t disagree with any of it. I’m sure you’re correct and we may not have ‘maximised...’ the commercial opportunities and are more likely to do that now. But so what, you learn how to do things when the need arises. You don’t turn down opportunities or anything because you don’t think you’re quite ready do you? You grasp the chance and grow. You call what we’re doing maximising what we’re doing knowing that the Mem isn’t fit for purpose. Again I don’t disagree but surely that should give the search for the replacement even more urgency? 2. Yes, again it’s more or less what I said about TG, a definite step up. And as you say we should be willing to give Wael ‘the benefit of the doubt’ after what he’s done for us. He’s been successful in supporting us through difficult times and has helped us survive. Thank you Wael, and I mean that sincerely. But that should not mean that his plans shouldn’t be open to scrutiny nor his intentions held up for examination. In any sphere of life leaders should be accountable for their leadership and be questioned about it. He’s responsible for our success and our future and any leader worth his salt will know he is answerable. 3. Of course a new stadium is needed, no question esp as Wael has always said the Mem is not a future option. So I can’t disagree with any of what you’ve said. But. The big difference between your argument and my feelings are that you have far more patience and look prepared to accept what is being said by our leaders about the new ground whereas I’m less patient and feel that after 6 years we should be further advanced. (I’m not sure what leaders have said about the ground tbh, nothing much have they?) We hear nothing, no plan A , no plan B. Communication over the ground is abysmal. Now you can accuse me of being unreasonable to expect some level of communication but I feel that should be a minimum to receive news about ‘our club.’ And btw, I agree with most of the comments post my comments in the last page. Thank goodness we haven’t had the Bury owners but to use that argument is to accept a very low bar regarding ownership. UTG! I wouldn’t say I was particularly ITK if at all. Even if I get the opportunity I don’t ask. Like you, im happy being a fan and nothing more. 1. It depends how much you’re spending. You may have an opportunity full of promises but if they aren’t good promises the consequences could be catastrophic. So if wael is using his discretion rather than going in headlong to a bad deal just because there might be an opportunity then his thinking should be respected regardless what we want to hear. Is there urgency? To a degree, but the current economic climate + pandemic/recovery from has really caused major building projects to hit the buffers. We need to constantly reassess everything. I have patience probably because I understand business, what it takes to invest in something, how long to wait for the return and how long it takes to build something. I worked for big companies before going alone and it’s easy to be a paid director and help run someone else’s company. It’s not your risk, it’s not your life’s work and you’re a cog in a big wheel of other opinions and clever ideas. When it’s your own money and your own legacy you’re happy to take your time, consider every move, decision and idea. You also need to get the right people around you and even if you do, you can get let down by some people who you trusted, both with your legacy and also with your money. People don’t appreciate just how tough building something is. Wael technically, has only owned us for 3 years and 2 of those were through the pandemic. He never had sole control until his father passed away and we were restructured. So that’s why he needs to be given time and opportunity. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2022 22:44:03 GMT
Exactly this the last gas head with the money needed to buy a super new stadium now has his money in Jersey and spends it on Bristol Bears and a tinpot team that shares the ground. As said we should be careful what we wish for. UTG Lansdown was never a Gashead, regardless I could take Wael spending his money on Bath RFC if we had a nice shiny new ground at the Mem or FM! Topper love your commitment............. I might be completely talking out of my arse. I can only go on some fairly influential comments that Landsdown is a Gashead and tried to get a Non Exec position on the BRFC board, was told to F**k O** during the previous ownership. He had a conversation with Marina Dolman and the rest is history. Would we be in a better position with him at the helm instead of Wael, I dont know. But as my previous posts I believe we are better placed now without doubt. UTG and Wael. I am happy to put a tenner on our current leadership. |
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Post by gashead1981 on Jul 22, 2022 22:46:27 GMT
ROI works for the Mem as well and it's not all immediately seen in turnover over the next 12-36 months. Why hasn't the East seating area been knocked down and rebuilt yet? I can't see why there would be any capacity restrictions given the space at the back, and we can see from recent builds (Brentford, AFC Wimbledon) that each new seat costs somewhere between £3400 and £4000. So why is there not already 4000-4500 rebuilt seats behind that terrace as well as all the new facilities that would come with the rebuild? When you do the maths on the extra seats over a few years, the additional match-day income from new facilities and the potential increase in non-matchday income we have to reach the conclusion that those running the club either firmly believed that a new stadium has always been closer that we publicly knew (and so it wasn't worth it) or they never considered a Plan B that clearly would have been worth it.... ...and when you consider that capacity has always been potentially needed for every non-covid season in the last few years the misjudgment looks even worse.... Because you cannot go higher due to planning restrictions and building either side restricts views for other areas so the gains are minimal. Quoting Brentford and AFC Wimbledon is also not a true reflection as they weren’t doing it to an existing stadium rather a new build so the cost is cheaper. Also, how do you remove our only real stand with seating without displacing 100s of fans with no way of relocating them? There is no way that you gain 4000 seats by rebuilding that stand. I would estimate less than half that. So you get maximum disruption and marginal gains. It simply doesn’t work in reality. If for arguments sake we were going to redo the Mem then to maximise the land the pitch would have to be rotated. That means that the east stand needs to be completely demolished and would render the blackthorn and south stands completely useless. So we would have to move out for 2 years to complete. If you work on the basis of cost for Brentford’s ground then redoing the Mem is going to cost £75m + rent somewhere £2m per season + loss of matchday revenue and existing revenue the Mem makes. So rough net cost of redevelopment is the better part of £85m. The Mem would come with severe restrictions for opportunity. Forget any industrial commercial opportunity, unless it’s shops or a gym and even then income isn’t groundbreaking good enough to make it feasible The housing is far too close so you can rule out heavy industrial. You won’t be able to have anything other than car boot sales so you can forget concerts, shows, or any other late night money making extravaganza. Hotels and residential, what people are going to want to stay on Glos Rd? Too far for a convenient walk to town, Clifton or Cabot circus. There are hotels aplenty at Aztec West/Cribbs. The Mem, as a site for a stadium is an utterly dead duck. |
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Post by gashead1981 on Jul 22, 2022 22:49:27 GMT
Lansdown was never a Gashead, regardless I could take Wael spending his money on Bath RFC if we had a nice shiny new ground at the Mem or FM! Topper love your commitment............. I might be completely talking out of my arse. I can only go on some fairly influential comments that Landsdown is a Gashead and tried to get a Non Exec position on the BRFC board, was told to F**k O** during the previous ownership. He had a conversation with Marina Dolman and the rest is history. Would we be in a better position with him at the helm instead of Wael, I dont know. But as my previous posts I believe we are better placed now without doubt. UTG and Wael. I am happy to put a tenner on our current leadership. Utterly not true. Lansdown never offered any investment to the gas. I 100% know that. Even the picture of him at the 2006 WC with Higgs is a funny story. Nick bumped into him by complete accident and had someone take a photograph. Nick held up his rovers scarf or flag as a bit of a joke and Lansdown grabbed it thinking it was an England one! |
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Post by Kipper on Jul 23, 2022 5:52:33 GMT
If I had my way Rovers would have a new stadium in Eastville park!!
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Post by daniel300380 on Jul 23, 2022 6:49:05 GMT
Topper love your commitment............. I might be completely talking out of my arse. I can only go on some fairly influential comments that Landsdown is a Gashead and tried to get a Non Exec position on the BRFC board, was told to F**k O** during the previous ownership. He had a conversation with Marina Dolman and the rest is history. Would we be in a better position with him at the helm instead of Wael, I dont know. But as my previous posts I believe we are better placed now without doubt. UTG and Wael. I am happy to put a tenner on our current leadership. Utterly not true. Lansdown never offered any investment to the gas. I 100% know that. Even the picture of him at the 2006 WC with Higgs is a funny story. Nick bumped into him by complete accident and had someone take a photograph. Nick held up his rovers scarf or flag as a bit of a joke and Lansdown grabbed it thinking it was an England one! Thought he said himself he followed Rovers, but stopped when we went to twerton?? |
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Post by womble on Jul 23, 2022 7:42:55 GMT
Utterly not true. Lansdown never offered any investment to the gas. I 100% know that. Even the picture of him at the 2006 WC with Higgs is a funny story. Nick bumped into him by complete accident and had someone take a photograph. Nick held up his rovers scarf or flag as a bit of a joke and Lansdown grabbed it thinking it was an England one! Thought he said himself he followed Rovers, but stopped when we went to twerton?? That’s correct. He started going to Ashton Gate when his son wanted to watch football matches and all his schoolmates were City fans. |
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Post by playtowin on Jul 23, 2022 8:03:25 GMT
Because you cannot go higher due to planning restrictions and building either side restricts views for other areas so the gains are minimal. Quoting Brentford and AFC Wimbledon is also not a true reflection as they weren’t doing it to an existing stadium rather a new build so the cost is cheaper. Also, how do you remove our only real stand with seating without displacing 100s of fans with no way of relocating them? There is no way that you gain 4000 seats by rebuilding that stand. I would estimate less than half that. So you get maximum disruption and marginal gains. It simply doesn’t work in reality. If for arguments sake we were going to redo the Mem then to maximise the land the pitch would have to be rotated. That means that the east stand needs to be completely demolished and would render the blackthorn and south stands completely useless. So we would have to move out for 2 years to complete. If you work on the basis of cost for Brentford’s ground then redoing the Mem is going to cost £75m + rent somewhere £2m per season + loss of matchday revenue and existing revenue the Mem makes. So rough net cost of redevelopment is the better part of £85m. The Mem would come with severe restrictions for opportunity. Forget any industrial commercial opportunity, unless it’s shops or a gym and even then income isn’t groundbreaking good enough to make it feasible The housing is far too close so you can rule out heavy industrial. You won’t be able to have anything other than car boot sales so you can forget concerts, shows, or any other late night money making extravaganza. Hotels and residential, what people are going to want to stay on Glos Rd? Too far for a convenient walk to town, Clifton or Cabot circus. There are hotels aplenty at Aztec West/Cribbs. The Mem, as a site for a stadium is an utterly dead duck. A new stadium IS the best way forward. At some point if this has not been achieved the club will have to upgrade the Mem. The easiest way construction wise i would guess is full demolition with Rovers relocated to cheltenham/fgr/bath/swindon. Other than that. It would have to be total demolition of the thatchers end and buildings. Move the pitch northwards 25 ft . Construct a temporary stand at south end twice the current size at least. Build a new 2 tier stand at the north end (thatchers) 3-4000 mix of safe standing and seats. At this point the sw stand and current away standing will be partially or fully lost. The capacity during this phase of building would probably drop to 3500 terrace and 3500 seats (7000 total). Which would be more than what would travel to another city to watch Rovers. Once complete it would be the east stand and terrace to go. I would opt for safe standing on the lower tier and seating on 2 higher tiers. This is where any outside income sources like hotel ,conf etc get put in. I would also look to build a line of apartments the length of the carpark.Which could have parking underneath. If this new main stand includes new changing rooms it leaves the door open to demolish the west stand. Overall , i would have a lower tier bowl of safe standing all around the pitch. With an upper tier of seating all around. The main stand however would have a box and seating tier and the main seating area would be bigger than other parts of the ground. End capacity 17-20,000 . This would be fine for a competitive championship club. The FM stadium will be 30-40,000 though . |
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Post by blueridge on Jul 23, 2022 8:38:03 GMT
Thought he said himself he followed Rovers, but stopped when we went to twerton?? That’s correct. He started going to Ashton Gate when his son wanted to watch football matches and all his schoolmates were City fans. South Gloucestershire lad brought up in Olveston just a mile from The Quarters - was a Bristol Rovers supporter in his younger years. |
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Post by justin blue on Jul 23, 2022 8:44:16 GMT
If for arguments sake we were going to redo the Mem then to maximise the land the pitch would have to be rotated. That means that the east stand needs to be completely demolished and would render the blackthorn and south stands completely useless. So we would have to move out for 2 years to complete. If you work on the basis of cost for Brentford’s ground then redoing the Mem is going to cost £75m + rent somewhere £2m per season + loss of matchday revenue and existing revenue the Mem makes. So rough net cost of redevelopment is the better part of £85m. The Mem would come with severe restrictions for opportunity. Forget any industrial commercial opportunity, unless it’s shops or a gym and even then income isn’t groundbreaking good enough to make it feasible The housing is far too close so you can rule out heavy industrial. You won’t be able to have anything other than car boot sales so you can forget concerts, shows, or any other late night money making extravaganza. Hotels and residential, what people are going to want to stay on Glos Rd? Too far for a convenient walk to town, Clifton or Cabot circus. There are hotels aplenty at Aztec West/Cribbs. The Mem, as a site for a stadium is an utterly dead duck. A new stadium IS the best way forward. At some point if this has not been achieved the club will have to upgrade the Mem. The easiest way construction wise i would guess is full demolition with Rovers relocated to cheltenham/fgr/bath/swindon. Other than that. It would have to be total demolition of the thatchers end and buildings. Move the pitch northwards 25 ft . Construct a temporary stand at south end twice the current size at least. Build a new 2 tier stand at the north end (thatchers) 3-4000 mix of safe standing and seats. At this point the sw stand and current away standing will be partially or fully lost. The capacity during this phase of building would probably drop to 3500 terrace and 3500 seats (7000 total). Which would be more than what would travel to another city to watch Rovers. Once complete it would be the east stand and terrace to go. I would opt for safe standing on the lower tier and seating on 2 higher tiers. This is where any outside income sources like hotel ,conf etc get put in. I would also look to build a line of apartments the length of the carpark.Which could have parking underneath. If this new main stand includes new changing rooms it leaves the door open to demolish the west stand. Overall , i would have a lower tier bowl of safe standing all around the pitch. With an upper tier of seating all around. The main stand however would have a box and seating tier and the main seating area would be bigger than other parts of the ground. End capacity 17-20,000 . This would be fine for a competitive championship club. The FM stadium will be 30-40,000 though . I think the only way forward is a new stadium and I believe it will happen at some point in the future. I cannot see a rebuild of the Mem for a variety of reasons and I think the site is worth more for residential development. I’ve never understood the affection for the Mem, though we have had some great days there it has always felt like a means to an end. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2022 10:50:39 GMT
Topper love your commitment............. I might be completely talking out of my arse. I can only go on some fairly influential comments that Landsdown is a Gashead and tried to get a Non Exec position on the BRFC board, was told to F**k O** during the previous ownership. He had a conversation with Marina Dolman and the rest is history. Would we be in a better position with him at the helm instead of Wael, I dont know. But as my previous posts I believe we are better placed now without doubt. UTG and Wael. I am happy to put a tenner on our current leadership. Utterly not true. Lansdown never offered any investment to the gas. I 100% know that. Even the picture of him at the 2006 WC with Higgs is a funny story. Nick bumped into him by complete accident and had someone take a photograph. Nick held up his rovers scarf or flag as a bit of a joke and Lansdown grabbed it thinking it was an England one! Sorry to offend. I never said he offered any investment. A Non Exec position is normally unpaid and requires no investment. It normally is only an advisory role. My point is as a gashead I suppose all he wanted to do was get involved to offer his help. That was the only reason I made the comment. |
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Post by chippenhamgas on Jul 23, 2022 11:45:46 GMT
If for arguments sake we were going to redo the Mem then to maximise the land the pitch would have to be rotated. That means that the east stand needs to be completely demolished and would render the blackthorn and south stands completely useless. So we would have to move out for 2 years to complete. If you work on the basis of cost for Brentford’s ground then redoing the Mem is going to cost £75m + rent somewhere £2m per season + loss of matchday revenue and existing revenue the Mem makes. So rough net cost of redevelopment is the better part of £85m. The Mem would come with severe restrictions for opportunity. Forget any industrial commercial opportunity, unless it’s shops or a gym and even then income isn’t groundbreaking good enough to make it feasible The housing is far too close so you can rule out heavy industrial. You won’t be able to have anything other than car boot sales so you can forget concerts, shows, or any other late night money making extravaganza. Hotels and residential, what people are going to want to stay on Glos Rd? Too far for a convenient walk to town, Clifton or Cabot circus. There are hotels aplenty at Aztec West/Cribbs. The Mem, as a site for a stadium is an utterly dead duck. A new stadium IS the best way forward. At some point if this has not been achieved the club will have to upgrade the Mem. The easiest way construction wise i would guess is full demolition with Rovers relocated to cheltenham/fgr/bath/swindon. Other than that. It would have to be total demolition of the thatchers end and buildings. Move the pitch northwards 25 ft . Construct a temporary stand at south end twice the current size at least. Build a new 2 tier stand at the north end (thatchers) 3-4000 mix of safe standing and seats. At this point the sw stand and current away standing will be partially or fully lost. The capacity during this phase of building would probably drop to 3500 terrace and 3500 seats (7000 total). Which would be more than what would travel to another city to watch Rovers. Once complete it would be the east stand and terrace to go. I would opt for safe standing on the lower tier and seating on 2 higher tiers. This is where any outside income sources like hotel ,conf etc get put in. I would also look to build a line of apartments the length of the carpark.Which could have parking underneath. If this new main stand includes new changing rooms it leaves the door open to demolish the west stand. Overall , i would have a lower tier bowl of safe standing all around the pitch. With an upper tier of seating all around. The main stand however would have a box and seating tier and the main seating area would be bigger than other parts of the ground. End capacity 17-20,000 . This would be fine for a competitive championship club. The FM stadium will be 30-40,000 though . 30-40000😂😂😂 |
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Post by Dirt Dogg on Jul 23, 2022 13:32:00 GMT
Reading this thread whilst sipping a few beers last night I had a thought, would it be possible to share with GCC for a few seasons whilst we redeveloped the Mem? Pop up a couple of large temporary stands like Bath Rugby have and make use of the hospitality space already there?
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Post by singupgas on Jul 23, 2022 13:39:41 GMT
If the Mem was to be redeveloped, I would rather us share with Bath Rugby Club.
Preferably like us to stay at Mem whilst FM or another site is being built
No ground related whispers at the fun day?
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Post by Quarters on Jul 23, 2022 14:05:23 GMT
Reading this thread whilst sipping a few beers last night I had a thought, would it be possible to share with GCC for a few seasons whilst we redeveloped the Mem? Pop up a couple of large temporary stands like Bath Rugby have and make use of the hospitality space already there? Seasons cross over too much. How could you pop up some stands for a Tues night game after a days cricket? |
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Post by Dirt Dogg on Jul 23, 2022 14:11:18 GMT
Reading this thread whilst sipping a few beers last night I had a thought, would it be possible to share with GCC for a few seasons whilst we redeveloped the Mem? Pop up a couple of large temporary stands like Bath Rugby have and make use of the hospitality space already there? Seasons cross over too much. How could you pop up some stands for a Tues night game after a days cricket? I’m sure something could be sorted out, maybe play our last couple of games away so the ground could be prepared for the cricket season? |
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yattongas
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Post by yattongas on Jul 23, 2022 14:20:23 GMT
Seasons cross over too much. How could you pop up some stands for a Tues night game after a days cricket? I’m sure something could be sorted out, maybe play our last couple of games away so the ground could be prepared for the cricket season? Floodlights might be a problem as well ….. |
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Post by Dirt Dogg on Jul 23, 2022 14:40:05 GMT
I’m sure something could be sorted out, maybe play our last couple of games away so the ground could be prepared for the cricket season? Floodlights might be a problem as well ….. By problem you mean they can be seen for a 100 mile radius? |
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Post by Topper Gas on Jul 23, 2022 14:44:19 GMT
Because you cannot go higher due to planning restrictions and building either side restricts views for other areas so the gains are minimal. Quoting Brentford and AFC Wimbledon is also not a true reflection as they weren’t doing it to an existing stadium rather a new build so the cost is cheaper. Also, how do you remove our only real stand with seating without displacing 100s of fans with no way of relocating them? There is no way that you gain 4000 seats by rebuilding that stand. I would estimate less than half that. So you get maximum disruption and marginal gains. It simply doesn’t work in reality. If for arguments sake we were going to redo the Mem then to maximise the land the pitch would have to be rotated. That means that the east stand needs to be completely demolished and would render the blackthorn and south stands completely useless. So we would have to move out for 2 years to complete. If you work on the basis of cost for Brentford’s ground then redoing the Mem is going to cost £75m + rent somewhere £2m per season + loss of matchday revenue and existing revenue the Mem makes. So rough net cost of redevelopment is the better part of £85m. The Mem would come with severe restrictions for opportunity. Forget any industrial commercial opportunity, unless it’s shops or a gym and even then income isn’t groundbreaking good enough to make it feasible The housing is far too close so you can rule out heavy industrial. You won’t be able to have anything other than car boot sales so you can forget concerts, shows, or any other late night money making extravaganza. Hotels and residential, what people are going to want to stay on Glos Rd? Too far for a convenient walk to town, Clifton or Cabot circus. There are hotels aplenty at Aztec West/Cribbs. The Mem, as a site for a stadium is an utterly dead duck. It's OK saying the Mem is a dead duck but what's the alternative if the FM is now considered feasible (I've no idea if it is or not), the club must have spent at least a decade looking for suitable land but would be no closer to finding it, and finding suitable land must be getting harder each year rather than easier. As far as the Mem not being suitable for a hotel etc is Brentford's new ground any better as it seems surrounded by railway tracks and high rise flats? |
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