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Post by gasheadontour on Feb 28, 2024 18:17:55 GMT
Is it better to spend millions on temporary-style additions to the East Stand that won't add much non-matchday income and will need to be replaced or spend more money on something longer-term that would provide non-matchday income?
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Post by chewbacca on Feb 28, 2024 18:39:14 GMT
Perhaps you could go out and find a local billionaire prepared to pay £100m out of his savings to rebuild the Mem, otherwise just accept whatever the ALS decide to build is the best we're going to get, as nobody else is going to do any better, Wael didn't even get as far as building a stand, or at least completing the job. When you put it like that it’s easy to see why only Barnsley, Blackpool, Bolton, Burton, Cambridge, Charlton, Cheltenham, Derby, Exeter, Fleetwood, Leyton Orient, Northampton, Oxford United, Peterborough, Port Vale, Reading, Shrewsbury, Stevenage, Wigan and Wycombe in League One, Accrington, AFC Wimbledon, Barrow, Bradford, Colchester, Crawley, Crewe, Doncaster, Forest Green, Gillingham, Harrogate, Mansfield, MK Dons, Morecambe, Newport, Salford, Sutton, Tranmere, Walsall and Wrexham in League One, and AFC Fylde, Barnet, Boreham Wood, Bromley, Chesterfield, Dagenham, Dorking, Ebbsfleet, Eastleigh, Halifax, Kidderminster, Maidenhead, Oldham, Oxford City, Rochdale, Solihull, Wealdstone, Woking and York in the National League have managed either partial or full developments since we bought The Mem. |
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stuart1974
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Post by stuart1974 on Feb 28, 2024 18:42:23 GMT
That's my recollection too. Was part of the land sold for housing after BRFC/MSC gained outright ownership? If so when and how much was the land sold for? Was this money used to compensate Directors for purchase of the original 50% share of the ground? Don't know, I think the decision was taken by Bristol Rugby before we took our share and proceeds kept Bristol alive long enough for us to move in and take partial ownership. My minds a little hazy on that though. |
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Post by bravosierraseven on Feb 28, 2024 19:23:08 GMT
Was part of the land sold for housing after BRFC/MSC gained outright ownership? If so when and how much was the land sold for? Was this money used to compensate Directors for purchase of the original 50% share of the ground? Don't know, I think the decision was taken by Bristol Rugby before we took our share and proceeds kept Bristol alive long enough for us to move in and take partial ownership. My minds a little hazy on that though. I believe the rugby club got a payment from the developer for an option on the land some years earlier, then when they got planning permission they paid about 900k for the land. I think by this time it was MSC. I also seem to remember that the money had to be use for upkeep on the stadium, not for general running costs of the club. |
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Post by Topper Gas on Feb 28, 2024 20:03:19 GMT
Is it better to spend millions on temporary-style additions to the East Stand that won't add much non-matchday income and will need to be replaced or spend more money on something longer-term that would provide non-matchday income? If the developments take the ground capacity to 16,000 and increase the number of seats it will surely increase match day income, clearly only the ALS will know if they can get more non-matchday & matchday income from rebuilding the entire stand but any additional income would have to be offset against the additional loan interest costs, assuming a finance co. would even consider lending a L1 football club £30m(?). |
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Post by Topper Gas on Feb 28, 2024 20:06:17 GMT
Perhaps you could go out and find a local billionaire prepared to pay £100m out of his savings to rebuild the Mem, otherwise just accept whatever the ALS decide to build is the best we're going to get, as nobody else is going to do any better, Wael didn't even get as far as building a stand, or at least completing the job. When you put it like that it’s easy to see why only Barnsley, Blackpool, Bolton, Burton, Cambridge, Charlton, Cheltenham, Derby, Exeter, Fleetwood, Leyton Orient, Northampton, Oxford United, Peterborough, Port Vale, Reading, Shrewsbury, Stevenage, Wigan and Wycombe in League One, Accrington, AFC Wimbledon, Barrow, Bradford, Colchester, Crawley, Crewe, Doncaster, Forest Green, Gillingham, Harrogate, Mansfield, MK Dons, Morecambe, Newport, Salford, Sutton, Tranmere, Walsall and Wrexham in League One, and AFC Fylde, Barnet, Boreham Wood, Bromley, Chesterfield, Dagenham, Dorking, Ebbsfleet, Eastleigh, Halifax, Kidderminster, Maidenhead, Oldham, Oxford City, Rochdale, Solihull, Wealdstone, Woking and York in the National League have managed either partial or full developments since we bought The Mem. The answer to that is both NH & Wael became blinkered by trying to build a new stadium and GF before them couldn't finance redevelopment of the Mem, now the ALS are actually doing something that's apparently not good enough for some! |
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Post by Beer Baron on Feb 28, 2024 20:26:59 GMT
I won on the Pirates Pot recently, was pretty happy until the cheque arrived and it was only for £10 other people won £25 and £50 so it's unfair.
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Post by chewbacca on Feb 28, 2024 20:27:40 GMT
When you put it like that it’s easy to see why only Barnsley, Blackpool, Bolton, Burton, Cambridge, Charlton, Cheltenham, Derby, Exeter, Fleetwood, Leyton Orient, Northampton, Oxford United, Peterborough, Port Vale, Reading, Shrewsbury, Stevenage, Wigan and Wycombe in League One, Accrington, AFC Wimbledon, Barrow, Bradford, Colchester, Crawley, Crewe, Doncaster, Forest Green, Gillingham, Harrogate, Mansfield, MK Dons, Morecambe, Newport, Salford, Sutton, Tranmere, Walsall and Wrexham in League One, and AFC Fylde, Barnet, Boreham Wood, Bromley, Chesterfield, Dagenham, Dorking, Ebbsfleet, Eastleigh, Halifax, Kidderminster, Maidenhead, Oldham, Oxford City, Rochdale, Solihull, Wealdstone, Woking and York in the National League have managed either partial or full developments since we bought The Mem. The answer to that is both NH & Wael became blinkered by trying to build a new stadium and GF before them couldn't finance redevelopment of the Mem, now the ALS are actually doing something that's apparently not good enough for some! Happy to see what he does, unless it’s a proper redevelopment though it’s sh**e and he’s as bad as the rest of the plumbs we’ve had post-DD. |
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Post by faggotygas on Feb 28, 2024 20:47:57 GMT
Never understand this argument. The club paid for a pair of permanent stands, a pitch and a car park in 1996. Then let it rot. Don't deny that |
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stuart1974
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Post by stuart1974 on Feb 28, 2024 20:59:06 GMT
The answer to that is both NH & Wael became blinkered by trying to build a new stadium and GF before them couldn't finance redevelopment of the Mem, now the ALS are actually doing something that's apparently not good enough for some! Happy to see what he does, unless it’s a proper redevelopment though it’s sh**e and he’s as bad as the rest of the plumbs we’ve had post-DD. Do you have a minimum of what you'd consider decent or underwhelming to benchmark it against? |
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Post by Topper Gas on Feb 28, 2024 21:14:13 GMT
Happy to see what he does, unless it’s a proper redevelopment though it’s sh**e and he’s as bad as the rest of the plumbs we’ve had post-DD. Do you have a minimum of what you'd consider decent or underwhelming to benchmark it against? Until we see what's actually planned I can't see how anybody can call it s......, I sense most of us were surprised how good the new south stand looks compared to the old tents. |
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Post by eric on Feb 28, 2024 21:14:30 GMT
Happy to see what he does, unless it’s a proper redevelopment though it’s sh**e and he’s as bad as the rest of the plumbs we’ve had post-DD. Do you have a minimum of what you'd consider decent or underwhelming to benchmark it against? Some will be underwhelmed whatever gets built. After watching us in the final days at a falling apart Eastville, the embarrassment of playing at a non league ground in another city (grateful to Bath City though!) and then nearly 30 years at a mishmash of a rugby ground with poor facilities I’m quite excited by the prospect of the Mem redevelopment. I think the East will be better than everyone thinks and the north to follow and to be something brand new. |
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Post by chewbacca on Feb 28, 2024 22:10:50 GMT
Happy to see what he does, unless it’s a proper redevelopment though it’s sh**e and he’s as bad as the rest of the plumbs we’ve had post-DD. Do you have a minimum of what you'd consider decent or underwhelming to benchmark it against? Replace the West Stand boxes, increase capacity, increase non-matchday revenue, lay a single Dam brick. |
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Post by nickchippenhamgas on Feb 28, 2024 22:56:22 GMT
I’m going to reserve judgment on the east stand and north stand developments until I see the plans myself.
One thing that’s not been made clear, at least in what I’ve read, is if the East and North stands are to be of a temporary construction like the south stand, for example bolt on extensions or demolished and rebuilt?
If they are to be permanent then why don’t they include the west stand? That would get the capacity near to 18 or 19,000 I would have thought?
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stuart1974
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Post by stuart1974 on Feb 28, 2024 23:08:06 GMT
I’m going to reserve judgment on the east stand and north stand developments until I see the plans myself. One thing that’s not been made clear, at least in what I’ve read, is if the East and North stands are to be of a temporary construction like the south stand, for example bolt on extensions or demolished and rebuilt? If they are to be permanent then why don’t they include the west stand? That would get the capacity near to 18 or 19,000 I would have thought? Probably not trying to do too much too soon. I think the quote was "It'll see us for the time" or similar which I read as 'we'll see where we are and if we need to and can afford it, we'll do the West stand then, and only then'. |
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Post by curlywurly on Feb 28, 2024 23:47:48 GMT
Don't know, I think the decision was taken by Bristol Rugby before we took our share and proceeds kept Bristol alive long enough for us to move in and take partial ownership. My minds a little hazy on that though. I believe the rugby club got a payment from the developer for an option on the land some years earlier, then when they got planning permission they paid about 900k for the land. I think by this time it was MSC. I also seem to remember that the money had to be use for upkeep on the stadium, not for general running costs of the club. Certainly there was very little, if any cash coming the way of Rovers from the sale of the Combination Ground.
Until of course the Duke of Guernsey came along and the rest is history.
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Post by nickchippenhamgas on Feb 29, 2024 0:24:41 GMT
I’m going to reserve judgment on the east stand and north stand developments until I see the plans myself. One thing that’s not been made clear, at least in what I’ve read, is if the East and North stands are to be of a temporary construction like the south stand, for example bolt on extensions or demolished and rebuilt? If they are to be permanent then why don’t they include the west stand? That would get the capacity near to 18 or 19,000 I would have thought? Probably not trying to do too much too soon. I think the quote was "It'll see us for the time" or similar which I read as 'we'll see where we are and if we need to and can afford it, we'll do the West stand then, and only then'. Sounds sensible 16,000 is a good size as a start |
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Post by Qatar Gas on Feb 29, 2024 5:28:57 GMT
Perhaps you could go out and find a local billionaire prepared to pay £100m out of his savings to rebuild the Mem, otherwise just accept whatever the ALS decide to build is the best we're going to get, as nobody else is going to do any better, Wael didn't even get as far as building a stand, or at least completing the job. When you put it like that it’s easy to see why only Barnsley, Blackpool, Bolton, Burton, Cambridge, Charlton, Cheltenham, Derby, Exeter, Fleetwood, Leyton Orient, Northampton, Oxford United, Peterborough, Port Vale, Reading, Shrewsbury, Stevenage, Wigan and Wycombe in League One, Accrington, AFC Wimbledon, Barrow, Bradford, Colchester, Crawley, Crewe, Doncaster, Forest Green, Gillingham, Harrogate, Mansfield, MK Dons, Morecambe, Newport, Salford, Sutton, Tranmere, Walsall and Wrexham in League One, and AFC Fylde, Barnet, Boreham Wood, Bromley, Chesterfield, Dagenham, Dorking, Ebbsfleet, Eastleigh, Halifax, Kidderminster, Maidenhead, Oldham, Oxford City, Rochdale, Solihull, Wealdstone, Woking and York in the National League have managed either partial or full developments since we bought The Mem. What makes it worse now is that some of those clubs (like Oxford) are now planning their second new stadiums during this time! |
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Post by percy on Feb 29, 2024 6:47:40 GMT
When you put it like that it’s easy to see why only Barnsley, Blackpool, Bolton, Burton, Cambridge, Charlton, Cheltenham, Derby, Exeter, Fleetwood, Leyton Orient, Northampton, Oxford United, Peterborough, Port Vale, Reading, Shrewsbury, Stevenage, Wigan and Wycombe in League One, Accrington, AFC Wimbledon, Barrow, Bradford, Colchester, Crawley, Crewe, Doncaster, Forest Green, Gillingham, Harrogate, Mansfield, MK Dons, Morecambe, Newport, Salford, Sutton, Tranmere, Walsall and Wrexham in League One, and AFC Fylde, Barnet, Boreham Wood, Bromley, Chesterfield, Dagenham, Dorking, Ebbsfleet, Eastleigh, Halifax, Kidderminster, Maidenhead, Oldham, Oxford City, Rochdale, Solihull, Wealdstone, Woking and York in the National League have managed either partial or full developments since we bought The Mem. What makes it worse now is that some of those clubs (like Oxford) are now planning their second new stadiums during this time! I’d rather have been at the mem for the last 20 years than yhe kassam! |
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Post by gashead1981 on Feb 29, 2024 7:29:19 GMT
I'm up for building a new stand as long as the AS aren't going to saddle us with debt either personally or with another loan like we have on the South Stand.
Just because we are building a new stand with a higher capacity it doesn't mean we will fill it, so we will need to ensure that it can also pay for itself outside of seat ticketing. Extra hospitality will be one avenue of revenue but what about non match days? What additional revenue streams or commercial partners can we attract which will help with the ROI?
This is why we have never redeveloped the Mem before. Simply because every ownership couldn't get a scheme to work and the cost of build including any finance outweighed the return.
I hope the AS are looking carefully at the numbers as much as they are the design.
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