New grounds success or disaster?

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Which old ground didn’t have character?

 

[Luke Imp]

Saltergate Away End terrace toilets

Gay Meadow we similar i.e. a drain pipe cut in half.

Saltergate got an extra point for being able to watch the game whilst having a piss.

Burton's ground is excellent, they built it to the right spec and I always enjoy going there. We have our company Christmas do there every year and the facilities off the pitch are spot on.

They couldn't have built it anywhere nearer the town centre so where they did build it is as ideal as it could have been.

Functionality is probably does a job, but design wise it isn't great IMO but probably perfectly ok for what they need. It was/is just a little too concrete/breeze block/square IMO but perhaps that's just personal preference. I'd be disappointed if Lincoln went down a similar line.

 

[shoddycollins]

Gay Meadow we similar i.e. a drain pipe cut in half.

Saltergate got an extra point for being able to watch the game whilst having a piss.


Functionality is probably does a job, but design wise it isn't great IMO but probably perfectly ok for what they need. It was/is just a little too concrete/breeze block/square IMO but perhaps that's just personal preference. I'd be disappointed if Lincoln went down a similar line.

I present to you, the Brunton Park Home End toilets

 

[valefan16]

Burton ground is ok as long as you don’t take a big following. Our first visit we ended up with fans stood around the pitch behind the goal as it got too full whilst they moved some of the home fans along out the side terrace to accommodate them!

 

[Laker]

We had plans submitted and rejected for a new ground in the Trumpington area of Cambridge, just off the M11 and slightly further out than we are now. There’s not much nearby and in hindsight I’m glad it got rejected.

Rumours are that our chairman wants to buy the Abbey back from Grosvenor and redevelop it but that’s been talked about for some time. If that did happen, we’d redo the home end and move the pitch closer to the south stand so visitirs no longer need binoculars.

Aside from the proximity of the away end to the pitch and the lack of pubs immediately nearby, our ground is great and full of character. Any redevelopment would need to retain terracing behind the goal in my opinion (though I’d personally bung a seated tier on the top for big games). I always think the front of our ground could look more appealing to people driving down Newmarket Road and redoing that end would be an opportunity to get that right.

If we redevelop, it’ll happen one stand at a time I think.

 

[Tarzan]

Having the Parks Sandy and St James within the city limits means it’s quite evident just how different they are.


On a matchday, everything about Sandy Park is designed to extract money from your pocket. Yes, the facilities are very good but then it’s purpose built. The location means that it’s a pain in the arse to get to (no parking on site) and there are no amenities within a reasonable walking distance but this just means that most people will go straight to the ground and spend all of their pre-match money there (thick end of a fiver for a pasty last time I went). They also have excellent corporate facilities so the non-matchday income must be pretty substantial.


Meanwhile, over at St James Park, the stadium itself is more than adequate (or at least will be soon) but it’s restricted by what, to me, is its greatest advantage – its location. Being so central means that there are numerous places to go before and after to spend money on food and drink plus there’s the fact that the facilities aren’t great which limits non-matchday income. There isn’t a huge amount that can be done about this though because of space restrictions.


I love where our ground is but it’s exactly that which hamstrings and limits future development.

 

[jacobncfc]

Burton ground is ok as long as you don’t take a big following. Our first visit we ended up with fans stood around the pitch behind the goal as it got too full whilst they moved some of the home fans along out the side terrace to accommodate them!

Not sure if it’s been sorted out but I’m convinced there used to be more people allowed in that terrace than there probably should be. We’ve only been there once but it’s definitely the most packed in I’ve ever been at a football game, was kids sat around the edge of the pitch and stuff.

 

[Trapdoor]

RIP our away end toilets.

The westcountries answer to the black hole of calcutta.

 

[GTFCfish]

Gay Meadow we similar i.e. a drain pipe cut in half.

Saltergate got an extra point for being able to watch the game whilst having a piss.

Southports away end was similar 2 tiny toilets with no room to piss in where if someone was stood at the next one you were virtually holding hands so everyone just pissed up against the wall at the side or the fence behind us.
Funny at the end Southports photographer was having a piss against the wall while their player got sent off and he had to quickly stop and run to the front of the stand to try and get a picture.
Sort of sums up the National League scene really.

 

[gijsbert_bos]

Saltergate Away End terrace toilets

What was wrong with them? You could watch the game while you had a piss

 

[Habbinalan]

We had plans submitted and rejected for a new ground in the Trumpington area of Cambridge, just off the M11 and slightly further out than we are now. There’s not much nearby and in hindsight I’m glad it got rejected.

Rumours are that our chairman wants to buy the Abbey back from Grosvenor and redevelop it but that’s been talked about for some time. If that did happen, we’d redo the home end and move the pitch closer to the south stand so visitirs no longer need binoculars.

Aside from the proximity of the away end to the pitch and the lack of pubs immediately nearby, our ground is great and full of character. Any redevelopment would need to retain terracing behind the goal in my opinion (though I’d personally bung a seated tier on the top for big games). I always think the front of our ground could look more appealing to people driving down Newmarket Road and redoing that end would be an opportunity to get that right.

If we redevelop, it’ll happen one stand at a time I think.

https://goo.gl/maps/2zdJSUbCqUK2

Folks should know that we've actually built a new station closer to the ground, Cambridge North. Not that it improves the drinking opportunities (can't beat Tennison Road and Mill Road) and nor is at as convenient as the original Barnwell Junction (not to be confused with Barnwell Station, which was in Northants).

but eventually (when they build a bridge), for the more bucolic, it might offer a nice walk across the river before meeting the cows on the common.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

What was wrong with them? You could watch the game while you had a piss

View was decent but the size , or lack of wasn’t when you took big numbers there

 

[valefan16]

Not sure if it’s been sorted out but I’m convinced there used to be more people allowed in that terrace than there probably should be. We’ve only been there once but it’s definitely the most packed in I’ve ever been at a football game, was kids sat around the edge of the pitch and stuff.

Yeah our first visit was a right mess. Sold it out but as I say people had to be extracted to avoid crushing.

Seemed to be sorted for further visits though.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

https://goo.gl/maps/2zdJSUbCqUK2

Folks should know that we've actually built a new station closer to the ground, Cambridge North. Not that it improves the drinking opportunities (can't beat Tennison Road and Mill Road) and nor is at as convenient as the original Barnwell Junction (not to be confused with Barnwell Station, which was in Northants).

but eventually (when they build a bridge), for the more bucolic, it might offer a nice walk across the river before meeting the cows on the common.

Have they sorted out the timetable for it yet? Lived relatively nearby up until recently and there were so few trains it was hardly worth having to be honest.

 

[Youpies]

Not sure if it’s been sorted out but I’m convinced there used to be more people allowed in that terrace than there probably should be. We’ve only been there once but it’s definitely the most packed in I’ve ever been at a football game, was kids sat around the edge of the pitch and stuff.

I know the game you're referring to which is the Munto season. I had acres of space on the right hand side. It was literally just people being sheep and all congregating in the middle

 

[UTS]

Scunthorpe has to be the worst ever ‘new build’. Out of town, bland, and a capacity of only about 8,000.

 

[Laker]

Have they sorted out the timetable for it yet? Lived relatively nearby up until recently and there were so few trains it was hardly worth having to be honest.

I can’t comment - I used it once to get to London (I work that side of town) and mine was one of about 10 cars in the car park at 7am, it was dead quiet.

 

[Bartonyellow]

Burton ground is ok as long as you don’t take a big following. Our first visit we ended up with fans stood around the pitch behind the goal as it got too full whilst they moved some of the home fans along out the side terrace to accommodate them!

We have come a long way since then - accommodating teams such as villa, Newcastle and Sunderland. Our ticketing has improved as has the stewarding.
I think the key to an identity is keeping the ground in the town or city. We did that - and the local pubs and shops have benefited from our rise of crowds of 1700 up to 6500 for the big games.
Colchester are removed from the town - feels like you are in the middle of nowhere.
(Which you are )
Newcastle is so impressive as it’s in the city centre - part of the community and the fabric of the city
That’s the key.
Whether it’s ugly or breeze block is irrelevant - it’s been the heartbeat of the place.
I put down our rise to the second tier partially down to the location of the Pirelli and it’s feel.

 

[GTFCfish]

Last time we went to Burton our fans were so packed in with no room that quite a lot of them had no option but to go onto the pitch.....

 

[MrGloverLover]

Burton ground is ok as long as you don’t take a big following. Our first visit we ended up with fans stood around the pitch behind the goal as it got too full whilst they moved some of the home fans along out the side terrace to accommodate them!

Last Saturday there were more Derby fans in the Burton areas than Burton fans.

 

[MrGloverLover]

Scunthorpe has to be the worst ever ‘new build’. Out of town, bland, and a capacity of only about 8,000.

And a shit car park to get out of afterwards.

 

[Wooderson]

Scunny and Burton I don't mind so much because at least they have some standing.

 

[UTS]

Scunny and Burton I don't mind so much because at least they have some standing.

Bolton has standing?

 

[Chris FGR]

Last time we went to Burton our fans were so packed in with no room that quite a lot of them had no option but to go onto the pitch.....

That happened to me a few years back, at a Swindon v Bristol Rovers game, got forced to jump the barrier cos there was a surge down the front, and ended up getting dragged out with my arms pinned behind my back like a twat, tried to explain what had happened but the bellend stewards weren't listening so tried to nut one and got a banning order. Absolute joke.

 

[UTS]

That happened to me a few years back, at a Swindon v Bristol Rovers game, got forced to jump the barrier cos there was a surge down the front, and ended up getting dragged out with my arms pinned behind my back like a twat, tried to explain what had happened but the bellend stewards weren't listening so tried to nut one and got a banning order. Absolute joke.

Is this League Two’s version of Lance Stoe

 

[MWS]

It'd be terrible is County left EP and moved to an out of town flat pack stadium. We literally have the best of all worlds. Stockport train station is less than 10mins walk from the ground. Motorway network is less than 5 min drive from the ground. Plenty of free places to park within a 5 min walk from the ground, or a car park space across the road can be had for 20p per hour!

Castle Street in Edgeley has chippy's, bookies, pubs for all match day preferences.

Add that to the fact that Edgeley Park is steeped in history and character. I hope we stay there for my entire lifetime!

 

[MrGloverLover]

Bolton has standing?

Bolton?

 

[devilofajob]

York are building out of town to move in summer 2019. (York StadiumLeisure Complex)
It will be near the Vanguard Shopping area, with lots of other facilities, but nowehere near anything like a decent pub or 2 or the City Centre! 8000+ capacity shared with the Rugby League team.

 

[shoddycollins]

Scunthorpe has to be the worst ever ‘new build’. Out of town, bland, and a capacity of only about 8,000.

I think it was like the first league stadium to be built in 50 years at the time or something.

 

[shoddycollins]

Bolton has standing?

I'm confused... his post doesn't show it's been edited so I'm not sure where you're getting Bolton from.