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Post by Tom Shaw's Fist of Rage on Oct 7, 2014 11:15:27 GMT
As much as I'd like to stay at the Abbey forever, a North Stand/Main Stand redevelopment would surely only generate a fraction of that of a new stadium.
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Post by pappasmurf on Oct 7, 2014 11:20:04 GMT
Capacity of 9000 needed no more no less we're still averaging around 3300ish for standard league 2 games ....I agree that's about right. We can always make sure there's the means to expand if needed one day. I love the Abbey, but I think it's quite clear only a new Community Stadium can generate the kind of revenue that Jez and DaveD and the rest of us aspire to. Cambridge City getting the green light from Eric Pickles has made me think we might be able to push for something of our own.
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Post by pappasmurf on Oct 7, 2014 11:24:18 GMT
As much as I'd like to stay at the Abbey forever, a North Stand/Main Stand redevelopment would surely only generate a fraction of that of a new stadium. .....Yep. Not enough for where we must aspire to be on and off the field.
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Denton
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Post by Denton on Oct 7, 2014 11:27:00 GMT
A prime example of the facilities we need
Burton Albion absolutely fantastic little ground HUGE carpark and can clearly expand the stadium if need be to double what it currently is, plus the corporate facilities are so good my younger brother got taken there last week on his UNI course as part of a trip to st george's park
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utopia
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Post by utopia on Oct 7, 2014 11:37:30 GMT
Interesting that City have the final go ahead to build in the green belt. I'd hate United to move that far out of town but it does set some form of precedent (if not legally then certainly in people's heads) with regards to sites on the edge of Cambridge.
I bloody love the Abbey. It is a special place. It has a unique atmosphere and I've been there hundreds of times. It is like a second home. The club would almost certainly be better off and attract larger crowds in a new stadium though. If we do move I'll miss the old place.
10,000 seems a reasonable capacity to start with. It should be easily expandable if and when we need it. We will average well over 4,000 this season and that would be higher in a new ground.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2014 11:47:18 GMT
As is always said, there is enough latent, casual and general football support in our (quite large) catchment area to propel us forward if the right facilities, location and transport links are in place.
I just fear that whatever happens there will be the sandal knitting attitude that seems to accompany all developments in our fine city. Cycle or park 4 miles away and get bused in and out...look at Colchester, always small but have built a painfully dull stadium in an awful location and its cost them any chance they had of moving forwards in terms of a fanbase.They have a stadium by the trunk road you can't drive to.
If we end up on the outskirts (as we inevitably will) we must be holistic with our approach to get people to the ground. Cars, train, cycle, bus and maybe even novelty punt should all be equally accessible.
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Post by amberline on Oct 7, 2014 12:25:28 GMT
Capacity of 9000 needed no more no less we're still averaging around 3300ish for standard league 2 games So what happens then when you draw BIG people in the cup? Turning away 6000 Man Utd fans would make sense for starters. Not mentioning the neutrals or now and agains. We can't turn away potential income like that. 15,000 would be fine IF designed correctly.
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andyf
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Post by andyf on Oct 7, 2014 12:31:37 GMT
Capacity of 9000 needed no more no less we're still averaging around 3300ish for standard league 2 games So what happens then when you draw BIG people in the cup? Turning away 6000 Man Utd fans would make sense for starters. Not mentioning the neutrals or now and agains. We can't turn away potential income like that. 15,000 would be fine IF designed correctly. 15,000 would be mental however you design it.
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animal
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Post by animal on Oct 7, 2014 12:34:58 GMT
It is important that IF we do get the Holy Grail that seems to be a community stadium thing then the facilities do actually create revenue for CUFC. I seem to recall that in some of the plans I saw, United were only controling a part of the commercial potential. Knowing how well run we have been in previous regimes, I think this equated to a lock up garage in Trumpington & a dough-nut concession on match days.
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Post by amberline on Oct 7, 2014 12:53:35 GMT
So what happens then when you draw BIG people in the cup? Turning away 6000 Man Utd fans would make sense for starters. Not mentioning the neutrals or now and agains. We can't turn away potential income like that. 15,000 would be fine IF designed correctly. 15,000 would be mental however you design it. Ahhhh right. So would turning away large numbers of away fans as well. Getting a new ground and with possibly the 'extra' fans it attracts and then playing our local derbies and then the headlines the next day, which we have all heard before, " fans turned away". Then again Wembley looks mental doesn't it, when the second and third tiers are not opened? It may not look beautiful, our ground does not at the moment with the empty terracing but the extra capacity is there if needed with a new ground. I'd compromise on 13,000
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animal
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Post by animal on Oct 7, 2014 12:59:02 GMT
Capacity of 9000 needed no more no less we're still averaging around 3300ish for standard league 2 games So what happens then when you draw BIG people in the cup? Turning away 6000 Man Utd fans would make sense for starters. Not mentioning the neutrals or now and agains. We can't turn away potential income like that. 15,000 would be fine IF designed correctly. How many times has the Abbey sold out ? I think maybe 2 or 3 times in the 40 years I've been going. There is a rule of thumb Capcity x X£'s for the building/redevelopement costs of football grounds. Would the extra millions balance the "we may draw Man U once a decade" option. The FACT is we have only been pulled out the hat with them once in 40 years that we could have been potentially.
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Post by CUFC 69 on Oct 7, 2014 13:02:55 GMT
I think we could do with a capacity of around 15,000 if we move to a new stadium with the option of increasing the capacity as we climb higher up the league ladder, if we stay at the Abbey we would have to replace 3 stands and that would probably cost as much as a new stadium. Which other planets, as well as earth, do you inhabit? the same ones as you dylan I am not a astronaut who works for NASA
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2014 13:03:40 GMT
The concept of building an extra 3,000 to 5,000 seats on the off chance of playing Manchester United is what is the mental part of your argument.
If you've got £XXM to build a stadium, the extra seats being built initially would swallow 1/3rd or more of that budget. Leaving you with a crap stadium that's too big. Or, build a 10K stadium well, and get people in every week to a quality venue.
Either way, although I doubt we will get much say in this whole process, and 8K to 10K with the option to expand would be far better.
For comparison, 15K is between what Sheffield United get and what Bradford City get. Barnsley aren't hitting 10K and they get to watch Super Luke in action!
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Denton
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Post by Denton on Oct 7, 2014 13:10:06 GMT
Or an even better comparison posh get 5000 at home and they have the same catchment area and are the same sized club in a higher league and have sustained that whilst yoyoing up a league, that's our average and if we had a new stadium maybe add an extra 400 on
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utopia
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Post by utopia on Oct 7, 2014 13:57:15 GMT
On the Pish comparison you should note that they have had an advantage over us in having greater away capacity. It is much rarer that they have to have all ticket matches and they get more away fans through their turnstiles than anyone else in their division. What is important for us is that we can make best use of our capacity. We need it to be flexible. This was most obvious during the Halifax play off match. Hundreds were locked out yet there was space for a couple of thousand in the stadium. The new ticketing system will help here but a new ground needs to have flexible segregation arrangements. We need to make the most of whatever capacity we have.
I think 10,000 is good. Partly it is psychological, less than that just seems tinpot. However, other clubs have had greater than 50% increases in support following a new ground. Rotherham, Chesterfield, Doncaster. All getting much bigger attendances in a new stadium. All clubs that I would regard as similar sized to us. If our home crowds increased by 50% we would be looking at 6,500 average so far this season. The Plymouth and Luton matches would have seen crowds approaching 9,000. Of course to see those kind of increased attendance we would need to get the stadium right and Colchester is a template of how to get it wrong. 15,000 is too big now, but it should be a long term aspiration. The Cambridge area is continuing to grow rapidly and the club should be able to take advantage of that at some point.
I'm all for cycling, public transport and sustainable development. However, we need to have car parking. Our catchment area is large and mostly reliant on car transport. Probably more so than even Colchester.
I quite like the idea of punting to the ground. Hard work though and perhaps not something for a cold January Tuesday night.
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