The Stadium

tangerinedreams

Well-known member
Don't get the obsession with it?
We've got a tidy ground with a capacity which will exceed our average attendance.
In list of priorities this should be way down the list IMO.
Would rather be creating an atmosphere in a smaller stadium than rattling round in a ground too big for us.
Who cares about the facilities in the East, that should be used for away fans anyway and if we do need part of the East then they can share with the South.
Get us a new training ground and some new players over any stadium improvements any day of the week.
 
Don't get the obsession with it?
We've got a tidy ground with a capacity which will exceed our average attendance.
In list of priorities this should be way down the list IMO.
Would rather be creating an atmosphere in a smaller stadium than rattling round in a ground too big for us.
Who cares about the facilities in the East, that should be used for away fans anyway and if we do need part of the East then they can share with the South.
Get us a new training ground and some new players over any stadium improvements any day of the week.
Bull it's the 21st century fans expect a decent ground why not nearly everyone else has one.

Having a bigger better facilitated stadium is all about maximising profits which then pay for training grounds and players.
 
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It’s clearly better to have a stadium as full as possible, rather than rows of empty seats. The question is, how many do we, or more importantly, the board, think we will have in regularly in the championship, what is their view on when/if we get to the Premiership, and then how many do they think we’ll have on a regular basis.

I would expect that this owner and board will have already planned for all eventualities.
 
Ground capacity and associated facilities cant be put in place overnight - it has to be part of a long term strategy which mirrors and accommodates our growth as we re-establish ourselves back in the championship. Of course its not the main focus and I agree, short term goal is on team strengthening and training ground development but the "whole" package should be developed together.
 
Everyone’s basing what they expect our attendances to be on previous years under the Oystons. If we’re an ambitious club we need to increase them. If we want to maximise revenue we need the facilities to attract the largest away followings and then sell them food and drink. We need a stand that’s not just 5000 ticket sales 23 days a year but that gives us an extra £2 million from food and drink and corporate sales each season, plus offers a steady revenue from functions and events, and commercial rentals year on year out too. The fact that it would also potentially allow the stadium to be used for other major events and concerts and generally improve the spectator experience whilst giving the club extra facilities to do with what they want is a bonus.

The East stand isn’t a vanity project but a key piece of club infrastructure that will help put us on a stable footing for generations to come.
 
Everyone’s basing what they expect our attendances to be on previous years under the Oystons. If we’re an ambitious club we need to increase them. If we want to maximise revenue we need the facilities to attract the largest away followings and then sell them food and drink. We need a stand that’s not just 5000 ticket sales 23 days a year but that gives us an extra £2 million from food and drink and corporate sales each season, plus offers a steady revenue from functions and events, and commercial rentals year on year out too. The fact that it would also potentially allow the stadium to be used for other major events and concerts and generally improve the spectator experience whilst giving the club extra facilities to do with what they want is a bonus.

The East stand isn’t a vanity project but a key piece of club infrastructure that will help put us on a stable footing for generations to come.
Amen to that.
 
It's not basing it on attendances under Oystons at all. You can go back to the height of our success in the 50, 60, 70s and Oyston free and we never attracted massive crowds. All our historical bigger attendances have been boosted by massive away followings. This was also when football was affordable and the only way to see it most times was going to the game.
 
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It's not basing it on attendances under Oystons at all. You can go back to the height of our success in the 50, 60, 70s and Oyston free and we never attracted massive crowds. All our historical bigger attendances have been boosted by massive away followings.
What’s wrong with being boosted by away followings ? Money is money as long as it’s in BFC’s accounts.

Also comparing attendances from 50,60,70 years ago is also pointless. Attitudes and cultures have changed massively. As has the economics and demographics of football fans and the local community generally.

In years gone by Blackpool was the last stop for transients hence few residents were actually Blackpudlian - now we have the opportunity to attract those historically Manchester, Liverpool, London or Scottish based supporting families to Blackpool.

The greater Blackpool conurbation has a population of 250,000 to 300,000 people. Blackpool has a great deal of exile fans and people with links to the town all over the world (for similar reasons why people came to Blackpool people also left) and most importantly you don’t HAVE to live in Blackpool or have a connection to Blackpool to be a BFC fan.

As a club it’s sensible and reasonable to aim for 20,000 home fans on the regular in my eyes and I think with ambition and a bit of foresight in the next decade that could be a reality. We could also easily attract anywhere from 2000 to 10000 away fans in the Championship depending on who we’re playing so why be satisfied just selling 2000 tickets ?

I honestly don’t think a capacity of 30,000 would be too big for Blackpool. We’re a huge town. A resort. An arena of that size will always have it’s uses here.
 
Don't get the obsession with it?
We've got a tidy ground with a capacity which will exceed our average attendance.
In list of priorities this should be way down the list IMO.
Would rather be creating an atmosphere in a smaller stadium than rattling round in a ground too big for us.
Who cares about the facilities in the East, that should be used for away fans anyway and if we do need part of the East then they can share with the South.
Get us a new training ground and some new players over any stadium improvements any day of the week.
Are you Karl Oyston in disguise?

Firstly there isn't an obsession with it..

Secondly we have a small ground and a capacity which limits our ambition and will curtail our long term growth potential.

Where it should or shouldn't be on the list of "Priorities" ought to be determined by our ambition and ideally the likely highest attendances we could reasonably expect to achieve in the division above the one we currently play in.

What you would rather be doing as far as singing your little songs, is hardly relevant to how a professional Club ought to be conducting it's policy for growth. I'm sure they are concerned whether "Father's Gun" sounds better in a small stadium, but we are trying to build a football club, not a choir.

The current set up falls short of requirements if we are serious about competing for promotion to the next level...

It leaves us absolutely zero potential for growth.. The problem that also exists is with segregation within the ground, we are also required to lose chunks of the linited capacity we already have.

There's nothing to stop the Club developing in stages however...

First they could look at the NE Corner and accomodating some better facilities for the East Stand perhaps...Then they could look at developing the East itself and seeing if a tiered stand could take the capacity up to somewhere round 20K ish....Wehilst a Capacity of 20K would still be insufficient,, it might be enough to serve our needs for a period of further development...

Longer Term, a Stadium with 25,000 Capacity ought to be what we are aiming for.....
 
I think this subject was covered at the last structured dialogue meeting. Developing the East Stand is not top of the priorities list but it is on the list.
I'm sure the training ground has to be top of the list and hopefully we'll here something about this soon.
So the whole "Blackpool project" will inevitibly be a staged development.
I've no idea how much money Simon Sadler has to invest in BFC but that has to be a factor as well.
 
You can't grow something beyond its maximum potential.
What do you think is our ‘maximum potential’ and why ?

Please also remember that within the last 50 years Leeds United averaged a season or two with attendances in the lower / mid teens and nobody currently considers Elland Road too large…
 
I’m not too concerned as we are steaming (in the proper sense of the term) in the right direction. With the shambles inherited all this catchup work will take some thought & time to get right & put in place. But I’ve got every confidence in MR Sadler being totally professional in his approach. 👍👍
 
Everyone’s basing what they expect our attendances to be on previous years under the Oystons. If we’re an ambitious club we need to increase them. If we want to maximise revenue we need the facilities to attract the largest away followings and then sell them food and drink. We need a stand that’s not just 5000 ticket sales 23 days a year but that gives us an extra £2 million from food and drink and corporate sales each season, plus offers a steady revenue from functions and events, and commercial rentals year on year out too. The fact that it would also potentially allow the stadium to be used for other major events and concerts and generally improve the spectator experience whilst giving the club extra facilities to do with what they want is a bonus.

The East stand isn’t a vanity project but a key piece of club infrastructure that will help put us on a stable footing for generations to come.
Well said. Ultimately the ground is where the money is to be made so should be the A1 priority
 
Some fans are stuck in the small time, tinpot mentality of the Oyston era. I'm glad those people aren't running our club. Luckily we have an ambitious owner with big plans for the football club and the town.
 
I remember when we were in the prem.that away tickets were extremely hard to get. So a place like Blackpool where they would be available would be a magnet for visiting fans who normally cannot get a ticket to their away matches. It also brings money into the town for those that want to make a weekend off it.
 
Some fans are stuck in the small time, tinpot mentality of the Oyston era. I'm glad those people aren't running our club. Luckily we have an ambitious owner with big plans for the football club and the town.
Yes I myself am stuck in the tinpot mentality of football 50 years ago if I'm being honest. I don't like modern stadiums, all the corporate speak, Luke Garbutt's hair do (the big ponce) and all the nonsense on tinternet.

Bring back terraces, Bovril, Tony Green and The Green. It was miles better. The world has gone to shit. And it's all down to the corporate fuckwits in my opinion. And now fans are speaking the same gruesome speak. 🤣
 
Are you Karl Oyston in disguise?

Firstly there isn't an obsession with it..

Secondly we have a small ground and a capacity which limits our ambition and will curtail our long term growth potential.

Where it should or shouldn't be on the list of "Priorities" ought to be determined by our ambition and ideally the likely highest attendances we could reasonably expect to achieve in the division above the one we currently play in.

What you would rather be doing as far as singing your little songs, is hardly relevant to how a professional Club ought to be conducting it's policy for growth. I'm sure they are concerned whether "Father's Gun" sounds better in a small stadium, but we are trying to build a football club, not a choir.

The current set up falls short of requirements if we are serious about competing for promotion to the next level...

It leaves us absolutely zero potential for growth.. The problem that also exists is with segregation within the ground, we are also required to lose chunks of the linited capacity we already have.

There's nothing to stop the Club developing in stages however...

First they could look at the NE Corner and accomodating some better facilities for the East Stand perhaps...Then they could look at developing the East itself and seeing if a tiered stand could take the capacity up to somewhere round 20K ish....Wehilst a Capacity of 20K would still be insufficient,, it might be enough to serve our needs for a period of further development...

Longer Term, a Stadium with 25,000 Capacity ought to be what we are aiming for.....
This.

The way football is going, it seems likely there will be some capacity restriction on top flight football at some point so 25k is the way to go. It doesn't matter if we don't get 25k in the Championship or below as you don't plan anything - stadiums, motorways or IT systems - for current capacity but for the likely possible maximum.

What we need at Blackpool is an adjustable away section so we can give 7k or 2k depending on opponents and have the design and capacity to handle that without upsetting home fans, the police or licensing authorities. Unfortunately, I can't say I've ever seen an example of that in real life so it's a challenge.
 
Yes I myself am stuck in the tinpot mentality of football 50 years ago if I'm being honest. I don't like modern stadiums, all the corporate speak, Luke Garbutt's hair do (the big ponce) and all the nonsense on tinternet.

Bring back terraces, Bovril, Tony Green and The Green. It was miles better. The world has gone to shit. And it's all down to the corporate fuckwits in my opinion. And now fans are speaking the same gruesome speak. 🤣
Miserable old git 😝
 
It's not basing it on attendances under Oystons at all. You can go back to the height of our success in the 50, 60, 70s and Oyston free and we never attracted massive crowds. All our historical bigger attendances have been boosted by massive away followings. This was also when football was affordable and the only way to see it most times was going to the game.
We used to have fantastic attendances at Bloomfield Rd during the illuminations and then they would fall off when they finished. 30,000 plus on occasions then falling to around 14,000
 
Don't get the obsession with it?
We've got a tidy ground with a capacity which will exceed our average attendance.
In list of priorities this should be way down the list IMO.
Would rather be creating an atmosphere in a smaller stadium than rattling round in a ground too big for us.
Who cares about the facilities in the East, that should be used for away fans anyway and if we do need part of the East then they can share with the South.
Get us a new training ground and some new players over any stadium improvements any day of the week.
The ground needs to be 20 k capacity. Do you honestly think we don't warrant that be cause if you don't you need to add small to your user name.
I hate threads like this because it's such short term thinking. Like someone else said it's Oyston thinking.
 
The ground needs to be 20 k capacity. Do you honestly think we don't warrant that be cause if you don't you need to add small to your user name.
I hate threads like this because it's such short term thinking. Like someone else said it's Oyston thinking.
Rip the corporate boxes out and put safe standing in. 👍
 
Rip the corporate boxes out and put safe standing in. 👍
Safe Standing perhaps although I’m not a fan to be honest, but ripping out corporate accommodation would be a retrograde step.

Definitely not something a modern, forward thinking Football Club should be thinking about.
 
Rip the corporate boxes out and put safe standing in. 👍
It will be interesting to see how many corporate boxes get taken up. You’d think that we’d have a rush with championship football but I have a feeling a lot of organisations will conclude it’s too risky what with Covid and social distancing measures and reduced business networking opportunities/jollies.

I wonder if Scarecrow still has a box?
 
I don't think anyone I've read here is saying don't expand, I think you can split into two groups - those who think we should expand immediately and those say wait and see.

I'm in the second group. We're not dealing with a limitless pot of finance (and yes, I get that expanding will create more income) but Championship consolidation is the most important thing right now, and putting the squad together to achieve that. We can't afford to go down and lose the majority of this squad and probably coach, to have to start again.

Fully agree that 20k is a good size to look at. Can a more permanent East be built in one summer? If the need is shown to be there this year and we stay up, it'll definitely be there next, and then some, too. And hopefully less Covd restrictions to limit numbers by then, which is still an unknown at this stage.
 
The Stadium is the key piece of infrastructure of a club, which is why people attach such importance to it. Otherwise, why has any club bothered redeveloping? With an ambitious owner that cares, a good team on the pitch and the ability to offer 5k tickets to away fans (like most of our nearest rivals), there really isn't any reason why regular crowds of at least 15k aren't achievable. In which case, a 16k capacity just isn't enough. Somewhere between 20k and 25k would be perfect,
 
One of the reasons to improve the stadium is for commercial reasons beyond football...concerts and what not. I have maintained for many years the North West is crying out for another large music venue to cater for all of the towns around us.
 
It will be interesting to see how many corporate boxes get taken up. You’d think that we’d have a rush with championship football but I have a feeling a lot of organisations will conclude it’s too risky what with Covid and social distancing measures and reduced business networking opportunities/jollies.

I wonder if Scarecrow still has a box?
 
Safe Standing perhaps although I’m not a fan to be honest, but ripping out corporate accommodation would be a retrograde step.

Definitely not something a modern, forward thinking Football Club should be thinking about.
You're taking this very seriously. 😉 🤓
 
It will be interesting to see how many corporate boxes get taken up. You’d think that we’d have a rush with championship football but I have a feeling a lot of organisations will conclude it’s too risky what with Covid and social distancing measures and reduced business networking opportunities/jollies.

I wonder if Scarecrow still has a box?
He'll be in one soon.
 
Given the twin factors of Promotion and “Feel Good” ( no Oystons ), a successful team could expect 14-16k Home fans from the start of the season until the end of October. Away support may add another 3-4 k. In Winter, 12k Home and 2-3k Away. Whether that is worth the cost of redeveloping the East is a matter for The Board. Their question will be…’ What will it cost the Club, year on year if we don’t ?
 
What’s wrong with being boosted by away followings ? Money is money as long as it’s in BFC’s accounts.

Also comparing attendances from 50,60,70 years ago is also pointless. Attitudes and cultures have changed massively. As has the economics and demographics of football fans and the local community generally.

In years gone by Blackpool was the last stop for transients hence few residents were actually Blackpudlian - now we have the opportunity to attract those historically Manchester, Liverpool, London or Scottish based supporting families to Blackpool.

The greater Blackpool conurbation has a population of 250,000 to 300,000 people. Blackpool has a great deal of exile fans and people with links to the town all over the world (for similar reasons why people came to Blackpool people also left) and most importantly you don’t HAVE to live in Blackpool or have a connection to Blackpool to be a BFC fan.

As a club it’s sensible and reasonable to aim for 20,000 home fans on the regular in my eyes and I think with ambition and a bit of foresight in the next decade that could be a reality. We could also easily attract anywhere from 2000 to 10000 away fans in the Championship depending on who we’re playing so why be satisfied just selling 2000 tickets ?

I honestly don’t think a capacity of 30,000 would be too big for Blackpool. We’re a huge town. A resort. An arena of that size will always have it’s uses here.
I’m obsessed with Blackpool built up area and the Fylde coast in general and the urbanisation and promotion of culture that we produce. So to hear you mention “the greater blackpool conurbation”, well, it’s made my day!
 
We should train at somewhere like Myerscough. Lord Sadler could buy it off them (these agricultural colleges are always desperate for cash) and their pitches and facilities look quite good
 
Sorry 😂 I'm only dipping in and out on my phone so not quite with it today
No worries. I'm joking, on the basis that it's unavoidable ish in "the modern game". Would just be good to see a club shunning the whole corporate experience thing, and having a ,mix of regular seats and standing, none of the corporate hospitality shenanigans. All those glass boxes, at some grounds in particular, have an effect that changes the whole thing in a way. We've got used to them, but I would prefer stadia without them, personally.
 
No worries. I'm joking, on the basis that it's unavoidable ish in "the modern game". Would just be good to see a club shunning the whole corporate experience thing, and having a ,mix of regular seats and standing, none of the corporate hospitality shenanigans. All those glass boxes, at some grounds in particular, have an effect that changes the whole thing in a way. We've got used to them, but I would prefer stadia without them, personally.
Yep I get that... They've become a necessary evil now and It's just what Clubs do.. In fairness, I've been up there on a few occasions and it's not as bad as all that really... More often than not, just normal supporters taking the opportunity to go on the lash, rather than stuffy business folk.

I think safe standing might be a reasonable shout though... I just can't be arsed standing up for a whole game any more as sad as that sounds...
 
Reading threads like this always reminds me of Karl's "well we're only turning 150 away, why do we need a 3rd stand?" The South Stand thanks to Uncle Val went up and we started playing to crowds of 12k instead of 9k. Then the unthinkable, to KOKO anyway, happened and we got promoted to the Prem. We had to throw up a temporary East Stand because we weren't prepared. Still we could only accommodate 2200 away fans, 1800 in the case of Man U. Despite so few away fans we averaged just under 16k, the lowest v Fulham 15,300. Over 4 seasons , the Prem and 3 in the Championship we averaged 14k including 10k season ticket holders.

Fair play to the Nobbers despite the million to one chance they ever get to the Prem they have a ground that's ready and can already cater for 5500 away fans. There average is nowhere near 14k but it hasn't held them back. There were always a few on here who were against the building of the South. I don't no whether they really believed it or were just so far up Karls backside that they'd go along with anything he said.

We have an ambitious owner now for the first time in over 40 years, everything is being done properly. This club can go further than it ever has done in my lifetime and that includes our brief flirtation with the Premier League.
 
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