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Exeter City redevelopment - quite sad in a way


Lanterne Rouge

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There`s just been a feature on our local news down here about demolition starting today on Exeter`s old stand which dates back to 1926. I know they have to go but it is still a bit sad when they do - most of us on here will have been down to St James` Park and will remember the ground with some affection I should think.

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Its been a while since I was down there. 17 years in fact.

It was Peter Beadle's arse scoring equaliser in the 1-1 draw of the mickey mouse cup southern area final second leg.

I sat in that grandstand desperate for a cigarette for most of the game as smoking was banned due to the risk of fire.

I thought the most charming feature were the toilets behind the stand. Each of the cubicle doors had been taken from some houses somewhere. They were complete with door number and even a letter box. These were quite possibly the poorest, most disgustingly unclean, ramshackle shitters in league football. 

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10 minutes ago, Ska Junkie said:

Is that the stand with the railway line behind it? If it is, I don't think they can go much bigger than the old one or even go the full length of the pitch.

That will be all 4 sides redeveloped down there as they're doing something with the old away end / step as well. 

They are putting a cover on the away end as part of this scheme apparently. Only £3.5m being spent so I doubt it will end up like the San SIro but it will be better than they have at least.

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1 minute ago, Red Right Hand said:

They are putting a cover on the away end as part of this scheme apparently. Only £3.5m being spent so I doubt it will end up like the San SIro but it will be better than they have at least.

Fair play to them TBH. Living within their means by the sounds of it. 

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1 hour ago, Red Right Hand said:

There`s just been a feature on our local news down here about demolition starting today on Exeter`s old stand which dates back to 1926. I know they have to go but it is still a bit sad when they do - most of us on here will have been down to St James` Park and will remember the ground with some affection I should think.

Better than burning your stand down for the insurance money, playing in Bath for a decade and then stealing the ground of a local Rugby club.

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13 minutes ago, Malago said:

Better than burning your stand down for the insurance money, playing in Bath for a decade and then stealing the ground of a local Rugby club.

Who on earth would do such a thing?

Not the fine upstanding professional Family football club, formerly known as the Black Arabs?

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1 hour ago, Midlands Robin said:

Its been a while since I was down there. 17 years in fact.

It was Peter Beadle's arse scoring equaliser in the 1-1 draw of the mickey mouse cup southern area final second leg.

I sat in that grandstand desperate for a cigarette for most of the game as smoking was banned due to the risk of fire.

I thought the most charming feature were the toilets behind the stand. Each of the cubicle doors had been taken from some houses somewhere. They were complete with door number and even a letter box. These were quite possibly the poorest, most disgustingly unclean, ramshackle shitters in league football. 

Weren't there some builders watching from a pile of rubble that was one of the other stands?

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As somebody who has regularly watched the Grecians over the years I think I can say St James Park is not a s***hole (on 2 sides at least and all of it soon). The view from the Big Bank in particular is excellent (the other end behind the goal).  

However The grandstand is awful both outside and inside and simply isn't fit for purpose. That said the replacement will look slightly odd - as people have correctly said it will only go two thirds along the pitch due to the railway. The away end should be much improved too as when the Big Bank was built originally the intention was to move the pitch towards it, which I assume is now happening to make the away end bigger.

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Having been to a few Exeter games last season, I can say that the old stand had passed the 'quaint' phase and was simply no longer fit for purpose. It has been dilapidated for a long time to the point where it was no longer viable to keep it. They are also redeveloping their away end, which should help them get more revenue from away supporters as the away facilities are pretty poor

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7 minutes ago, Newquay-Red said:

Having been to a few Exeter games last season, I can say that the old stand had passed the 'quaint' phase and was simply no longer fit for purpose. It has been dilapidated for a long time to the point where it was no longer viable to keep it. They are also redeveloping their away end, which should help them get more revenue from away supporters as the away facilities are pretty poor

Hard to see how the away end can be extended with the road behind.

How do they plan to do that?  Hope they can along with Torquay great clubs.

 

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1 minute ago, stephenkibby. said:

Hard to see how the away end can be extended with the road behind.

How do they plan to do that?  Hope they can along with Torquay great clubs.

 

They have purchased Barnet's old away end, which basically looks like an elongated bus shelter. Better than nothing, which is pretty much what it is right now

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55 minutes ago, Judda said:

Weren't there some builders watching from a pile of rubble that was one of the other stands?

Yeah, that's right. There was. The home end to the left of us was new. The opposite stand was in the process of being pulled down and the away end to the right was that small step with a fence behind it. I'm glad we paid for the main stand tickets (think we were allocated about 200) as it pissed down all night.

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4 minutes ago, Newquay-Red said:

They have purchased Barnet's old away end, which basically looks like an elongated bus shelter. Better than nothing, which is pretty much what it is right now

Is that just a roof then? Not got access to the Sunday Independent anymore so have lost track of what's going on there.

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25 minutes ago, stephenkibby. said:

Hard to see how the away end can be extended with the road behind.

How do they plan to do that?  Hope they can along with Torquay great clubs.

 

From my earlier reply: The away end should be much improved too as when the Big Bank was built originally the intention was to move the pitch towards it, which I assume is now happening to make the away end bigger.

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18 minutes ago, stephenkibby. said:

Is that just a roof then? Not got access to the Sunday Independent anymore so have lost track of what's going on there.

I think that's all it is meant to be, it will remain a standing only area. SJP doesn't really have a huge reputation as an away day due to it being so far from most other L2 clubs and the fact that the facilities are still basic despite a few recent improvements

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5 minutes ago, steveybadger said:

From my earlier reply: The away end should be much improved too as when the Big Bank was built originally the intention was to move the pitch towards it, which I assume is now happening to make the away end bigger.

That's great, been a day or two since going to St James Park .

One time we were on our way to the gate for a new years day game against the Gas. It was the game that got called off because of ice around the surrounding area. We got as far as Bridgewater before we heard.

Needing a football fix we took in the Exeter on the way back if memory severs it was Brentford played on a mud heap and Exeter won!!

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2 hours ago, Hampshire Red said:

Quite agree with Malago

On this subject have the gas ever spent £3.5m on their grounds to improve facilities for their fans? 

Maybe a new thread starts 92/92 as we can't think of one club that has spent less over the last 10 or 20 yrs on ground improvements 

They didn’t even spend that much on getting the ground, let alone improving it!

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8 hours ago, Midlands Robin said:

Its been a while since I was down there. 17 years in fact.

It was Peter Beadle's arse scoring equaliser in the 1-1 draw of the mickey mouse cup southern area final second leg.

I sat in that grandstand desperate for a cigarette for most of the game as smoking was banned due to the risk of fire.

I thought the most charming feature were the toilets behind the stand. Each of the cubicle doors had been taken from some houses somewhere. They were complete with door number and even a letter box. These were quite possibly the poorest, most disgustingly unclean, ramshackle shitters in league football. 

Time for a new stand then me thinks. Unless there are redeeming architectural features there should be no nostalgia about tearing down a ramshackle, likely dangerous, old shed.

£3.5 million to replace the Grandstand? Is that what is being said here including a roof for the away end and new facilities? Sounds like money very well spent; St. James' Park sorely needs it and will bring it up to being the 3rd best ground in the South West.

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15 hours ago, stephenkibby. said:

That's great, been a day or two since going to St James Park .

One time we were on our way to the gate for a new years day game against the Gas. It was the game that got called off because of ice around the surrounding area. We got as far as Bridgewater before we heard.

Needing a football fix we took in the Exeter on the way back if memory severs it was Brentford played on a mud heap and Exeter won!!

Alas i got from Exeter to Bristol before i found out!

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