Jack Dawe Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 If what we have been served up here since September under Lee Johnson is just the start, and not the high point, of something, then 27k will not be big enough, not for what we could pull in. Playing like we did last week v MU, but in the PL, against the big 6 or 7 - Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, Man City - we could fill 40k seats (with big away support, certainly), such is the profile and popularity of PL football currently. If we can take 42k to Wembley - big day out/ taking your missus who wouldn't know Joe Bryan from Adam (Baker or the biblical one) or not - for a game v Walsall in yet another lower league tinpot final, then we can attract 40k to AG for Man Utd. Naturally, there would be less interest in playing Swansea, Stoke, Huddersfield etc but the spectacle of City playing big games before crowds of 35 to 40k would be worth it. And if we were competing for players with West Brom, Stoke etc, and we showed them a 40k ground, compared to West Brom's 26k or Stoke's 28k, then we might have an edge. Our average in 76/77 was about 24k but if our capacity had been 24k then our average would've been much lower, and we would not have had 38k at AG to see us beat Liverpool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lack of Action Man Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 Should be without question that it would be expanded should we go up. As for how you achieve that rapidly with the council in this city, well... that requires a better mind than mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshtonPark Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 People, see my post above. If we knock down the atyeo, where will away fans go during the rebuild? It isnt possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogkev Posted December 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 27 minutes ago, Bar BS3 said: Everyone who’s on board at the moment will get priority on season tickets if we go up, so if Ashton Gate isn’t big enough to hold more people who don’t deem us worthy of their support, outside of the Prem, then good..! Interesting point, but what if these 'new' fans will help drive the club onto even better times? Surely they have to be accommodated somehow. Supporting City isn't a closed shop. Fans who would pay their money to watch Premier League football, would still be City fans, provided they stay loyal. But even if we just sustain ourselves as a top Championship club, we'll still attract a growing fanbase. I don't feel any new fans should be tarred with disdain because they haven't attended in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cidered abroad Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 6 minutes ago, Jack Dawe said: If what we have been served up here since September under Lee Johnson is just the start, and not the high point, of something, then 27k will not be big enough, not for what we could pull in. Playing like we did last week v MU, but in the PL, against the big 6 or 7 - Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, Man City - we could fill 40k seats (with big away support, certainly), such is the profile and popularity of PL football currently. If we can take 42k to Wembley - big day out/ taking your missus who wouldn't know Joe Bryan from Adam (Baker or the biblical one) or not - for a game v Walsall in yet another lower league tinpot final, then we can attract 40k to AG for Man Utd. Naturally, there would be less interest in playing Swansea, Stoke, Huddersfield etc but the spectacle of City playing big games before crowds of 35 to 40k would be worth it. And if we were competing for players with West Brom, Stoke etc, and we showed them a 40k ground, compared to West Brom's 26k or Stoke's 28k, then we might have an edge. Our average in 76/77 was about 24k but if our capacity had been 24k then our average would've been much lower, and we would not have had 38k at AG to see us beat Liverpool. Gates were higher than the published figures. Fiddling on a grand scale to avoid VAT and extra stewarding and police costs. I even suspect there were more at the Liverpool game than 38,000! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogkev Posted December 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 3 minutes ago, OddBallJim said: Should be without question that it would be expanded should we go up. As for how you achieve that rapidly with the council in this city, well... that requires a better mind than mine. SL has the wealth and acumen to deal with such small-time players like the buffoons of the council. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS4 on Tour... Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 Yes it is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lack of Action Man Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 Just now, reddogkev said: SL has the wealth and acumen to deal with such small-time players like the buffoons of the council. We can only hope! But on a serious note, it is so frustrating how long it takes anything to be achieved in this city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Dawe Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 2 minutes ago, AshtonPark said: People, see my post above. If we knock down the atyeo, where will away fans go during the rebuild? It isnt possible. I reckon, Blocks A and B in the Dolman, with some temporary rejigging of security and segregation on the concourse, and home fans entering via the South Stand. And leaving by it to (with subsequent de rigeur early doors Dolman departure happening ten minutes earlier than now, what with the pfaff of going round the bloody houses just to get to Ashton Road...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selred Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 35 minutes ago, bristolcitysweden said: It's not big enough and will never be. Russian corruption cost us Ashton Vale and England the 2018 World Cup. Don't go there in the summer! It’s Christmas, we are second in the league and in the Semi Finals of the league cup. BUT still people find something to moan about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogkev Posted December 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 1 minute ago, OddBallJim said: We can only hope! But on a serious note, it is so frustrating how long it takes anything to be achieved in this city. Indeed, I do worry about those in power, they collectively had made the task of building a music arena seem as taxing as colonising the Moon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lack of Action Man Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 2 minutes ago, reddogkev said: Indeed, I do worry about those in power, they collectively had made the task of building a music arena seem as taxing as colonising the Moon. Agreed! And now we are faced with a tired old aircraft hangar being repurposed into a cost-cutting arena substitute. Only this city could balls it up so monumentally. Oh and don't even start me on the MetroBust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gert Mare Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 Well according to foreigners (anyone outside of the Bristol postcode) this is a Rugby "Town" and a footballing backwater, so we'll be lucky to get more than 18,000 week in week out........ As we know that is utter bollocks and Bristol is as passionate about football as anywhere else in the country. In my opinion Ashton Gate isn't big enough for the big games (we saw that last week) with no tickets being available for general sale. However, if we get up there and end up the whipping boys there will be plenty of seats available. I am pretty sure that the attendances dropped significantly during the 79/80 season when the writing was on the wall under Alan Dicks? Realistically we should have a ground with capacity for around 35,000. We would still fill the seats for the big games. So in answer to the question....Yes, Ashton Gate is currently too small for all supporters in the Premier League. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bar BS3 Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 12 minutes ago, reddogkev said: Interesting point, but what if these 'new' fans will help drive the club onto even better times? Surely they have to be accommodated somehow. Supporting City isn't a closed shop. Fans who would pay their money to watch Premier League football, would still be City fans, provided they stay loyal. But even if we just sustain ourselves as a top Championship club, we'll still attract a growing fanbase. I don't feel any new fans should be tarred with disdain because they haven't attended in the past. Of course we want to attract new fans an be as big as possible. I don’t thinks it’s an issue now though, just because some won’t get in during our first couple of seasons in the Prem. They (most) will soon disappear when we come back down to the Championship. I think that having tickets as a sought after commodity is no bad thing, for a while. Then see if we really do NEED a permanently bigger stadium. At the moment, we certainly don’t. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyredredrobin Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 I hadnt realised that there was scope to add a second tier to the south stand. Certainly, the Atyeo could be built with two tiers. We may sell over 20k season tickets and with around 4k for away supporters, this would leave only 3k for general sales. Would safe standing areas accomodate more? Do you think Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter, Bayern, etc. will all be selling out their away allocations? Interestingly, supply and demand issues could cause price rises and increase revenue that way, but I would love to see 30k plus crowds again at the gate. I was going to suggest narrower seats, but these are as narrow as possible anyway, especially if you end up sat between a couple of fatties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offside Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 27,000 seems about right at the moment, but it would be good to get the capacity up to the 30,000 mark at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Team In Keynsham Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 17 minutes ago, Cheesleysmate said: Realistically we should have a ground with capacity for around 35,000. We would still fill the seats for the big games. So in answer to the question....Yes, Ashton Gate is currently too small for all supporters in the Premier League. Personally I am fine with our capacity being what it is now. I prefer people being locked out of a 27k capacity crowd for some games to having a half-full 35k for a host of unattractive, lesser teams. I never much cared for the proposed move from AG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ska Junkie Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 I'm split on this TBH. As we stand, the Gate is plenty big enough but we would certainly sell more IF we were to go up. I'm also acutely aware that attendances are a very small part of income in the £££ league. My issue is how the hell we get any extra capacity? IIRC, the South stand couldn't go any higher due to the houses on Staynes Rd although it may well have been built with the ability to add a 2nd tier. The Dolman can't be any bigger without taking council land from the flats behind it, the Lansdown is just huge so can't go any bigger and the Atyeo is governed by the houses behind it and their 'right to light'. I keep hearing people say we're gradually buying those houses but have never seen any proof of that. Could we extend the Atyeo as things stand regarding the houses behind? I'm not so sure plus, if we owned the houses, could we extend the Atyeo backwards to the road without knocking the existing structure down becoming one huge single tiered 'kop' plus not having a derogatory effect on present capacity? I guess that would take us well over 30,000 but, with the houses there, I just don't see how we can increase the capacity at the present time. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHIPLEY RED Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 Being old enough to remember our time in Div 1 Ashton Gate rarely sells out. As someone else said the Manchester games are a novelty and will always be difficult to get tickets for as would play off games. However, if we made the premiership, and thats a big if still in my book, we would be fighting for survival and after the initial buzz attendances for average games will fall to the 25k level I would guess. Tickets will be more difficult to get but should still be available. I would hope next season the club sells ST in the upper Lansdown so it is open every game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oriss Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 Hi I hope I'm not being impertinent here, but can I give you a Boro fans perspective on the question. Back in the day when the Riverside was brand new we were averaging 33 34k a season, there were plans put forth for an increase in capacity to 42k at the time we could have filled this for the likes of sunderland the mags the usual top six or so. last season we averaged 30kplus but games against man city and united plus others could have been bigger gates if we had a greater capacity. this is all well and good, but clubs like boro and dare I say it city have bad times as well as good. when we dropped back down to the championship under southgate, and crowds dropped to 16 17k the ground looked empty. Imagine what it would have looked like in a 42k ground. Sometimes I think enjoy the good full times but don't get carried away, when those times end and your back to your more usual crowds the ground wont look ridiculous. We had 30k there the other day and the ground looked pretty full if we had had increased back in the day it would still have looked pretty naff. the likes of spurs and Chelsea can build 60k grounds because unless something drastic happens they have the fan bases to fill them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phileas Fogg Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 1 hour ago, AshtonPark said: Has anyone thought, of where away fans will go if they atyeo is knocked down? There simply isnt the space to put them anywhere, nor security set up for it. Hopefully the Dolman or Lansdown in the corner. Home fans behind both goals ideally. I’d love a redeveloped Atyeo to be made into a proper kop like home-end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshtonPark Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 Just now, Phileas Fogg said: Hopefully the Dolman or Lansdown in the corner. Home fans behind both goals ideally. I’d love a redeveloped Atyeo to be made into a proper kop like home-end. I mean during the rebuild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phileas Fogg Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 1 minute ago, AshtonPark said: I mean during the rebuild. Good point - perhaps the Dolman or Lansdown corner. Maybe we’d try and have that rebuilt much quicker than the original redevelopment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolcitysweden Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 I have mentioned this before but Ashton Road should be closed down by the housing behind the Atyeo allowing the houses to be moved 20 meters closer to the park and a higher Atyeo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshtonPark Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 2 minutes ago, bristolcitysweden said: I have mentioned this before but Ashton Road should be closed down by the housing behind the Atyeo allowing the houses to be moved 20 meters closer to the park and a higher Atyeo Your honestly nuts mate. How can you move all the houses 20 metres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Up The City! Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 1 hour ago, Leveller said: I think the novelty would wear off quite quickly and I doubt we’d be at capacity for the lesser clubs as opposed to the top half. The day trippers wouldn’t turn out for West Brom at home even in the PL. How you fill these games out is by using a points system so come the bigger games the more points you have the higher up the list you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshtonPark Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 3 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said: Good point - perhaps the Dolman or Lansdown corner. Maybe we’d try and have that rebuilt much quicker than the original redevelopment. I cant see how that is possible with how the ground has been designed etc. You think lansdown has the boxes, the posh seats, exits etc. The dolman will have the same issues, you cant force the whole of the south stand, plus 75% of the dolman out of the south stand exits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolcitysweden Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 2 minutes ago, AshtonPark said: Your honestly nuts mate. How can you move all the houses 20 metres. It's possible with modern technique Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Up The City! Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 If we get there then immediately the Dolman should have boxes installed like was previously planned and then the Atyeo should also be knocked down and replaced with a stand that holds more boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshtonPark Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 3 minutes ago, bristolcitysweden said: It's possible with modern technique How? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.