Everyone Glad We Stayed @thegate?

[pillred]

4 hours ago, Offside said:

I was excited about AV, but I have to say I couldn’t be happier that we stayed at Ashton Gate. I think the ground looks fantastic, it’s our spiritual home and its in a great location. 

The new stadium would have been 10 minutes walk from the old with all the added advantages of increased capacity and better parking and access for most, I think you are letting nostalgia get in the way of the bigger picture.

[pillred]

6 hours ago, Oh Louie louie said:

My mate used to work in the tannery, even after three baths you could smell him in pubs

A bit like Bristol bridge or Castle green in the 1960s ( courage's) or Coronation road blindfold for the tannery you knew exactly where you were, or come to that coronation Rd at low tide in the summer :laugh:.

Edited March 17, 2023 by pillred

[pillred]

4 hours ago, eardun said:

Exactly my feelings. I was also excited about AV but ultimately I’m quite happy we are still at our traditional home, with memories back to the 1970s and the redevelopment is first class. 

Apart from the surroundings and even that has changed a lot, the ground bears no resemblance whatsoever from the 1970s so I'm not quite sure what you mean. If I plonked you down in say the area behind the South stand and you had lived in Australia for the past 15 years would you really have any clue where you were?

Edited March 17, 2023 by pillred

[TBW]

Rather we moved. Not much room for growth at AG.

[DT The Optimist]

Glad we stayed at the gate. With around 18k bums on seats  for most home games the 40k new stadium might have looked pretty empty.

At a recent senior reds lunch Steve Lansdown was asked if there was any truth that the club owned most of the houses behind the Atyeo and that one day a new stand would rise and replace the Atyeo. This was knocked on the head as false. He stated that the corners could be filled in and capacity raised to around 35k but there is no plan or need at this time to do so.

The re vamped gate is great stadium and happy we stayed

[oldstandrobin]

Been going to the Gate since 1958. Its our home unlike the tinkers in North Bristol. Be Happy with it, when we have been top of the prem for 5 seasons and in Europe for the same length of time then start whinging. Lets see football first. Its why I go and not for a day out !!!

[And Its Smith]

8 hours ago, pillred said:

The new stadium would have been 10 minutes walk from the old with all the added advantages of increased capacity and better parking and access for most, I think you are letting nostalgia get in the way of the bigger picture.

What’s wrong with nostalgia?  

[MarcusX]

From a purely nostalgic point of view I’m glad we stayed in the location my Dad first took me 30 years ago, and his dad first took him. I think that’s special.

There’s no doubt though that moving to a new location would have been the “better” option for the club 

[W-S-M Seagull]

55 minutes ago, DT The Optimist said:

Glad we stayed at the gate. With around 18k bums on seats  for most home games the 40k new stadium might have looked pretty empty.

At a recent senior reds lunch Steve Lansdown was asked if there was any truth that the club owned most of the houses behind the Atyeo and that one day a new stand would rise and replace the Atyeo. This was knocked on the head as false. He stated that the corners could be filled in and capacity raised to around 35k but there is no plan or need at this time to do so.

The re vamped gate is great stadium and happy we stayed

If he said club, then that would be true as it wouldn't be the club buying them. It would be some property company under PULA. 

I can't see how the corners could be filled in without it looking crap. 

I know that the South Stand has been designed so it's possible to put another tier on to it quite easily.

[ChippenhamRed]

23 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

What’s wrong with nostalgia?  

It’s fine, but it’s not what it used to be.

[Bris Red]

5 minutes ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

If he said club, then that would be true as it wouldn't be the club buying them. It would be some property company under PULA. 

I can't see how the corners could be filled in without it looking crap. 

I know that the South Stand has been designed so it's possible to put another tier on to it quite easily.

I was also told that the South Stand has been designed to add another tier. That could be an option but still wouldn’t get away from the Atyeo needing to be redeveloped.
Another tier on the South Stand would make the Atyeo look even more odd and out of place IMO.

If and when the time is needed i really wouldn’t rule out the possibility of the houses on Ashton Road being purchased.
 

It’s not just the extra capacity that a new Atyeo with corners being filled in it would give, but also the extra hospitality boxes and more conference space that could be utilised by the club.

[Tomo]

FWIW, my own opinion is whilst Ashton Vale looked amazing at the time, the original plan was 30k capacity, so that's only 3k more than the revamped Ashton Gate. As someone has mentioned, 10 years on and that video doesn't wow me like it did before and it doesn't look 'that modern or overly impressive' 

We now have what most of us wanted.... 'not a soulless bowl stadium' and if there is scope to sort out the atyeo, it's the perfect stadium in our 'home location'. 

The facilities in our concourse areas is 2nd to none and matchdays is a pleasurable experience and even outside the stadium, we have alternative food outlets and entertainment. 

I'm massively impressed with the 'new gate' 

If we can build on top of the south stand, (if required), that's a bonus. 

I can't see the Dolman being ripped apart for 30 years or so and it ticks the boxes for what we currently need. 

Just enjoy Alex Scott for the last 4 home games of the season and we can proudly say.... 'that England International started his career at the home of Bristol football'

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 18, 2023 by Tomo

[Tomo]

2 minutes ago, Tomo said:

FWIW, my own opinion is whilst Ashton Vale looked amazing at the time, the original plan was 30k capacity, so that's only 3k more than the revamped Ashton Gate. As someone has mentioned, 10 years on and that video doesn't wow me like it did before and it doesn't look 'that modern or overly impressive' 

We now have what most of us wanted.... 'not a soulless bowl stadium' and if there is scope to sort out the atyeo, it's the perfect stadium in our 'home location'. 

The facilities in our concourse areas is 2nd to none and matchdays is a pleasurable experience and even outside the stadium, we have  alternative food outlets and entertainment. 

I'm massively impressed with the 'new gate' 

If we can build on top of the south stand, (if required), that's a bonus. 

I can't see the Dolman being ripped apart for 30 years or so and it ticks the boxes for what we currently need. 

Just enjoy Alex Scott for the last 4 games of the season and we can proudly say.... 'that England International started his career at the home of Bristol football'

 

 

 

 

 

To add, once the basketball arena, hotel and other bars are developed, the Ashton Gate site will go to another level and be mightily impressive.... 

Just now, Tomo said:

To add, once the basketball arena, hotel and other bars are developed, the Ashton Gate site will go to another level and be mightily impressive.... 

 

[Lanterne Rouge]

I must admit I did quite like the fact that my ST seat in the SS up until last season was directly above where I used to stand in the EE when I was a lad.

[lenred]

9 hours ago, pillred said:

The new stadium would have been 10 minutes walk from the old with all the added advantages of increased capacity and better parking and access for most, I think you are letting nostalgia get in the way of the bigger picture.

Not all of us care about ‘better parking’. Hard to believe I know, but there we go! 

[pillred]

1 hour ago, And Its Smith said:

What’s wrong with nostalgia?  

It's not what it was.

[pillred]

20 minutes ago, lenred said:

Not all of us care about ‘better parking’. Hard to believe I know, but there we go! 

You are in the minority, I'm ok as I get the bus but a hell of a lot of the people that attend have no option but to drive and believe me it's a bloody nightmare now with all the restrictions and those greedy ba88ar8s at the field next door to the cricket club charging up to £50 to park for concerts and £30 on some match days.

Edited March 18, 2023 by pillred

[italian dave]

45 minutes ago, pillred said:

You are in the minority, I'm ok as I get the bus but a hell of a lot of the people that attend have no option but to drive and believe me it's a bloody nightmare now with all the restrictions and those greedy ba88ar8s at the field next door to the cricket club charging up to £50 to park for concerts and £30 on some match days.

Mind you, wouldn’t much of the parking at AV have been within the control of the club, who themselves charge north of £20 on some match days? 

[Port Said Red]

I do hope I will be around to enjoy this though.

https://youtu.be/ggANZrrFuX0

[Mr X]

3 hours ago, pillred said:

You are in the minority, I'm ok as I get the bus but a hell of a lot of the people that attend have no option but to drive and believe me it's a bloody nightmare now with all the restrictions and those greedy ba88ar8s at the field next door to the cricket club charging up to £50 to park for concerts and £30 on some match days.

I can never understand why people pay that much for parking. I've always been able to find somewhere to park on-street within a 15 min walk from AG even when arriving at 2:30.  

[Red-Robbo]

59 minutes ago, Mr X said:

I can never understand why people pay that much for parking. I've always been able to find somewhere to park on-street within a 15 min walk from AG even when arriving at 2:30.  

 

You either drive a Smart car and can park it sidewise, or you're a speedwalking champion.

We arrive about 1:30 and are usually about 20-minute walk from AG. That's fine, we like to get a few ales in on the way and don't like drinking in the concourse. 

Being all nicely brought-up gents, we don't park on corners, over drop kerbs or encroach on people's drives. If we did that, we could probably park a couple of minutes from the ground. 

 

[pillred]

1 hour ago, Mr X said:

I can never understand why people pay that much for parking. I've always been able to find somewhere to park on-street within a 15 min walk from AG even when arriving at 2:30.  

Well it would be easy to park at that time of the morning :laugh:.

[lenred]

5 hours ago, pillred said:

You are in the minority, I'm ok as I get the bus but a hell of a lot of the people that attend have no option but to drive and believe me it's a bloody nightmare now with all the restrictions and those greedy ba88ar8s at the field next door to the cricket club charging up to £50 to park for concerts and £30 on some match days.

I agree parking is hard.  But not really sure how a new stadium would’ve sorted that tbh.   We’re we going to have parking for 1000s or cars? Must’ve missed it if so. 

[pillred]

34 minutes ago, lenred said:

I agree parking is hard.  But not really sure how a new stadium would’ve sorted that tbh.   We’re we going to have parking for 1000s or cars? Must’ve missed it if so. 

I'm fairly confident it would have been an improvement on what we currently provide.

[bcfcredandwhite]

I’m a bit torn really. I liked the thought of the new stadium - with its train station and easy access, but I also like to go for a beer or 2 before and after the game and although I don’t mind the bars in the stadiums I do like the choice around North Street. 
Parking is and always has been a nightmare around BS3 on match days and I’m travelling from Swindon so I was really hoping from a selfish perspective that the new stadium would have triggered investment in the rail link that was planned. 
I live in hope that the Ashton Gate halt will one day be reopened. 

In the meantime, Ashton Gate is perfectly adequate for hosting Championship and mid-lower Prem games. We only need a 40k stadium if we break into the top 6 European places and I can’t see that happening any time soon. 

[eardun]

18 hours ago, pillred said:

Apart from the surroundings and even that has changed a lot, the ground bears no resemblance whatsoever from the 1970s so I'm not quite sure what you mean. If I plonked you down in say the area behind the South stand and you had lived in Australia for the past 15 years would you really have any clue where you were?

An example: I can still vividly remember walking with my Dad along Duckmoor Road in the early evening on 20 April 1976. I was aged 9 and I knew that if we beat Portsmouth that night, we’d be promoted to Division 1 after an absence of 65 years. I regularly walk the same route to the ground now.

I like the history associated with being at the same location for over 100 years. And yes a lot of the surroundings - the layout of the roads, the park, the flats - are still as they were when I started going in the 1970s. It’s Ashton Gate and it will always be Ashton Gate. 

[MarcusX]

6 hours ago, Mr X said:

I can never understand why people pay that much for parking. I've always been able to find somewhere to park on-street within a 15 min walk from AG even when arriving at 2:30.  

Same I usually park up by Parson Street station, usually more of a 20 minute walk though I guess

[pillred]

4 hours ago, eardun said:

An example: I can still vividly remember walking with my Dad along Duckmoor Road in the early evening on 20 April 1976. I was aged 9 and I knew that if we beat Portsmouth that night, we’d be promoted to Division 1 after an absence of 65 years. I regularly walk the same route to the ground now.

I like the history associated with being at the same location for over 100 years. And yes a lot of the surroundings - the layout of the roads, the park, the flats - are still as they were when I started going in the 1970s. It’s Ashton Gate and it will always be Ashton Gate. 

Yes but is that a good reason for staying put? surely you can see AG has it has it's limitations, nearly all teams that have aspiration have at some point  moved from their spiritual home or to better facilities with a larger capacity, those lucky enough to have grounds that had both are lucky, we needed to show we had aspiration Steve Lansdown tried with his AV move but it failed because local politics triumphed over what would have been good for the club and probably the local area, I know what you mean but if we were ever going to challenge the so called big boys we needed to at least try to give it a go. I quote isn't it better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all?

Edited March 18, 2023 by pillred
Spelling

[Simon bristol]

On 17/03/2023 at 10:41, pillred said:

I can't understand why with all the upheaval and the fact we knocked down the old east end and were going to knock down the Williams stand as well why we didn't just move the ground back further towards Winterstoke Rd, we then surely could have made the Atyeo end higher or demolished it and built a stand the same or similar to the new South stand because it would have been further from the houses, it would have meant extending the Dolman at one end and demolishing a bit of it at the park end but at least it would have resulted in a more balanced looking ground and a larger capacity to boot.

This was another option that wasnt reallly discussed before,, and considering the expense that occured, was potentially achievable.. i think its broadly what tottenham did with their stadium, but they had an alternative venue to play at when it was being built. I wonder if the new stands could have been built around the pitch to keep us there while it was being built? Also, i wonder whether rotating the pitch 90 degrees could have been considered/ of some benefit?

[pillred]

On 16/03/2023 at 23:13, Show Me The Money! said:

I maybe in the minority but I'm a dreamer and I've always visioned that with the size of Bristol and the surrounding area we could get enough support to fill a 40k stadium in the prem. Can't see that ever happening at the Gate.

 

Well we couldn't fit anywhere near that now at AG even if we had the demand could we, that was always the point of moving to a less restrictive area just across from our current home.