Ground Expansion?

[Matty H]

Yeah that old chestnut again. To be honest I'd got bored with it myself over the years and totally lost track. So what is the line? We had permission granted to develope the ground. Obviously we have never bothered. I remember talk by the likes of Sexstone as to the EE coming down at the end of such and such a season etc etc.

If we get up this season then surely ground expansion has to be one of the priorities? Before some bright spark mentions our rubbish attendances, it's not solely about that is it? It's about helping the club to build revenue from other sources as well as football. Not to mention I'd love a spanking 30k all seater ashton gate. Who wouldn't? And I'm equally sure that a bigger, more modern Ashton Gate would draw bigger attendances. The evidence is there from other clubs that have had new grounds or redeveloped. Attendances DO increase. not to mention the fact we'll be in a higher division (hopefully)

People nowadays don't say "that nelsons column is amazing, but what a waste of money" Do they? Or "yeah the London eye is great, but it cost a fortune"

How long would it take for the club to recoup the outlay on the building work and make take it into the black? I've no idea but someone someone somewhere must have estimates.

[City Rocker]

I agree and I'd say Reading FC are a shining example of what we could achieve. The building of the Madejski Stadium pretty much transformed them in the space of 4-5 years from smalltime to bigtime. To this day they still haven't spent a huge amount in the transfer market, not by Premiership standards anyway, but look where they are.

Remember our opening-day visit to Reading in (I think) 99/2000 - the 'Gerard Lavin' day, Pulis' first game in charge? Attendance was about 13,000 and I reckon roughly 4,500 were City, so the home crowd was less than 9,000. But this was still double what they'd been getting at Elm Park and was set to rise and rise over the following years. Effectively that day was the start of Reading's ascent and our own malaise. Those who say we don't need to redevelop because we don't sell out the ground are totally missing the point.

I hate to say it but Bristol Rovers have hit on a pretty revolutionary (but simple) idea of financing their proposed new ground by incorporating a hotel and student accommodation. Hopefully they've opened the door for us to do something better. Ashton Gate is a lot closer to the City Centre and Harbourside than the Mem is. It's also en-route between the galactically expanding Bristol International Airport and Bristol City Centre, not to mention being half a mile from the University of the West of England's Art & Design faculty. In short, it looks to me like we have the potential to redevelop the Gate into a modern stadium that would be self-financing and wouldn't rely on some on-off catering contract (although presumably we'd still each have to buy a brick for 35 quid-a head ).

Not that I would want a soulless Madejski-style bowl of a stadium, but by demolishing and rebuilding the East End and Williams you could incorporate all the necessary gubbins and still retain the Ashton Gate-ness of our home.

I assume none of this has been lost on the powers-that-be at BCFC and the plans are already on the drawing board. Never mind that Rovers had to show us the way, I'm sure we can do it better...can't we?