icegas
Joined: September 2014
Posts: 268 
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Post by icegas on Feb 27, 2022 13:19:57 GMT
Yesterday brought home to me how bad the mem is.
I love the old girl for all her charm, Class and old school feel but to watch football in 2022 it's a disgrace.
I stood under the steps near the half way line of the east stand. I've got a picture on my phone but can't seem to upload it, but I couldn't see the thatchers end of the pitch for the whole of the 1st half. It was only when someone moved at HT that more was visable.
The que to the male toilet was 400/500 deep at HT as it was the food. I stood in a inch deep of piss when I did finally get into the bog.
It can't hold more than I would say 8k to make the customer have a decent experience for the money that they pay.Even tho the full house attendance yesterday was way down on the other 12k of the past it was a good thing as I couldn't see how another 2k would be able to fit in there.
I love the Mem, got great memories there but it's s**thole, not because of the look of it but rather the working functioning of the operation.
If we could somehow build a two tier looping joint stand around where the south stand and east stand are abit like what they have done at A$hton Gate then we could get at stadium of 20/25k there.But then again the roads at the mem would not support that. I got the 17 bus yesterday from Kingswood as I was having a drink, and didn't get home until 7:30pm due to the earlier buses being full.
We are going to lose a generation of support if our ground issues are not fixed ASAP, and built within the next 5 years as you cant encourage the youth of Bristol to come to the gas in L2/L1 if they could go to BS3 in the championship and one day the premiership.
Yesterday was the first time I have ever felt this about the mem.
Saying that Luton are in the championship and their ground is worse then ours!
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Post by richmace on Feb 27, 2022 13:55:31 GMT
I agree with the 8K plus experience comment.
It was lovely to be around so many Gasheads yesterday, the place had a real buzz especially in the fanzone. All good stuff.
I sit in the South West stand, and the queues for food and the toilet were crazy. This would certainly put people off. I simply returned to my seat and went back immediately before the second half started. It can be managed.
These operational issues could be resolved easily with "minimal" cost if we regularly had 8K plus crowds (which we have not) by opening more food stalls and installing more temporary toilets. I am also sure that the quality of the toilets could be improved as well.
Agree that we are not going to attract people in numbers with the Mem in the current state.
I have to say though, that the improvements around the ground have been 100% positive this season. The fanzone with stage is excellent. Love the additional food stalls, also excellent. I would like to see continual improvements. I would also love to see regular 8K crowds, as this might force the issue...
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vaughan
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 1,237
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Post by vaughan on Feb 27, 2022 14:00:38 GMT
I would pull down the Family Stand as it is crap, turn the whole East Side into Rovers area and place away supporters into South Stand. Food and drink could be drastically improved on East Side, as well as toilets.
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Post by Bath Gas on Feb 27, 2022 14:06:32 GMT
I would pull down the Family Stand as it is crap, turn the whole East Side into Rovers area and place away supporters into South Stand. Food and drink could be drastically improved on East Side, as well as toilets. Where would you house the disabled fans who currently use the South Stand? Some like to attend with their family, not just one carer, and there isn't that much space in the official disabled section. |
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Post by baselswh on Feb 27, 2022 14:11:33 GMT
I would pull down the Family Stand as it is crap, turn the whole East Side into Rovers area and place away supporters into South Stand. Food and drink could be drastically improved on East Side, as well as toilets. Don't suppose Wael said anything about a new stadium Vaughan. 6 years he's been with Rovers now. |
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Post by baselswh on Feb 27, 2022 14:13:49 GMT
Yesterday brought home to me how bad the mem is. I love the old girl for all her charm, Class and old school feel but to watch football in 2022 it's a disgrace. I stood under the steps near the half way line of the east stand. I've got a picture on my phone but can't seem to upload it, but I couldn't see the thatchers end of the pitch for the whole of the 1st half. It was only when someone moved at HT that more was visable. The que to the male toilet was 400/500 deep at HT as it was the food. I stood in a inch deep of piss when I did finally get into the bog. It can't hold more than I would say 8k to make the customer have a decent experience for the money that they pay.Even tho the full house attendance yesterday was way down on the other 12k of the past it was a good thing as I couldn't see how another 2k would be able to fit in there. I love the Mem, got great memories there but it's s**thole, not because of the look of it but rather the working functioning of the operation. If we could somehow build a two tier looping joint stand around where the south stand and east stand are abit like what they have done at A$hton Gate then we could get at stadium of 20/25k there.But then again the roads at the mem would not support that. I got the 17 bus yesterday from Kingswood as I was having a drink, and didn't get home until 7:30pm due to the earlier buses being full. We are going to lose a generation of support if our ground issues are not fixed ASAP, and built within the next 5 years as you cant encourage the youth of Bristol to come to the gas in L2/L1 if they could go to BS3 in the championship and one day the premiership. Yesterday was the first time I have ever felt this about the mem. Saying that Luton are in the championship and their ground is worse then ours! Yep,I can see this team succeeding far quicker than us getting a better Mem or new stadium and that means we can't reach our potential. Over to Wael,6 years with Rovers now. |
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Post by Colyton Gas. on Feb 27, 2022 14:32:11 GMT
Disabled facilities are way behind an acceptable standard and any cosmetic improvements cannot paper over the Dickensian state of the Mem.
Twenty years ago when the South Tent was put into place I was told a real stand would be a waste of money as we were hoping for a new stadium soon.
It really is so sad that we are so far behind almost all the other clubs including many non league.We talk but don't achieve much and as for being told ,'You must be patient' I was told that so long ago and at 76 accept I won't see much other than the rumoured new south stand tent.
Playing clubs like Barrow,Sutton and Harrogate(no disrespect to them) will be the norm for many years although no doubt they will move ahead of us in time.
Our away facilities are the pits and all the new directors who were experts in stadium design only lasted five minutes before they left. 'You must be patient',is a refrain that has become tedious and for me meaningless.Love my club but if only we had a proper stadium.Travelling a long way to the Mem is never a problem,it was an exciting pleasure but I hoped that one day we would have at least one new proper stand like other clubs.Won't happen so Sunderland ,Hull ,Ipswich etc of even two years ago are but a memory.
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keygas
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 177
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Post by keygas on Feb 27, 2022 14:36:34 GMT
Now the Mem is no longer used for rugby, I am sure the playing area could be moved towards the Thatchers end & with the area gained a decent size seated structure ( not a tent ) with better facilities could be constructed at the south end. Obviously would cost money but with sponsorship, more seats & better facilities it may pay for its self in a few seasons.
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icegas
Joined: September 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by icegas on Feb 27, 2022 14:43:10 GMT
Now the Mem is no longer used for rugby, I am sure the playing area could be moved towards the Thatchers end & with the area gained a decent size seated structure ( not a tent ) with better facilities could be constructed at the south end. Obviously would cost money but with sponsorship, more seats & better facilities it may pay for its self in a few seasons. I've said for years if we did this then we could have an Atyeo stand sided put up there of 5,000. |
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Post by laughinggas on Feb 27, 2022 15:22:04 GMT
Yesterday showed a ground of 18,000 would have been full with more home and away support attending. As stated above the infrastructure around the mem would not cope with that sort of attendance.
Not as simple as throwing up a couple of stands.
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Post by fatherjackhackett on Feb 27, 2022 15:44:15 GMT
Yesterday showed a ground of 18,000 would have been full with more home and away support attending. As stated above the infrastructure around the mem would not cope with that sort of attendance. Not as simple as throwing up a couple of stands. To be fair the infrastructure around Ashton Gate isn’t designed to take 20-25 k at a higher frequency ( plus 30 k plus for concerts) yet the seem to manage it. Two or three decent Park & Ride options would help, as well as the proposed Horfield station that could serve TM and Parkway. |
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Post by baselswh on Feb 27, 2022 15:48:13 GMT
The better we are on the field of play,the more our stadium or lack of modern stadium becomes an issue.
Luton Town were been mentioned by Ice,how come they're doing well in the 2nd tier?
What's the Hatters recipe?
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Post by Colyton Gas. on Feb 27, 2022 18:03:21 GMT
Interesting post from the Cherries.
As a Bournemouth fan we definitely could have a much larger stadium, sold out pretty much every week for 5 years now so there's no shortage of demand. It's also a pretty larger catchment area, Bournemouth-Poole is the 16th largest urban area in the country and the nearest major club is Southampton which is 30 miles away. Also heading west the nearest league club is Exeter so that's a very large catchment area for potential fans.
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Post by fatherjackhackett on Feb 27, 2022 18:35:51 GMT
Interesting post from the Cherries. As a Bournemouth fan we definitely could have a much larger stadium, sold out pretty much every week for 5 years now so there's no shortage of demand. It's also a pretty larger catchment area, Bournemouth-Poole is the 16th largest urban area in the country and the nearest major club is Southampton which is 30 miles away. Also heading west the nearest league club is Exeter so that's a very large catchment area for potential fans. Once their oligarch sugar daddy is bankrupted they will hopefully be back schlepping along the 3rd and 4th tier again. |
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2022 18:39:15 GMT
Gashead screamed at an Exeter player why the **** did you kick it over the stand?
Fellow gashead, what ******* stand?
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Post by swissgas on Feb 27, 2022 19:48:37 GMT
The better we are on the field of play,the more our stadium or lack of modern stadium becomes an issue. Luton Town were been mentioned by Ice,how come they're doing well in the 2nd tier? What's the Hatters recipe? An unpopular question to pose on a Rovers forum Bas because the answer is that our owner has an inefficient business recipe but Luton Town have an efficient one. In 2018/19 Luton and Rovers were both in League 1 and this is how the businesses fared. Luton Town Turnover £ 7.6 million Spending £ 8.6 million Losses £ 1.0 million League Position 1st Rovers Turnover £ 6.3 million Spending £ 9.7 million Losses £ 3.4 million League Position 15th Lack of financial discipline breeds inefficiency right across the business and that is why Rovers have been unable to compete with Luton Town. The efficiency of Luton's business model is further confirmed by this seasons Championship performance if the Salary Sports figures are correct. Luton Town playing budget £ 6 million League position 6th Bristol City playing budget £ 12 million League position 16th Not to mention the confidence Luton Town have in their business model which allows them to be transparent with stakeholders when it comes to revealing new stadium plans. |
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Post by baselswh on Feb 27, 2022 19:52:12 GMT
The better we are on the field of play,the more our stadium or lack of modern stadium becomes an issue. Luton Town were been mentioned by Ice,how come they're doing well in the 2nd tier? What's the Hatters recipe? An unpopular question to pose on a Rovers forum Bas because the answer is that our owner has an inefficient business recipe but Luton Town have an efficient one. In 2018/19 Luton and Rovers were both in League 1 and this is how the businesses fared. Luton Town Turnover £ 7.6 million Spending £ 8.6 million Losses £ 1.0 million League Position 1st Rovers Turnover £ 6.3 million Spending £ 9.7 million Losses £ 3.4 million League Position 15th Lack of financial discipline breeds inefficiency right across the business and that is why Rovers have been unable to compete with Luton Town. The efficiency of Luton's business model is further confirmed by this seasons Championship performance if the Salary Sports figures are correct. Luton Town playing budget £ 6 million League position 6th Bristol City playing budget £ 12 million League position 16th Not to mention the confidence Luton Town have in their business which allows them to be transparent with stakeholders when it comes to revealing new stadium plans. Yes,I thought of you on posting Swiss. Does this mean Luton are paying players considerably less than eg Bristol City 82? |
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eppinggas
Administrator
Ian Alexander
Don't care
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 8,132
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Post by eppinggas on Feb 27, 2022 19:57:56 GMT
An unpopular question to pose on a Rovers forum Bas because the answer is that our owner has an inefficient business recipe but Luton Town have an efficient one. In 2018/19 Luton and Rovers were both in League 1 and this is how the businesses fared. Luton Town Turnover £ 7.6 million Spending £ 8.6 million Losses £ 1.0 million League Position 1st Rovers Turnover £ 6.3 million Spending £ 9.7 million Losses £ 3.4 million League Position 15th Lack of financial discipline breeds inefficiency right across the business and that is why Rovers have been unable to compete with Luton Town. The efficiency of Luton's business model is further confirmed by this seasons Championship performance if the Salary Sports figures are correct. Luton Town playing budget £ 6 million League position 6th Bristol City playing budget £ 12 million League position 16th Not to mention the confidence Luton Town have in their business which allows them to be transparent with stakeholders when it comes to revealing new stadium plans. Yes,I thought of you on posting Swiss. Does this mean Luton are paying players considerably less than eg Bristol City 82? That was an unbelievably good assist Basel - absolutely rammed home by swiss  And yes, I would wager a ton of money on Luton's wage bill being considerably less than 1982fc. |
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Post by swissgas on Feb 27, 2022 20:00:16 GMT
An unpopular question to pose on a Rovers forum Bas because the answer is that our owner has an inefficient business recipe but Luton Town have an efficient one. In 2018/19 Luton and Rovers were both in League 1 and this is how the businesses fared. Luton Town Turnover £ 7.6 million Spending £ 8.6 million Losses £ 1.0 million League Position 1st Rovers Turnover £ 6.3 million Spending £ 9.7 million Losses £ 3.4 million League Position 15th Lack of financial discipline breeds inefficiency right across the business and that is why Rovers have been unable to compete with Luton Town. The efficiency of Luton's business model is further confirmed by this seasons Championship performance if the Salary Sports figures are correct. Luton Town playing budget £ 6 million League position 6th Bristol City playing budget £ 12 million League position 16th Not to mention the confidence Luton Town have in their business which allows them to be transparent with stakeholders when it comes to revealing new stadium plans. Yes,I thought of you on posting Swiss. Does this mean Luton are paying players considerably less than eg Bristol City 82? Yes, that's what it looks like Bas. But the key issue, whether it's players wages or any other financial expenditure, is about Rovers' ability to get value for money. We clearly don't have that ability. |
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Post by baselswh on Feb 27, 2022 20:18:09 GMT
Yes,I thought of you on posting Swiss. Does this mean Luton are paying players considerably less than eg Bristol City 82? Yes, that's what it looks like Bas. But the key issue, whether it's players wages or any other financial expenditure, is about Rovers' ability to get value for money. We clearly don't have that ability. Lutons test is can they stay mid to play off challengers for a few seasons a la Brentford. Luton may well lose a few good players (wages),replacing them successfully and remaining a respected 2nd tier fc is a big challenge. I wonder how Rovers financial season will look now and 2022/23,especiallyif we win promotion. Apparently Wael can deal with our losses,so does it matter so much? It's the lack of stadium that worries me. Edit. Do Luton have a small squad? |
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