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Post by emperorsuperbus on Mar 4, 2021 18:27:09 GMT
I appreciate you are only trying to make me feel better, but I still feel uneasy about our new found friendship. š¦ Turns out The Duke of Guernsey has retired anyway, so no need for pistols at dawn. It's all good fun though. Me and towngas are miles apart on this thread but agree on several threads, that's just the nature of it isn't it? did you out yourself as Cosmos fan? Have you seen any of the follow ups en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos:_A_Spacetime_Odyssey.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2021 18:36:38 GMT
Turns out The Duke of Guernsey has retired anyway, so no need for pistols at dawn. It's all good fun though. Me and towngas are miles apart on this thread but agree on several threads, that's just the nature of it isn't it? did you out yourself as Cosmos fan? Have you seen any of the follow ups en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos:_A_Spacetime_Odyssey. Carl Sagan is a bit before my time. I understand the significance of who he was and what he did, but at the time it passed me by. In football terms, he's EusƩbio.
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Post by gasandproud on Mar 4, 2021 19:01:36 GMT
The Gym is temporary is it not? It represents a massive improvement over not having one and having to travel to a public gym some miles away, which truly was embarrassing for a professional football club in the 21st Century.Ā I've never seen or heard anything from the club to say the Gym is temporary I think "this is it". And in my opinion professional athletes won't care who owns the building they work in and would rather train in a modern, airy and welcoming environmentĀ than in an old barn at the end of a track.Ā
The reason why the training ground might appear to be a bit of a work in progress is that we had to depart our old base in Cribbs and move to Almondsbury for the start of this season. There was no leeway, the lease wasnāt going to be renewed.Ā Ā The club knew years in advance when the lease at Cribbs ran out and had plenty of time to find an alternative as any normal business would do. And there were plenty of alternative venues available so a smooth transition could have been made with minimal disruption and no additional annual cost.The site is designed in two stages. The first enables the club to move the first team in at short notice, providing it with all it needs. So thatās a clubhouse with offices and changing rooms, gym facilities, two fantastic pitches, a car park. For something thatās only been months in the making, Iād argue that is quite impressive, so hats off to Wael. The work started in June 2020 so that's actually nine months in the making, it's still not finished and the players will be having to change at the Gloucestershire FA headquarters down the road till the end of the season. That sounds like a "cock up" to me ?
Stage two from what I can gather is where the potential of the site will start to be realised, expansion of the clubhouse as you mentioned, permanent gym facilities, a third pitch and an all weather pitch meaning that the club can move the academy and Womenās teams over and also make some money out of the site. We could have waited for the āidealā training ground, where both stage 1 and 2 are realised together before we moved in, but then we would have been without a training ground to prepare for this season. When you say "I can gather" I understand what you mean because no one really knows. We are only given vague notions of what the intentions are for the full development of the site. No timescales, no plans or artists impressions and no mention of how it would be paid for.Ā I think it's another example of someone's imagination running away with them and Gasheads being "played"
The construction work supposedly was held up due to the club getting permission to tweak certain elements of the original Rugby club design. I donāt know if that is true or not, just what Iāve heard which makes sense given the club are going to be using the building for a long time to come.Ā The announcement of work starting was made in June but it was October before someone realised that a planning application would have to be made to change the colour of the bricks and tiles. The Zoom Forum at which Wael waved the piece of paper was in July last year but we still don't know what "tweaks" have been made to the inside of the club house if any were actually permitted ?Ā Ā What you have written is how most Gasheads perceive it Axegas but to me it seems incredible this should be so. I've made my comments in bold and tried to be fair but straight to the point. I know fans always want to give the club the benefit of the doubt but I just cannot believe that a properly run business would ever manage a project in this way. I know a business who quoted Ā£7m to build the training ground when the land was first acquired by the club. This was a well designed scheme that crucially included the ability for revenue generation. This was off the back of joint visits to fleetwood, Shef Wed and Bournemouth. I believe they were promptly told the budget was Ā£2m which doesnāt get you very much at all! Admittedly this was quite a while ago. My original point is why havenāt we seen the plans, CGIās, and why isnāt the club providing web cam footage etc. to make the most of the goodwill and PR? I thought this was more down to stupidity on the clubs part (stupidity to miss such an opportunity). It now sounds like there is a possibility that this isnāt the case and yet again there is no proper plan regarding the training ground! As supporters we canāt have it both ways and should therefore accept that either there is a plan that isnāt being communicated or there is no plan / the plan is not exciting enough to make it high profile. I really hope we are not presented with something at the end that is inferior to what most other clubs have had for 20 years. If this is the case you question why on earth bother in the first place and why not just carry on renting / find another venue to rent rather than using capital to build something that isnāt actually very special in the scheme of things. Only time will tell but Iām starting to lean towards this proving to be another damp squib!
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2021 19:14:44 GMT
What you have written is how most Gasheads perceive it Axegas but to me it seems incredible this should be so. I've made my comments in bold and tried to be fair but straight to the point. I know fans always want to give the club the benefit of the doubt but I just cannot believe that a properly run business would ever manage a project in this way. I know a business who quoted Ā£7m to build the training ground when the land was first acquired by the club. This was a well designed scheme that crucially included the ability for revenue generation. This was off the back of joint visits to fleetwood, Shef Wed and Bournemouth. I believe they were promptly told the budget was Ā£2m which doesnāt get you very much at all! Admittedly this was quite a while ago. My original point is why havenāt we seen the plans, CGIās, and why isnāt the club providing web cam footage etc. to make the most of the goodwill and PR? I thought this was more down to stupidity on the clubs part (stupidity to miss such an opportunity). It now sounds like there is a possibility that this isnāt the case and yet again there is no proper plan regarding the training ground! As supporters we canāt have it both ways and should therefore accept that either there is a plan that isnāt being communicated or there is no plan / the plan is not exciting enough to make it high profile. I really hope we are not presented with something at the end that is inferior to what most other clubs have had for 20 years. If this is the case you question why on earth bother in the first place and why not just carry on renting / find another venue to rent rather than using capital to build something that isnāt actually very special in the scheme of things. Only time will tell but Iām starting to lean towards this proving to be another damp squib! Your summary about renting and using the cash for more productive ventures is exactly what Swissgas has been saying. I can't see it being a cash generating scheme as with only two pitches the groundsman will have his hands full keeping those in pristine condition so he wouldn't want them rented out to a Sunday league side. When the original scheme was announced I contacted Steve Hamer to tell him about funding held on deposit at Hortham Village next door which was held pending use for a community building. I suggested a joint venture so that a pavilion could be used by the club by day and residents in the evening. I did have one phone call from an agent of the club before the project was mothballed but heard no more after Steve Hamers departure. I see the club is currently using the GFA 3G pitch at Almondsbury that Roman Glass use as their home pitch. I expect they will need to continue this until a 3G pitch is built at Hortham but that would exceed a Ā£2m budget.
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Cheshiregas
Global Moderator
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 2,165
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Post by Cheshiregas on Mar 4, 2021 19:20:00 GMT
SL is not there now. Not for a few years That is correct However Lansdown stake in the firm is still around 7%. In 2020 he received Ā£18.6 million in dividends after Hargreaves Lansdown's profits increased by 24% to Ā£378.3 million in the 12 months leading up to June 30, 2020 So still a few pennies to fund City82.....
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2021 19:25:18 GMT
SL is not there now. Not for a few years That is correct However Lansdown stake in the firm is still around 7%. In 2020 he received Ā£18.6 million in dividends after Hargreaves Lansdown's profits increased by 24% to Ā£378.3 million in the 12 months leading up to June 30, 2020 So still a few pennies to fund City82..... Not bad for a lad who lived in Aust Post Office.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2021 20:30:35 GMT
That is correct However Lansdown stake in the firm is still around 7%. In 2020 he received Ā£18.6 million in dividends after Hargreaves Lansdown's profits increased by 24% to Ā£378.3 million in the 12 months leading up to June 30, 2020 So still a few pennies to fund City82..... Not bad for a lad who lived in Aust Post Office. It's a fantastic story of 2 local lads who genuinely came from nothing to riches. I'm always saddened when people want to knock them just because they have done well for themselves.
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womble
Arthur Cartlidge
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 300
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Post by womble on Mar 5, 2021 11:11:54 GMT
I know a business who quoted Ā£7m to build the training ground when the land was first acquired by the club. This was a well designed scheme that crucially included the ability for revenue generation. This was off the back of joint visits to fleetwood, Shef Wed and Bournemouth. I believe they were promptly told the budget was Ā£2m which doesnāt get you very much at all! Admittedly this was quite a while ago. My original point is why havenāt we seen the plans, CGIās, and why isnāt the club providing web cam footage etc. to make the most of the goodwill and PR? I thought this was more down to stupidity on the clubs part (stupidity to miss such an opportunity). It now sounds like there is a possibility that this isnāt the case and yet again there is no proper plan regarding the training ground! As supporters we canāt have it both ways and should therefore accept that either there is a plan that isnāt being communicated or there is no plan / the plan is not exciting enough to make it high profile. I really hope we are not presented with something at the end that is inferior to what most other clubs have had for 20 years. If this is the case you question why on earth bother in the first place and why not just carry on renting / find another venue to rent rather than using capital to build something that isnāt actually very special in the scheme of things. Only time will tell but Iām starting to lean towards this proving to be another damp squib! Your summary about renting and using the cash for more productive ventures is exactly what Swissgas has been saying. I can't see it being a cash generating scheme as with only two pitches the groundsman will have his hands full keeping those in pristine condition so he wouldn't want them rented out to a Sunday league side. When the original scheme was announced I contacted Steve Hamer to tell him about funding held on deposit at Hortham Village next door which was held pending use for a community building. I suggested a joint venture so that a pavilion could be used by the club by day and residents in the evening. I did have one phone call from an agent of the club before the project was mothballed but heard no more after Steve Hamers departure. I see the club is currently using the GFA 3G pitch at Almondsbury that Roman Glass use as their home pitch. I expect they will need to continue this until a 3G pitch is built at Hortham but that would exceed a Ā£2m budget. At present it certainly isnāt a cash generating scheme, quite the reverse. The Quarters has required the employment of an extra groundsman and apprentice. There is no way the fibre sand grass pitches will be rented out. The income at training grounds like Fleetwood comes from renting out the 3G pitch and 5 a side pitches (it also has a pizzeria on site). Until the equivalent is built then I canāt see any income generation. The costs so far appear to be Ā£1.2m for the pitches (cost given to a passing fan by an on site contractor) - that sounds correct as the internet suggests fibre sand pitches are around Ā£0.5m each. The cost of the clubhouse is likely to be in the Ā£0.5m to Ā£0.8m region plus the cost of the gym conversion and reservoir works etc. It is quite possible the costs already exceed Ā£2m, although that seems to have been a limit imposed by Hani and presumably no longer applies with Wael in effective sole control. 3G pitches are also around Ā£0.5m, so I think itās a racing certainty that the bill will be comfortably over Ā£2m by the time the site has an income generating capacity.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2021 11:21:38 GMT
Your summary about renting and using the cash for more productive ventures is exactly what Swissgas has been saying. I can't see it being a cash generating scheme as with only two pitches the groundsman will have his hands full keeping those in pristine condition so he wouldn't want them rented out to a Sunday league side. When the original scheme was announced I contacted Steve Hamer to tell him about funding held on deposit at Hortham Village next door which was held pending use for a community building. I suggested a joint venture so that a pavilion could be used by the club by day and residents in the evening. I did have one phone call from an agent of the club before the project was mothballed but heard no more after Steve Hamers departure. I see the club is currently using the GFA 3G pitch at Almondsbury that Roman Glass use as their home pitch. I expect they will need to continue this until a 3G pitch is built at Hortham but that would exceed a Ā£2m budget. At present it certainly isnāt a cash generating scheme, quite the reverse. The Quarters has required the employment of an extra groundsman and apprentice. There is no way the fibre sand grass pitches will be rented out. The income at training grounds like Fleetwood comes from renting out the 3G pitch and 5 a side pitches (it also has a pizzeria on site). Until the equivalent is built then I canāt see any income generation. The costs so far appear to be Ā£1.2m for the pitches (cost given to a passing fan by an on site contractor) - that sounds correct as the internet suggests fibre sand pitches are around Ā£0.5m each. The cost of the clubhouse is likely to be in the Ā£0.5m to Ā£0.8m region plus the cost of the gym conversion and reservoir works etc. It is quite possible the costs already exceed Ā£2m, although that seems to have been a limit imposed by Hani and presumably no longe applies with Wael in effective sole control. 3G pitches are also around Ā£0.5m , so I think itās a racing certainty that the bill will be comfortably over Ā£2m by the time the site has an income generating capacity. Any indication that the council will permit a change of use on the site given the number of previous efforts, by previous owners, to develop the site were turned down? Also, is there still a chance of building the few houses that Dwane Sports applied for but never sent in all the details so the planning was refused?
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2021 11:27:58 GMT
Just listened to the pre match preview. In the first few seconds he says about not dwelling on referee decisions and then proceeds to spend the next 4 minutes complaining about referees including a blow by blow account of every wrong referee decision from his three games which, conveniently, seem to cover all the goals our opponents scored as well as the sending off. The pressure is getting to him already.
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womble
Arthur Cartlidge
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 300
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Post by womble on Mar 5, 2021 11:45:28 GMT
At present it certainly isnāt a cash generating scheme, quite the reverse. The Quarters has required the employment of an extra groundsman and apprentice. There is no way the fibre sand grass pitches will be rented out. The income at training grounds like Fleetwood comes from renting out the 3G pitch and 5 a side pitches (it also has a pizzeria on site). Until the equivalent is built then I canāt see any income generation. The costs so far appear to be Ā£1.2m for the pitches (cost given to a passing fan by an on site contractor) - that sounds correct as the internet suggests fibre sand pitches are around Ā£0.5m each. The cost of the clubhouse is likely to be in the Ā£0.5m to Ā£0.8m region plus the cost of the gym conversion and reservoir works etc. It is quite possible the costs already exceed Ā£2m, although that seems to have been a limit imposed by Hani and presumably no longe applies with Wael in effective sole control. 3G pitches are also around Ā£0.5m , so I think itās a racing certainty that the bill will be comfortably over Ā£2m by the time the site has an income generating capacity. Any indication that the council will permit a change of use on the site given the number of previous efforts, by previous owners, to develop the site were turned down? Also, is there still a chance of building the few houses that Dwane Sports applied for but never sent in all the details so the planning was refused? It was possible using permitted development rules to convert the remains of the existing agricultural buildings to residential. This had already received consent back in around 2016, before Rovers acquired the site. Since then the barn has been turned into a gym and the remaining structures levelled, so Iām not sure whether a new planning application, for what would in effect be new builds, would be favourably received. It has been stated that the club would like to build accommodation for a caretaker. As that seems like a necessity to have community use of a recreation/sport site, that might get permission even though the site is green belt. You would hope that the club had made informal approaches to South Glos about whether that was likely to be acceptable.
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womble
Arthur Cartlidge
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 300
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Post by womble on Mar 5, 2021 12:48:32 GMT
The Gym is temporary is it not? It represents a massive improvement over not having one and having to travel to a public gym some miles away, which truly was embarrassing for a professional football club in the 21st Century. I've never seen or heard anything from the club to say the Gym is temporary I think "this is it". And in my opinion professional athletes won't care who owns the building they work in and would rather train in a modern, airy and welcoming environment than in an old barn at the end of a track.
The reason why the training ground might appear to be a bit of a work in progress is that we had to depart our old base in Cribbs and move to Almondsbury for the start of this season. There was no leeway, the lease wasnāt going to be renewed. The club knew years in advance when the lease at Cribbs ran out and had plenty of time to find an alternative as any normal business would do. And there were plenty of alternative venues available so a smooth transition could have been made with minimal disruption and no additional annual cost.The site is designed in two stages. The first enables the club to move the first team in at short notice, providing it with all it needs. So thatās a clubhouse with offices and changing rooms, gym facilities, two fantastic pitches, a car park. For something thatās only been months in the making, Iād argue that is quite impressive, so hats off to Wael. The work started in June 2020 so that's actually nine months in the making, it's still not finished and the players will be having to change at the Gloucestershire FA headquarters down the road till the end of the season. That sounds like a "cock up" to me ?
Stage two from what I can gather is where the potential of the site will start to be realised, expansion of the clubhouse as you mentioned, permanent gym facilities, a third pitch and an all weather pitch meaning that the club can move the academy and Womenās teams over and also make some money out of the site. We could have waited for the āidealā training ground, where both stage 1 and 2 are realised together before we moved in, but then we would have been without a training ground to prepare for this season. When you say "I can gather" I understand what you mean because no one really knows. We are only given vague notions of what the intentions are for the full development of the site. No timescales, no plans or artists impressions and no mention of how it would be paid for. I think it's another example of someone's imagination running away with them and Gasheads being "played"
The construction work supposedly was held up due to the club getting permission to tweak certain elements of the original Rugby club design. I donāt know if that is true or not, just what Iāve heard which makes sense given the club are going to be using the building for a long time to come. The announcement of work starting was made in June but it was October before someone realised that a planning application would have to be made to change the colour of the bricks and tiles. The Zoom Forum at which Wael waved the piece of paper was in July last year but we still don't know what "tweaks" have been made to the inside of the club house if any were actually permitted ? What you have written is how most Gasheads perceive it Axegas but to me it seems incredible this should be so. I've made my comments in bold and tried to be fair but straight to the point. I know fans always want to give the club the benefit of the doubt but I just cannot believe that a properly run business would ever manage a project in this way. The gym is Iām pretty sure, permanent. I donāt actually think that the lack of publicity is down to embarrassment, just a lack of imagination. We have had one decent media release when the pitches were first put into use. Our friends south of the river have a multi million pound training ground under construction (you can see the back of the building from the Failand road), but Iāve seen only one media update about it and their fans seem less interested in theirs, than we do in ours. The delay in approving building materials is down to the effect of COVID on South Glosā planners rather than the club. Almost all planning approvals have conditions attached about approval of materials and this one was no different. Kendall Kingscott are the architects dealing with this and they have a decent reputation, having done quite a bit of work for the University of Bristol. The time line is not I think, a surprise. Pitches take less time to construct than buildings. Cityās pitches were also ready before their pavilion has reached completion. The COVID restrictions mean the absence of on-site changing facilities are less pressing than they otherwise would be. There have been a couple of minor changes to the exterior of the building, so internal changes are most unlikely to be a problem. As a local comparison, City have been training on rented pitches at QEH since 2007. Bristol Sport had strategic reviews in 2011 and 2014. The idea of a joint training ground with Bristol Rugby was dropped (planners thought it over intensive) and a planning application was made in late 2017, with opening expected later this year. Overall their training ground is about the same size as Roversā, but they only own the 40% of it being developed at the moment.
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towngas
Joined: February 2021
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Post by towngas on Mar 5, 2021 13:02:02 GMT
Indeed - Billions vs millions Developed ground vs tents Championship vs League One Fans want Lansdowne to stay vs Fans want WAQ out (apparently) Success with Bristol Rugby and Bristol Ladies vs Gas Ladies team in Gloucester League However both are failing where they are and have seen little or no progress, League position wise, in recent years. It's an odd one alright. He seems content to chuck Ā£5~10m a year at it to threaten to get into the play offs rather than do a 'Bournemouth' and just go all in and spend Ā£30~40m in one year, get promoted, take the 50p FFP fine and trouser the Ā£300 million or whatever obscene sum it is now for getting into the PL. I'll wager that if you asked him, he wouldn't be able to tell you his nett worth to the nearest Ā£50m anyway, so it seems strange to me that he carries on 'almost' getting 1982 to where it appears he wants them to be. Once they were there, in a wealthy place like Bristol there would be sponsors all over the club, desperate to get involved and have that global exposure. His female team are struggling, they aren't relegated yet but it's looking like a strong possibility. Oh, I think SL could tell you his gross and nett worth at any time of the day or night. People don't become virtually double -billionaires by accident.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2021 13:12:43 GMT
It's an odd one alright. He seems content to chuck Ā£5~10m a year at it to threaten to get into the play offs rather than do a 'Bournemouth' and just go all in and spend Ā£30~40m in one year, get promoted, take the 50p FFP fine and trouser the Ā£300 million or whatever obscene sum it is now for getting into the PL. I'll wager that if you asked him, he wouldn't be able to tell you his nett worth to the nearest Ā£50m anyway, so it seems strange to me that he carries on 'almost' getting 1982 to where it appears he wants them to be. Once they were there, in a wealthy place like Bristol there would be sponsors all over the club, desperate to get involved and have that global exposure. His female team are struggling, they aren't relegated yet but it's looking like a strong possibility. Oh, I think SL could tell you his gross and nett worth at any time of the day or night. People don't become virtually double -billionaires by accident. When I spoke to him about his rich list position his reply was, "I would like to know where it all is then." I can only assume that those who like to have digs at Steve Lansdown do not know him personally. He is one of the nicest successful people that I have ever known and just before he left for Gurnsey I saw hime playing skittles at Patchway Labour Club with his mates just like he had always done. A couple of seasons ago a Gashead asked me if I could let him have SL's contact details as his cricket club was struggling. I asked several weeks later if he had any luck and he told me that he had asked SL to finance the club so that they could survive until the end of the season. SL as an ex player of that club financed the next ten years. We really missed a trick with SL as following his first trip to what was then Hull City's new stadium we set up a Rovers/City company to pursue a new joint stadium. If we hadn't have been so stupid we could have also benefitted form his billions in a productive way.
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Post by The Concept on Mar 5, 2021 13:17:25 GMT
Your summary about renting and using the cash for more productive ventures is exactly what Swissgas has been saying. I can't see it being a cash generating scheme as with only two pitches the groundsman will have his hands full keeping those in pristine condition so he wouldn't want them rented out to a Sunday league side. When the original scheme was announced I contacted Steve Hamer to tell him about funding held on deposit at Hortham Village next door which was held pending use for a community building. I suggested a joint venture so that a pavilion could be used by the club by day and residents in the evening. I did have one phone call from an agent of the club before the project was mothballed but heard no more after Steve Hamers departure. I see the club is currently using the GFA 3G pitch at Almondsbury that Roman Glass use as their home pitch. I expect they will need to continue this until a 3G pitch is built at Hortham but that would exceed a Ā£2m budget. At present it certainly isnāt a cash generating scheme, quite the reverse. The Quarters has required the employment of an extra groundsman and apprentice. There is no way the fibre sand grass pitches will be rented out. The income at training grounds like Fleetwood comes from renting out the 3G pitch and 5 a side pitches (it also has a pizzeria on site). Until the equivalent is built then I canāt see any income generation. The costs so far appear to be Ā£1.2m for the pitches (cost given to a passing fan by an on site contractor) - that sounds correct as the internet suggests fibre sand pitches are around Ā£0.5m each. The cost of the clubhouse is likely to be in the Ā£0.5m to Ā£0.8m region plus the cost of the gym conversion and reservoir works etc. It is quite possible the costs already exceed Ā£2m, although that seems to have been a limit imposed by Hani and presumably no longer applies with Wael in effective sole control. 3G pitches are also around Ā£0.5m, so I think itās a racing certainty that the bill will be comfortably over Ā£2m by the time the site has an income generating capacity. Where there is a possibility for generating income is away from the football side of the The Quarters. If the clubhouse/pavilion is extended to include conference and restaurant facilities. Hortham is an ideal spot for a conference centre, being so close to the M4/M5. And if there was restaurant open to the public at certain times, like you get at Golf Clubs, I would certainly book up for family Sunday roast dinner, being able to look out across Rovers training ground, followed by a post lunch stroll around the onsite nature reserve. Then there are other events to hire out facilities, such as wedding receptions, birthday parties etc. The training ground could be used for other Rovers related groups. The Community Trust could use it for part of their education schemes, with both classroom based and training pitches available (i.e. the Futsall thing). And it would be a great place for the other BRCT groups (mental health, disabilities, dementia) to use for health and wellbeing matters - being able to walk around the ground your heroes train on, and the wooded section with large pond and brook.
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womble
Arthur Cartlidge
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 300
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Post by womble on Mar 5, 2021 13:52:22 GMT
We really missed a trick with SL as following his first trip to what was then Hull City's new stadium we set up a Rovers/City company to pursue a new joint stadium. If we hadn't have been so stupid we could have also benefitted form his billions in a productive way. I remember there being a joint Council/Rovers/City study into a joint stadium, but it came to nothing because none of the potential sites within the Bristol boundary (including Hengrove and the Fruit Market) were though to be suitable or developable on a realistic time frame. Is this what you are referring to, or was it subsequent to that?
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2021 13:56:07 GMT
At present it certainly isnāt a cash generating scheme, quite the reverse. The Quarters has required the employment of an extra groundsman and apprentice. There is no way the fibre sand grass pitches will be rented out. The income at training grounds like Fleetwood comes from renting out the 3G pitch and 5 a side pitches (it also has a pizzeria on site). Until the equivalent is built then I canāt see any income generation. The costs so far appear to be Ā£1.2m for the pitches (cost given to a passing fan by an on site contractor) - that sounds correct as the internet suggests fibre sand pitches are around Ā£0.5m each. The cost of the clubhouse is likely to be in the Ā£0.5m to Ā£0.8m region plus the cost of the gym conversion and reservoir works etc. It is quite possible the costs already exceed Ā£2m, although that seems to have been a limit imposed by Hani and presumably no longer applies with Wael in effective sole control. 3G pitches are also around Ā£0.5m, so I think itās a racing certainty that the bill will be comfortably over Ā£2m by the time the site has an income generating capacity. Where there is a possibility for generating income is away from the football side of the The Quarters. If the clubhouse/pavilion is extended to include conference and restaurant facilities. Hortham is an ideal spot for a conference centre, being so close to the M4/M5. And if there was restaurant open to the public at certain times, like you get at Golf Clubs, I would certainly book up for family Sunday roast dinner, being able to look out across Rovers training ground, followed by a post lunch stroll around the onsite nature reserve. Then there are other events to hire out facilities, such as wedding receptions, birthday parties etc. The training ground could be used for other Rovers related groups. The Community Trust could use it for part of their education schemes, with both classroom based and training pitches available (i.e. the Futsall thing). And it would be a great place for the other BRCT groups (mental health, disabilities, dementia) to use for health and wellbeing matters - being able to walk around the ground your heroes train on, and the wooded section with large pond and brook. It will be easier to get planning permission to build a new stadium on the Cenotaph on the City Centre than to get multiple use planning on the training ground site. That site and the old hospital site was a planning hot potato for the previous owners and the housing development only got the go ahead after it being referred to the secretary of state who granted permission but would only allow the exact footprint of the old hospital to be built on.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2021 14:01:01 GMT
We really missed a trick with SL as following his first trip to what was then Hull City's new stadium we set up a Rovers/City company to pursue a new joint stadium. If we hadn't have been so stupid we could have also benefitted form his billions in a productive way. I remember there being a joint Council/Rovers/City study into a joint stadium, but it came to nothing because none of the potential sites within the Bristol boundary (including Hengrove and the Fruit Market) were though to be suitable or developable on a realistic time frame. Is this what you are referring to, or was it subsequent to that? It was the Redrow site at Pilning which was rejected by the environment agency and where Amazon etc has now been built. That needn't have been the end of the partnership though and I believe that UWE could and would have been built with a larger capacity with joint ownership. Bristol Rugby could have moved to the old Ashton Gate Stadium and the more valuable Memorial Stadium land could have been sold to help match the Lansdown investment. Sadly one or two people would rather have a Penis Size Competition so Steve Lansdown walked away.
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Post by The Concept on Mar 5, 2021 14:21:03 GMT
Where there is a possibility for generating income is away from the football side of the The Quarters. If the clubhouse/pavilion is extended to include conference and restaurant facilities. Hortham is an ideal spot for a conference centre, being so close to the M4/M5. And if there was restaurant open to the public at certain times, like you get at Golf Clubs, I would certainly book up for family Sunday roast dinner, being able to look out across Rovers training ground, followed by a post lunch stroll around the onsite nature reserve. Then there are other events to hire out facilities, such as wedding receptions, birthday parties etc. The training ground could be used for other Rovers related groups. The Community Trust could use it for part of their education schemes, with both classroom based and training pitches available (i.e. the Futsall thing). And it would be a great place for the other BRCT groups (mental health, disabilities, dementia) to use for health and wellbeing matters - being able to walk around the ground your heroes train on, and the wooded section with large pond and brook. It will be easier to get planning permission to build a new stadium on the Cenotaph on the City Centre than to get multiple use planning on the training ground site. That site and the old hospital site was a planning hot potato for the previous owners and the housing development only got the go ahead after it being referred to the secretary of state who granted permission but would only allow the exact footprint of the old hospital to be built on. Doesn't have to be a huge building, and the knowledge that the rest of the land is saved from concrete, plus the nature reserve, should work in your favour. Plus if the facilities are community based (I think you've mentioned that option before). Any update on the Ed Ware Homes plan for housing in the fields opposite The Quarters?
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2021 14:34:18 GMT
It's an odd one alright. He seems content to chuck Ā£5~10m a year at it to threaten to get into the play offs rather than do a 'Bournemouth' and just go all in and spend Ā£30~40m in one year, get promoted, take the 50p FFP fine and trouser the Ā£300 million or whatever obscene sum it is now for getting into the PL. I'll wager that if you asked him, he wouldn't be able to tell you his nett worth to the nearest Ā£50m anyway, so it seems strange to me that he carries on 'almost' getting 1982 to where it appears he wants them to be. Once they were there, in a wealthy place like Bristol there would be sponsors all over the club, desperate to get involved and have that global exposure. His female team are struggling, they aren't relegated yet but it's looking like a strong possibility. Oh, I think SL could tell you his gross and nett worth at any time of the day or night. People don't become virtually double -billionaires by accident. Bet he would need to check. But the point remains, he wouldn't exactly miss the 30 or 40 million extra it would cost to buy promotion into the PL.
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