Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Thread

[domalino]

Has anyone mentioned that if they build it people will come?

 

[Zubrman]

Relax. Don't do it. When you want to come.

 

[Shaelumstash]

The "build it and they will come: approach seems to have worked out well for the Glazer's strip mall empire, and of course the Millenium Dome was a roaring success when in government hands.

Let's just extend the stadium to 100k and build a training and medical centre for all of the ghostly baseball players while we're at it.

 

[mancity dan]

On reflection, build it and they will come.

Nice to see you are coming round mate ;)

if I wanted to reference the film, it would have been "Build it, and HE will come"

 

[Kinkys Left Foot]

Who is this HE you speak of?

 

[Martyn]

Isn't there a waiting list for season tickets? The size of that would be the best indicator as to should we extend or not.

 

[FrankSwift1]

Build it and ill come.
But I'm definitely not staying till the end..

 

[BrianW]

In my view it is better to have the dreaded 'empty seats' than not have sufficient capacity for all those who want to go.

I think we are way too hung up on 'empty seats' and it's bad policy, always, to allow the enemy to dictate your strategy. (In this case by jibes about 'empty seats') Back in the day when Maine Road was able to hold about 63,000, it was often half empty. But on the occasions it was full, boy was there an atmosphere! I think there are a fair few City fans who don't want to go every week, that's just a fact of life. Grab their cash when they do come, and make getting in easy. Some will catch the regular bug.

 

[mcfc1632]

Just some comments picked up on Sunday. My mate has a box in the North Stand - it was Tevez' and he took it over when he left. I make the Tevez comment because that means that its right amongst some knowledgeable people - Tueart' is the box next to him for example and when I have been in the box with him it has been clear that he has gotten quite familiar with lots of people - including CITY officials.

I was with him on Sunday and just in general chat I asked "... how long will you have this box for - because aren't the club going to expand this stand to mirror the South Stand..." his answer was that he does not know but ".....the club were always planning to see how it went with the South stand expansion before doing the North...." Other comments made me it clear to me that the club is not speaking to such people about significant changes in the near future.

As that box must cost a good deal and as such 'customers' will be looked after - especially as they would the club would want them to commit to a new box, I would think that if there was any chance of work this summer he would have know a while ago. The fact that he does not suggests to me that there is no chance work is planned.

Could be wrong but that seems logical to me

 

[blueparrot]

Just some comments picked up on Sunday. My mate has a box in the North Stand - it was Tevez' and he took it over when he left. I make the Tevez comment because that means that its right amongst some knowledgeable people - Tueart' is the box next to him for example and when I have been in the box with him it has been clear that he has gotten quite familiar with lots of people - including CITY officials.

I was with him on Sunday and just in general chat I asked "... how long will you have this box for - because aren't the club going to expand this stand to mirror the South Stand..." his answer was that he does not know but ".....the club were always planning to see how it went with the South stand expansion before doing the North...." Other comments made me it clear to me that the club is not speaking to such people about significant changes in the near future.

As that box must cost a good deal and as such 'customers' will be looked after - especially as they would the club would want them to commit to a new box, I would think that if there was any chance of work this summer he would have know a while ago. The fact that he does not suggests to me that there is no chance work is planned.

Could be wrong but that seems logical to me

That all makes sense, but if they began work this summer then the boxes wouldn't be effected next season as only the back few rows of the second tier are lost during construction. so they wouldn't need to be told now.

 

[Gary James]

We should get on and build it. Design it in such a way that the top tier can be screened off for cup ties, so that no empty seats are seen. That way we make a statement that its open for League games but never designed for cup games so that no one can laugh. Then when a cup game demands the extra it gets opened up and is a positive - City have such high demand they've opened up an area designed exclusively for PL games!

We get hung up on empty seats. If we'd have been hung up about capacity in 1920s we'd have stayed at cramped Hyde Rd and never built the best club ground in England with a capacity of more than double our old capacity. In the 60s players like Lee had clauses/bonus payments listed in their contracts where they would be paid extra per 1,000 crowd above a set figure. Lee & co said that gave them a desire to entertain, not just win, so that fans would want to be there and see it in the flesh. Okay it might not be so easy now, but why not have bonus payments for all ticketing staff and playing staff for crowds above 60k, or for cup crowds of more than 50k?

For me the debate shouldn't be about building the stand, it should be about finding ways to fill it. Initiatives are needed that get people in and make them dedicated fans. People criticise the Family Stand, but the truth is that this is generating a new generation of fans that will, hopefully, help to fill the stadium with their own families in ten/twenty years. We suffered with our restricted capacity in 90s, and lost a generation. We can't let that happen again. Build the stand, give special deals to fans living within say 2 miles of the stadium (some of which is traditionally red territory), encourage new arrivals in the city, give enormous discounts to children and parents, and basically build the fan base. Colonise new areas - most of West Yorkshire is within 1 hour drive and also has good railway links to the Etihad area, so let's target that areas well as our Mancunian strongholds.

Every new housing estate/development in east Manchester should offer special deals. Major employers, special deals etc.

Build it, they will come, but only if we work hard in making it easy for them, then once they've got the habit the fan base will grow further and we'll be talking about building a 84,569plus capacity venue!

 

[taleofbluehalves]

We should get on and build it. Design it in such a way that the top tier can be screened off for cup ties, so that no empty seats are seen. That way we make a statement that its open for League games but never designed for cup games so that no one can laugh. Then when a cup game demands the extra it gets opened up and is a positive - City have such high demand they've opened up an area designed exclusively for PL games!

We get hung up on empty seats. If we'd have been hung up about capacity in 1920s we'd have stayed at cramped Hyde Rd and never built the best club ground in England with a capacity of more than double our old capacity. In the 60s players like Lee had clauses/bonus payments listed in their contracts where they would be paid extra per 1,000 crowd above a set figure. Lee & co said that gave them a desire to entertain, not just win, so that fans would want to be there and see it in the flesh. Okay it might not be so easy now, but why not have bonus payments for all ticketing staff and playing staff for crowds above 60k, or for cup crowds of more than 50k?

For me the debate shouldn't be about building the stand, it should be about finding ways to fill it. Initiatives are needed that get people in and make them dedicated fans. People criticise the Family Stand, but the truth is that this is generating a new generation of fans that will, hopefully, help to fill the stadium with their own families in ten/twenty years. We suffered with our restricted capacity in 90s, and lost a generation. We can't let that happen again. Build the stand, give special deals to fans living within say 2 miles of the stadium (some of which is traditionally red territory), encourage new arrivals in the city, give enormous discounts to children and parents, and basically build the fan base. Colonise new areas - most of West Yorkshire is within 1 hour drive and also has good railway links to the Etihad area, so let's target that areas well as our Mancunian strongholds.

Every new housing estate/development in east Manchester should offer special deals. Major employers, special deals etc.

Build it, they will come, but only if we work hard in making it easy for them, then once they've got the habit the fan base will grow further and we'll be talking about building a 84,569plus capacity venue!

An excellent post this is the time to build. Pep coming. Exiting new players in the club and joining from outside. Build from a position of strength. Within a few years Spurs, Chelsea and Liverpool will all have 60,000 plus so we need it too.

 

[philiph20]

We should get on and build it. Design it in such a way that the top tier can be screened off for cup ties, so that no empty seats are seen. That way we make a statement that its open for League games but never designed for cup games so that no one can laugh. Then when a cup game demands the extra it gets opened up and is a positive - City have such high demand they've opened up an area designed exclusively for PL games!

We get hung up on empty seats. If we'd have been hung up about capacity in 1920s we'd have stayed at cramped Hyde Rd and never built the best club ground in England with a capacity of more than double our old capacity. In the 60s players like Lee had clauses/bonus payments listed in their contracts where they would be paid extra per 1,000 crowd above a set figure. Lee & co said that gave them a desire to entertain, not just win, so that fans would want to be there and see it in the flesh. Okay it might not be so easy now, but why not have bonus payments for all ticketing staff and playing staff for crowds above 60k, or for cup crowds of more than 50k?

For me the debate shouldn't be about building the stand, it should be about finding ways to fill it. Initiatives are needed that get people in and make them dedicated fans. People criticise the Family Stand, but the truth is that this is generating a new generation of fans that will, hopefully, help to fill the stadium with their own families in ten/twenty years. We suffered with our restricted capacity in 90s, and lost a generation. We can't let that happen again. Build the stand, give special deals to fans living within say 2 miles of the stadium (some of which is traditionally red territory), encourage new arrivals in the city, give enormous discounts to children and parents, and basically build the fan base. Colonise new areas - most of West Yorkshire is within 1 hour drive and also has good railway links to the Etihad area, so let's target that areas well as our Mancunian strongholds.

Every new housing estate/development in east Manchester should offer special deals. Major employers, special deals etc.

Build it, they will come, but only if we work hard in making it easy for them, then once they've got the habit the fan base will grow further and we'll be talking about building a 84,569plus capacity venue!

Spot on Gary, get it built and despite the season tickets being decent value our non st prices are a disgrace, there is a huge audience in the NW of the country and the club should be going hell for leather reaching out to kids in schools, coaching, trips to see the team etc you could also see the logic in trying to get a foothold in other areas which are not blessed with top flight sides or indeed a dearth of sides full stop, what's to stop City putting soccer schools on in the Scottish Borders for example?, I mean the great Bobby Johnstone was from Selkirk so how about getting kids into City from this region, see also Shropshire, North Yorkshire etc.

 

[Chippy_boy]

Build it and they will come. I'd far rather we sold 3 tickets for £20 each than 1 for £60.

 

[philiph20]

Build it and they will come. I'd far rather we sold 3 tickets for £20 each than 1 for £60.

Very true, City seem to have a downer on local Mancs between the ages of 16-25 and are desperate for the family audience, they should be doing their damndest to get them on board as well.

 

[adr2.8i]

Picking up on one or two points posters have mentioned about getting the kids into ground, are there any incentives that the club offers to school children?

We live pretty much in the middle of Swansea and Cardiff, and my sons school, in fact, quite a lot of the schools in our borough are invited to Swansea and Cardiff for stadium tours. My son has been to both grounds and for weeks after thats all hes talked about.

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

Spot on Gary, get it built and despite the season tickets being decent value our non st prices are a disgrace, there is a huge audience in the NW of the country and the club should be going hell for leather reaching out to kids in schools, coaching, trips to see the team etc you could also see the logic in trying to get a foothold in other areas which are not blessed with top flight sides or indeed a dearth of sides full stop, what's to stop City putting soccer schools on in the Scottish Borders for example?, I mean the great Bobby Johnstone was from Selkirk so how about getting kids into City from this region, see also Shropshire, North Yorkshire etc.

The one off prices are fine, it's when you have fans that want to come regularly and are unable to commit to a season ticket that it all goes wrong. If some overseas tourist wants to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit us at £77 or whatever, I have no problem with that. I'd consider the same if I was in New York.

 

[flb]

We should get on and build it. Design it in such a way that the top tier can be screened off for cup ties, so that no empty seats are seen. That way we make a statement that its open for League games but never designed for cup games so that no one can laugh. Then when a cup game demands the extra it gets opened up and is a positive - City have such high demand they've opened up an area designed exclusively for PL games!

We get hung up on empty seats. If we'd have been hung up about capacity in 1920s we'd have stayed at cramped Hyde Rd and never built the best club ground in England with a capacity of more than double our old capacity. In the 60s players like Lee had clauses/bonus payments listed in their contracts where they would be paid extra per 1,000 crowd above a set figure. Lee & co said that gave them a desire to entertain, not just win, so that fans would want to be there and see it in the flesh. Okay it might not be so easy now, but why not have bonus payments for all ticketing staff and playing staff for crowds above 60k, or for cup crowds of more than 50k?

For me the debate shouldn't be about building the stand, it should be about finding ways to fill it. Initiatives are needed that get people in and make them dedicated fans. People criticise the Family Stand, but the truth is that this is generating a new generation of fans that will, hopefully, help to fill the stadium with their own families in ten/twenty years. We suffered with our restricted capacity in 90s, and lost a generation. We can't let that happen again. Build the stand, give special deals to fans living within say 2 miles of the stadium (some of which is traditionally red territory), encourage new arrivals in the city, give enormous discounts to children and parents, and basically build the fan base. Colonise new areas - most of West Yorkshire is within 1 hour drive and also has good railway links to the Etihad area, so let's target that areas well as our Mancunian strongholds.

Every new housing estate/development in east Manchester should offer special deals. Major employers, special deals etc.

Build it, they will come, but only if we work hard in making it easy for them, then once they've got the habit the fan base will grow further and we'll be talking about building a 84,569plus capacity venue!

Great post Gary, the German model is something we as a club should emulate, they have it right in so many ways, there a thousands upon thousands of local working class families who cant afford the current prices. I'm very surprised the club haven't latched onto this-and make perhaps the biggest statement of all since we were taken over-that we are a club that puts its fans first.

We are missing one hell of a trick in my opinion-we could easily fill 65000 + plus with the right pricing strategy.

 

[mcfc1632]

That all makes sense, but if they began work this summer then the boxes wouldn't be effected next season as only the back few rows of the second tier are lost during construction. so they wouldn't need to be told now.

I understand that from a construction point of view, but given the way the people in those boxes interact/chat etc. I cannot believe (personal opinion only of course) that if there was any intention to significantly progress things this summer no word would have gotten out.

 

[Manchester33]

If extend the Family stand Adam Johnson might cum....