North Stand expansion - seating, ticketing etc

[Coatigan]

It's neither an atmospheric end, a corporate end, or an anything-in-the-middle end. That's because it's a mix of everything end

Why is that a bad thing? It is a 12000 person end. You won't get that proportion of one profile type among the population.

To me the only thing that matters is that they are all blues.

Beyond that, young, old, single, married, dad, grandad, grandson, ambulant, able-bodied, posh, not posh, standing, sitting, male, female, does it really matter so much to make it fail as a whole? Not for me, sorry.

 

[Eccles Blue]

Guaranteed a prime position for as long as they want it. Like in the Trafford Centre with Selfridges. The idea is that they attract others (so usually get preferential treatment).

Oh so my seat in CBL row A is an Anchor Seat because whenever I am not able to attend and I let another fan have my ticket they say it is one of the best seats and views they've had and don't ever give it up? :-) Just asking.

I don't get preferential treatment though, apart from from the stewards and the lovely people around me (different age groups as well. :-) )

 

[Gaz (FMwkdsoul)]

Why is that a bad thing? It is a 12000 person end. You won't get that proportion of one profile type among the population.

To me the only thing that matters is that they are all blues.

Beyond that, young, old, single, married, dad, grandad, grandson, ambulant, able-bodied, posh, not posh, standing, sitting, male, female, does it really matter so much to make it fail as a whole? Not for me, sorry.

Can get a sing song going with 30 down the pub. 3000 should be easy.. :)

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Oh so my seat in CBL row A is an Anchor Seat because whenever I am not able to attend and I let another fan have my ticket they say it is one of the best seats and views they've had and don't ever give it up? :-) Just asking.

I don't get preferential treatment though, apart from from the stewards and the lovely people around me (different age groups as well. :-) )

Sorry to break it to you EB but if you are on the front row of the lower tier that's one of the worst seats in the house!

 

[Eccles Blue]

Sorry to break it to you EB but if you are on the front row of the lower tier that's one of the worst seats in the house!

*lol* I beg to differ but hey that's life. I love that seat because the opposition manager and bench get the full blast of my tottering tadpoles and other non swear words shouts. ;-)

Plus I sing and shout to my heart's content without worrying about the atmosphere around me. I go to watch the match and enjoy. :-)

 

[Coatigan]

I don’t think you know or understand what is required to get an atmospheric end going. You strike me more of a premium seat kind of guy (nothing wrong with that - I’ve been in them a few times!) which is where the real conflict is coming from since you seem to be taking it personally that a group don’t want such seating to be present in a City ‘home end’.

Just out of interest - do you consider Colin Bell Level 3 to be an atmospheric tier and if not why? Would you if they said the back rows were safe standing? What do you think the club would need to do to make it a new place for louder fans?

First of all, I don't take it personally, it is an open discussion I have not as far as I know reacted to any of that. I also don't aim anything personally, my own demeanour aside, not intentionally. I have reacted similarly to ambulant supporters as a group too, as I have to GA+, where I think I can offer something worthwhile that people aren't considering, or are from only one angle.

Maybe you are right, maybe I don't understand an atmospheric end. But as I have said before, I am uncomfortable with some of the premise behind that argument.

People wanting more rail seating is all great, I support that too, in fact that's what I put down myself when I filled in the survey. But extending it to the degrees some do, yourself included, I question. That is all.

 

[M18CTID]

Why is that a bad thing? It is a 12000 person end. You won't get that proportion of one profile type among the population.

To me the only thing that matters is that they are all blues.

Beyond that, young, old, single, married, dad, grandad, grandson, ambulant, able-bodied, posh, not posh, standing, sitting, male, female, does it really matter so much to make it fail as a whole? Not for me, sorry.

The point is that if the club TRULY want an atmosphere end above all else then they wouldn't make it a mish-mash of different things. Nobody has an issue with different demographics with regards to our fanbase - after all, @Eccles Blue is a perfect example of someone who would sing her head off if she moved to the new stand - but when you're marketing it as part atmospheric/part something else then you're never going to maximise the benefit. Someone cited Spurs as an example of how it can go wrong when - at the outset - it looked for all the world that they would have the best atmosphere end in the league. Do you see Dortmund plonking a load of premium seating slap bang in the Yellow Wall? Of course not. That doesn't mean that everyone who stands on the Yellow Wall is of a certain age or sex though. It's full of people of all ages, all sexes, and all colours who want to create an atmosphere.

 

[Manchester33]

Why is that a bad thing? It is a 12000 person end. You won't get that proportion of one profile type among the population.

To me the only thing that matters is that they are all blues.

Beyond that, young, old, single, married, dad, grandad, grandson, ambulant, able-bodied, posh, not posh, standing, sitting, male, female, does it really matter so much to make it fail as a whole? Not for me, sorry.

Looking at some of the recent posts on Blue Moon, you can't guarantee they will all be blues. There seems to be an increasing number of away fans getting hold of tickets (or neutrals/football tourists) at the expense of proper City fans. This problem is exacerbated in hospitality sections.

This is especially the case when match day ticket prices are higher (so the demand from blues reduces). If we can guarantee that 70% of the 6k new seats are season cards (like what the 1894 survey showed fans want), we can reduce that risk and ensure more blues fill this amazing stand.

 

[Coatigan]

I'd stress the point that we're talking about an 'end' not a tier. If you look at the 3k rail seats as a percentage of the North Stand, it's roughly 20%. I don't think that's enough if we truly want an atmospheric home end.

Obviously 3k is better than nothing, but it's a big opportunity missed.

I think the other points (GA+ where it is - making it harder to link atmosphere between NSL2 and NSL1) re-emphasise that this is not a stand with a core focus of atmosphere.

But tier 1 exists already. Should everyone there be kicked out so they can start again to get the mix that one group think is right?

3k seats is almost half of the new addition. Or a third of that tier, which is probably the fairest and most logical way to look at it. Look I agree, it would be better if there were more rail seats.

Don't disagree with GA+ being relocated btw. But it makes sense to me why it is there, why that location, along with the padding, is exactly what commands the +. Doesn't mean it has to be a dead zone. It is 600 odd seats, out of 9.5k.

Not to digress, but as a side positive wee reminder, the spacing is exactly the same as elsewhere throughout it. It is not boxed off. The shared toilet provision is the same. That GA+ guy will be pissing next to the GA guy. So there is scope for it not to be GA+. To be changed to basic GA. For the whole stand to be made GA+. For it to be GA+ rail standing, given the location and access to a bar. For the bar (although I have recently shifted my thoughts on that somewhat) to be absorbed into the concourse. Now maybe that is quite naive of me, from a trying to guess the club's intentions for the area point of view. But as a pure facility as designed and once built, it is factual. What they do with it when it opens, in year 2, 5, 15 etc. Time will tell.

 

[Eccles Blue]

The point is that if the club TRULY want an atmosphere end above all else then they wouldn't make it a mish-mash of different things. Nobody has an issue with different demographics with regards to our fanbase - after all, @Eccles Blue is a perfect example of someone who would sing her head off if she moved to the new stand - but when you're marketing it as part atmospheric/part something else then you're never going to maximise the benefit. Someone cited Spurs as an example of how it can go wrong when - at the outset - it looked for all the world that they would have the best atmosphere end in the league. Do you see Dortmund plonking a load of premium seating slap bang in the Yellow Wall? Of course not. That doesn't mean that everyone who stands on the Yellow Wall is of a certain age or sex though. It's full of people of all ages, all sexes, and all colours who want to create an atmosphere.

I totally agree with this, you need to carry on with what you are doing (as if it matters what I think, I'm just poking my nose in!! *lol*)
The thing I really miss most about not being able to go to away matches these days is the atmosphere and the camaraderie and the fact that I definitely wasn't the only one singing.
I do love where I sit as I said to @Didsbury Dave and I wouldn't swap it for the world but I also love singing and chanting and making a noise with other people.
It's what makes me realise I am still alive!!! *rofl*

Keep up the good work everyone and please don't mind if I poke my nose in now and again.

Manchester City the best team in the Land and all the World.

I've learned my lesson and am not shouting that out any more. :-)