North Stand Expansion

I’m torn on the fans calling the club out to be honest as I completely understand us wanting a home end, blue wall etc but also the club wanting it to be financially viable and successful and making it a fan experience in that area just under level two ( I think? ) we are living the dream with our owner and what they are building is truly magnificent so I’m sure it doesn’t sit right with them either that this unique design needs to be 100% approved by the fans only? I’m definitely not looking to antagonize with this post either by the way but just because they are wealthy not everything can be decided by what fans want? This build will go past £300m as projects always do and the CO OP arena for the CFG part would be £200m ish? The investment into the club is monumental let alone if we go and spend £200-300m on new players this summer and wages etc. Ticket prices would be worth fighting about more than this imo but it could have been maybe discussed more behind closed doors before a public post has been made? Especially by our own main fan group who by the way do an amazing job every season of creating displays etc!
 
Cheadle_hulmeBlue said:
I could be wrong, but it doesn’t sound promising in terms of getting a proper home end. It would be a massive wasted opportunity and something we will probably never be able to create after this expansion.
Click to expand...
What is a proper home end?

Football supporters have changed greatly in the last decade, football was once the game of the working man, thank is no longer the case.

Football is expensive and a lot of the people who pay the huge ticket prices often want more than a seat , a pint and a pie,and who has the right to say they are unworthy fans for the "home end"
 
LEXSTARproject said:
1894 ASK CLUB TO ORGANISE A FULL FANS CONSULTATION ON THE NORTH STAND
There is a slightly misleading report in Wednesday’s Manchester Evening News. Contrary to their report we currently DO NOT have confidence that the atmosphere will improve under the club’s current plans.
After receiving survey results from almost 1,500 fans- which we passed onto the club, we say it is now time the club organised a full consultation starting with those currently in the North Stand.
In our view plans currently do not have atmosphere at the forefront of their plans, the position and size of the GA+ section being one such example.
1894 were invited to meetings as the club wanted us to be “anchor tenants” of the new stand, which was supposed to be The Blue Wall.
We are not aligned on much with the club at the moment on this development. We of course recognise the club has to maintain revenues but this is the last chance to sort the atmosphere at The Etihad. It’s a golden opportunity to transform the atmosphere once and for all but we feel it’s currently an opportunity the club are not grasping and time is running out. Rather than have handpicked focus groups to run plans past, we feel it is necessary now that the club consults fully.
This is what we have told the club , ie our vision based on our own surveying :
* Many fans would move and buy in to an atmospheric North Stand. The club cannot be half hearted about it though. It has to be a proper end otherwise people are inclined to stay where they are, given so many people have already had to move over the last 20 years.
* Rail seating in North Stand Level 2 - perhaps 7,000 with seating in NS Level 1 (enough space to retain a family stand if people wanted that). An under 25s section in NS2
* Club need to outline their pricing policy - ideally for the next 5 years - before fans are going to make a move.
* Currently 70% of home section is seasoncard. This ratio needs to be maintained after expansion.
No photo description available.

All reactions:
181181
Click to expand...
Absolutely no reason to build a big second tier and it not to be a designated home end, which was aimed at improving the atmosphere. If it’s not going to be an end for the singing fans, they should have just built a replica of the south stand.
 
I know some of you who filled in 1894's survey were keen to see the results... Here's a summary:

1894 North Stand Development Survey

Introduction
1894 has been invited to attend a meeting with MCFC in July regarding the North Stand Expansion. There will be representatives from the Official Supporters Club (OSC) and City Matters (CM) present also. 1894 have created and shared a survey with City fans ahead of the meeting. The survey was shared using mailing lists and social media accounts that have a combined reach of roughly 70k.
There are specific questions that relate to the North Stand Development as well as a general comments field where fans were encouraged to leave feedback.

Response, Memberships and Stand Preference

1,391 people filled in the survey. Their memberships are:
  • Season Card Holder: 974 (70%)
  • Match Day Membership: 208 (15%)
  • Cityzens Membership: 132 (9%)
  • Junior Membership: 16 (1%)
  • Other/No Membership: 61 (4%)

We also asked for a Stand Breakdown. If the supporters have a season card, they were asked to select the stand they sit in. If they do not, we asked them to select the stand they prefer to sit in.
  • North Stand: 264 (19%)
  • East Stand: 246 (18%)
  • South Stand: 583 (42%)
  • Colin Bell Stand: 179 (13%)
  • No preference: 119 (9%)

Focus on Atmosphere
1894 believe that our members and the wider fanbase want to see an atmospheric home end in the North Stand.
Question 7, 86% of respondents want to see some type of vocal support in the North Stand.
Question 15, 1,156 (83%) of fans said that the ‘atmosphere’ is an important consideration in where they choose to sit at City. It was the most ‘important’ option we provided.
In Question 16, when asked how important the focus on improving the atmosphere was, 1,025 fans answered ‘5—Incredibly important’. Only 7% of respondents answered options 1 (not at all important), 2, and 3.

Fans want to move to the new North Stand

853 fans (61%) answered ‘yes, I want to be part of an atmospheric North Stand’ in Question 6. 609 (44%) would still consider moving even if they had to sit towards the back of NSL2 (Question 8).
Question 5 shows that around 97% of fans either consider themselves as singers or someone who joins in with the atmosphere occasionally. We need to give them the opportunity to sing and the atmosphere all around the stadium will snowball.

Key Issues

  • 63% of fans want to see an 18-25 section in the atmospheric North Stand
  • 87% want rail seating in the singing sections
  • 89% would like to see the club commit to a 5-year pricing plan
  • Question 13 shows fans generally want to see around 70% of any new seats offered as season cards, with the remaining tickets available to match day ticket purchases
  • Atmosphere (83%) and Ticket Pricing (71%) are the two most important factors to fans
  • 82% of fans think the GA+ seats located at the front of NSL2 in the plans should either be removed altogether or moved elsewhere. Only 5% want them to stay where they are in the plans.
Engagement with North Stand Seasoncard holders

1894 and 86% of respondents feel it’s important that the club surveys all season card holders in the current North Stand to hear their thoughts on the development.
231 season card holders in the North Stand responded to our survey. Here are some focused results from them.

  • Want to be part of an atmospheric North Stand: Yes 164 / No 49 / Unsure 17
  • Want a singing section in the North Stand: Yes 200 / No 21 / Unsure 8
  • Preference on normal seating vs rail seating: Normal 49 / Rail 162 / Unsure 22
  • Question 11: Focus atmosphere at back of NSL2 70 / Maintain focus of atmosphere across the entire stand 156 / Unsure 7
A vision for the Etihad Stadium

Fans want an atmospheric home end. This development provides the last real opportunity to achieve that. Based on the feedback that fans have provided, we believe a good vision for an atmospheric Etihad stadium is as follows:
  • North Stand Level 2 to be seen as ‘the new Kippax’ and become a designated singing section
  • North Stand Level 1 to remain as is.
  • South Stand Level 1 to remain as is.
This means that we still have a Family Stand. We have two ends generating atmosphere that can hear each other.

Commitments we’d like to see to ensure this is a success
  1. Designated 18-25s section in NSL2
  1. Rail seating in NSL2
  1. 5-year ticket pricing plan so fans are aware of costs prior to relocating
  1. At least 70% of increased capacity to be offered as new Season Cards
  1. High proportion of season card holders located in NSL2 (no tourists/agencies able to resell tickets – minimum membership history to buy tickets here)
  1. GA+ seats to be moved from the front of NSL2 and no GA+ seats to be bunched together in NSL2
  1. MCFC to survey all North Stand Level 2 season card holders about the development.

Kind Regards,
1894
 
Manchester33 said:
I know some of you who filled in 1894's survey were keen to see the results... Here's a summary:

1894 North Stand Development Survey

Introduction
1894 has been invited to attend a meeting with MCFC in July regarding the North Stand Expansion. There will be representatives from the Official Supporters Club (OSC) and City Matters (CM) present also. 1894 have created and shared a survey with City fans ahead of the meeting. The survey was shared using mailing lists and social media accounts that have a combined reach of roughly 70k.
There are specific questions that relate to the North Stand Development as well as a general comments field where fans were encouraged to leave feedback.

Response, Memberships and Stand Preference

1,391 people filled in the survey. Their memberships are:
  • Season Card Holder: 974 (70%)
  • Match Day Membership: 208 (15%)
  • Cityzens Membership: 132 (9%)
  • Junior Membership: 16 (1%)
  • Other/No Membership: 61 (4%)

We also asked for a Stand Breakdown. If the supporters have a season card, they were asked to select the stand they sit in. If they do not, we asked them to select the stand they prefer to sit in.
  • North Stand: 264 (19%)
  • East Stand: 246 (18%)
  • South Stand: 583 (42%)
  • Colin Bell Stand: 179 (13%)
  • No preference: 119 (9%)

Focus on Atmosphere
1894 believe that our members and the wider fanbase want to see an atmospheric home end in the North Stand.
Question 7, 86% of respondents want to see some type of vocal support in the North Stand.
Question 15, 1,156 (83%) of fans said that the ‘atmosphere’ is an important consideration in where they choose to sit at City. It was the most ‘important’ option we provided.
In Question 16, when asked how important the focus on improving the atmosphere was, 1,025 fans answered ‘5—Incredibly important’. Only 7% of respondents answered options 1 (not at all important), 2, and 3.

Fans want to move to the new North Stand

853 fans (61%) answered ‘yes, I want to be part of an atmospheric North Stand’ in Question 6. 609 (44%) would still consider moving even if they had to sit towards the back of NSL2 (Question 8).
Question 5 shows that around 97% of fans either consider themselves as singers or someone who joins in with the atmosphere occasionally. We need to give them the opportunity to sing and the atmosphere all around the stadium will snowball.

Key Issues

  • 63% of fans want to see an 18-25 section in the atmospheric North Stand
  • 87% want rail seating in the singing sections
  • 89% would like to see the club commit to a 5-year pricing plan
  • Question 13 shows fans generally want to see around 70% of any new seats offered as season cards, with the remaining tickets available to match day ticket purchases
  • Atmosphere (83%) and Ticket Pricing (71%) are the two most important factors to fans
  • 82% of fans think the GA+ seats located at the front of NSL2 in the plans should either be removed altogether or moved elsewhere. Only 5% want them to stay where they are in the plans.
Engagement with North Stand Seasoncard holders

1894 and 86% of respondents feel it’s important that the club surveys all season card holders in the current North Stand to hear their thoughts on the development.
231 season card holders in the North Stand responded to our survey. Here are some focused results from them.

  • Want to be part of an atmospheric North Stand: Yes 164 / No 49 / Unsure 17
  • Want a singing section in the North Stand: Yes 200 / No 21 / Unsure 8
  • Preference on normal seating vs rail seating: Normal 49 / Rail 162 / Unsure 22
  • Question 11: Focus atmosphere at back of NSL2 70 / Maintain focus of atmosphere across the entire stand 156 / Unsure 7
A vision for the Etihad Stadium

Fans want an atmospheric home end. This development provides the last real opportunity to achieve that. Based on the feedback that fans have provided, we believe a good vision for an atmospheric Etihad stadium is as follows:
  • North Stand Level 2 to be seen as ‘the new Kippax’ and become a designated singing section
  • North Stand Level 1 to remain as is.
  • South Stand Level 1 to remain as is.
This means that we still have a Family Stand. We have two ends generating atmosphere that can hear each other.

Commitments we’d like to see to ensure this is a success
  1. Designated 18-25s section in NSL2
  2. Rail seating in NSL2
  3. 5-year ticket pricing plan so fans are aware of costs prior to relocating
  4. At least 70% of increased capacity to be offered as new Season Cards
  5. High proportion of season card holders located in NSL2 (no tourists/agencies able to resell tickets – minimum membership history to buy tickets here)
  6. GA+ seats to be moved from the front of NSL2 and no GA+ seats to be bunched together in NSL2
  7. MCFC to survey all North Stand Level 2 season card holders about the development.

Kind Regards,
1894
Click to expand...

thanks for the summary.
Really hope the club listens to you in regards to your vision above and the commitments section.

(although personally I'm afraid no.6 will remain as it is... but I could live with it IF the rest goes according to your plans)
 
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