North Stand Expansion

[Jazzyblue]

Yes, I’ve no doubt, I was just making the point , there is a suggestion that reducing prices would allow ‘real City ‘ fans to come back, and they had been sacrificed for selling more corporate.I was saying the ground is full of real City fans still, and as you say including a fair few corporate.
Reducing prices would just mean those going now would pay less it wouldn’t make room for more fans whether new or old returning fans.
Extension will make room and no doubt when they do it it will have cheaper seats like the South did.
The only point I’d make is maybe give new fans fist dibs on the cheaper tickets not offer them to relocations first, and save some blocks for matchday so groups can buy matchday tickets sat together.

I agree with you that the ground is still full of real fans. But the definition of what a real fan is has become more exclusive with time.

These days it’s someone who is committed to spending a fair bit of time and disposable income on their hobby, rather than someone who leans blue and has 90 mins to kill as it was pretty much until PL.

Recognising that the second group has been priced out, but are still fans who need to be catered for, is a way of future proofing the club imo.

The decline of the high street, cinema, air travel, physical music sales and print are all examples of industries who thought the good times would last forever and got a nasty shock.

It could happen to football too. So we should find ways of making cheaper tickets available to fans who haven’t had the matchgoing habit like you say.

Me and Mrs were just having a chuckle about the little kids at the school where she works switching from red to blue. All from low income families in Salford. It’s happening all over the region. Get them in the ground and they will be blue for life.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

My seats on row 1 of the South stand and has been since they were added, I've never been within 30 yards of it. They are always sold.

They are always sold but we’re not always used like everywhere else in the ground. Packed out for the big matches but plenty of gaps for the lesser games. I can see with the Safe Standing that the lesser games now seem fuller:

 

[bluesmith]

They are always sold but we’re not always used like everywhere else in the ground. Packed out for the big matches but plenty of gaps for the lesser games. I can see with the Safe Standing that the lesser games now seem fuller:

They may not be used as seat but the people whos seats they are, like me are in the ground. They just move to stand with mates.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

City had no choice if they wanted to put the advertising up, as with the other two stands. Is the east stand lower always empty too? It is a nonsense theory you have or wind up.

They made a business choice to go for double advertising but would have seen that as relatively painless for fans, given seat occupancy for all but the biggest games.

 

[eastmanc]

I love German football but hate the orchestrated fan behaviour. I think the atmosphere at some German stadia is all a bit contrived to be honest. Bayern for example is very sterile. I much prefer the more chaotic nature of places like Poznan, Porto, and Aris Salonika. They still have organised displays in Greece and Poland but it has a much more spontaneous feel. I also think all this marching to the ground stuff is total bollocks. To be fair so do a lot of German fans I have met who prefer to stay in the pub while the virtue-signallers parade themselves.

It's bollocks, let's not watch the match, sing when prompted by some knob with a megaphone. Totally fake.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

They may not be used as seat but the people whos seats they are, like me are in the ground. They just move to stand with mates.

I’m sure that’s true for many but I know families that regularly have spare tickets in the South Stand that don’t always get used.

FWIW I wouldn’t sacrifice seats for advertising but I’m just looking at it as a fan and not an employee.

 

[peter.evans]

Exactly I want to attend a football match with its quiet moments and raucous moments, not a contrived fascist rally !

It's bollocks, let's not watch the match, sing when prompted by some knob with a megaphone. Totally fake.

 

[jrb]

I was going to post the same, @jrb is reading far too much into what is just a rough sketch. We're all just going to have to be patient I'm afraid (not a strong point of BM I know :) ).

Maybe I am, maybe I'm not?

What exactly was the magazine that came with the shirt? Did anyone else get it?

And considering it was just a basic sketch, it did include a new roof and cable design, and a new specific Etihad capacity.

If the magazine was an official City magazine, it's interesting that the club would include that in it, rather than stopping at the current stadium sketch.

But yes, the long NS expansion conversation and waiting game goes on.(and on)

 

[bluesmith]

I’m sure that’s true for many but I know families that regularly have spare tickets in the South Stand that don’t always get used.

FWIW I wouldn’t sacrifice seats for advertising but I’m just looking at it as a fan and not an employee.

That's true for all stands. Behind the goal side of the South stand lost 200 seats out of 1100 ish the majority were from the east stand side of the ground.

The advertising boards were put in for one reason and one reason only money. Nothing to do with seats bought or used.

 

[Fred_Quimby]

Some time ago there was a programme about football business models about even with the advent of ,cheap/free, match viewing just as the PL started there would be a need for cheap seats for supporters as stadiums would be dead and viewing poor. Fortunately football viewing has become split between BT and $ly Sports and getting two subscriptions is extortionate therefore ticket prices have to be kept reasonable low to get the fans in. I suggest that City are not extending the stadium in order to keep the seats scarce thus keeping the price high after all we have the best players in the world and fans want to see us.