Sunday's NOTW re Stadium expansion ...

[DontLookBackInAnger]

I might be wrong but I think our lowest gate at Eastlands for a league game is around 38,000 and after scoring 10 goals at home in a season thats pretty good!

not saying we are going to get gates of 30.000
but if they are to build at the coms they will have to cut the gate coz of work that will be on going for a season like when at maine road with the kippax stand being built in the season

Ohhhh Im with you sorry

 

[Project]

I don't think the Metrolink should be underestimated either. It significantly enhances the catchment area for non drivers. Consider how my brother and I get there when at my mums in Ashton on Mersey.

Bus to Sale.
Bus to town.
Bus to ground.

Midweek games are pretty tough to make in time. Easily 90 minutes to get there, and 2 hours to get back. Crazy considering that Manchester isn't the largest of cities. With the tram, it would be one bus and one met, no traffic to deal with. The metrolink extension opens up large parts of Manchester for easy access to the ground.

With sensible ticket pricing (levels 1 and 3 cheap, 2 premium), success on the pitch, greater transport links and a world class leisure destination built on SportCity, we could fill a larger ground.

 

[hgblue]

I don't think the Metrolink should be underestimated either. It significantly enhances the catchment area for non drivers. Consider how my brother and I get there when at my mums in Ashton on Mersey.

Bus to Sale.
Bus to town.
Bus to ground.

Midweek games are pretty tough to make in time. Easily 90 minutes to get there, and 2 hours to get back. Crazy considering that Manchester isn't the largest of cities. With the tram, it would be one bus and one met, no traffic to deal with. The metrolink extension opens up large parts of Manchester for easy access to the ground.

With sensible ticket pricing (levels 1 and 3 cheap, 2 premium), success on the pitch, greater transport links and a world class leisure destination built on SportCity, we could fill a larger ground.

Spot on. Imagine a CL game against Real Madrid in a few years time, with 75,000 blues urging the team on in our fantastic new stadium. Build it and they will come.

 

[DontLookBackInAnger]

I don't think the Metrolink should be underestimated either. It significantly enhances the catchment area for non drivers. Consider how my brother and I get there when at my mums in Ashton on Mersey.

Bus to Sale.
Bus to town.
Bus to ground.

Midweek games are pretty tough to make in time. Easily 90 minutes to get there, and 2 hours to get back. Crazy considering that Manchester isn't the largest of cities. With the tram, it would be one bus and one met, no traffic to deal with. The metrolink extension opens up large parts of Manchester for easy access to the ground.

With sensible ticket pricing (levels 1 and 3 cheap, 2 premium), success on the pitch, greater transport links and a world class leisure destination built on SportCity, we could fill a larger ground.

Didn't I read last season in something that the club was working on a deal to include Metrolink from the city center in the price of your ticket?

 

[DiscoSteve]

I was told by the guy conducting the City Tour that the stadium can only be incresed to around 60,000 max, which would involve continuing the third tier behind each goal

Apparently the problem is due to how the stadium was constructed in the first place and in particular the spiral entrances / exits. I was told that these spiral exists cannot be increased, and were specifcally designed to allow fans to exit the stadium in a specific time to do with ground safety regulations.

In short we cannot just add another tier all around.

Just passing on what I was told, but the tour I did was a few years back so maybe things / regulations etc have changed since

I spotted this in my mockups of how the North/South Stands could be triple decked - quite simply they would HAVE TO build more spirals - may be 2 or 3 at each end

 

[*singingtheblues*]

Let's be completely realistic here.

The Scum have always had a bigger fanbase than us, certainly in my lifetime at least.

And that's nothing to be ashamed of, there are obvious reasons for that.

The problem is, a lot of blues are guilty of comparing us to The Scum on a regular basis.

Why do we have to have a bigger ground than them?

Why do we have to be bigger than them?

Can't we just be a successful club in our own right?

I've always been proud of the fact that we've had (as far as I'm concerned) a much more loyal, universally admired fanbase. We've been through a lot, and we've suffered more than most fans in the top flight will ever have to. We're respected, and beneath all the rival fans' bitterness and jealousy, they know we, as fans deserve all the success we potentially get.

But I fear with our current trend in increasing ticket prices, talk of extending the stadium, talk of balancing the books (at least from fans attempting to justify some changes), plans to make the majority of level 2 corporate... that the core of our support will be diluted and gradually priced out of attending, just as happened with The Scum.

Could we fill a ground with a capacity of 70,000 after ten years of success?

Maybe.

Would we still be City?

Certainly not.

We'd be unrecognisable, and not due to actually being a successful side, but we'd have sold out.

We'd have become everything we used to mock The Scum for, everything we used to despise, we wouldn't be the club I fell in love with.

And I reiterate, that wouldn't be due to us being successful, I want a trip to Wembley more than any of us.

My qualms lie with the way we use that success. City could push for expansion after expansion with vastly increased ticket prices year after year, they could continue with plans to vastly extend corporate areas within the ground, and the could continue to attempt to pamper the irregular attendees while taking the regulars for granted.

Is the attendance really the be all, and end all?

Quality over quantity.

It'll be interesting to see how the club handle any potential success; will we be valued as the people who propped up this club through years of shite, fans who attended regardless of results?

Or will we be overlooked, priced-out, and forgotten once there are thousands and thousands of more people calling themselves City 'fans', who conveniently are able to afford the clubs 'matchday experience'?

Some clubs choose to exploit their fans once they become successful, I'd like to think we're better than that.

Especially since we're in the unique position of it being not being necessary, quite the opposite in fact.

And to bring this drone of a rant to a conclusion...

We should be proud of being Manchester City F.C, comparisons to The Scum only highlight our own insecurities.

Fuck them.

We're all proud to be blue, anything less is blasphemy.

While you seem desperate to keep City somewhat exclusive and stay at a maximum of 47,000, I'll let you into a little secret of mine...

When I was a kid, growing up watching City, I regularly, and I mean REGULARLY, watched them in a stadium holding in excess of 63,000.

Yep, that's right. Over 40 years ago we actrually had MORE people who could come and watch us and, you know what, I never once thought that it diminished the quality of the City support.

Reading your post it comes across that you are still young, and are stuck in the Liddle Cideh mode where you don't realise the history of the club and that at one time we were even more MASSIVE than the rags!

It's true. And all I'm asking from you is to tell me why it can't get back like that again?

To be completely frank, if we were to pluck 20,000 fans out of nowhere in the next 10 years, I think it would diminish the quality of our support.

We'd all know those 'fans' didn't even know we existed 10 years ago, and on my part at least there would be pure unadulterated resentment.

Castrate me for my honesty, but I wouldn't have any respect for those people, I wouldn't be able to consider them blues. We'd all know that they had jumped on the bandwagon, and that just wouldn't sit easy with me.

Maybe I'm naive, or unrealistic, but when I dream of us as an unmitigated success I imagine us playing in front of the fans who made us who we are. Our support is what makes us so special, and if it was to change beyond recognition, we'd be a different club.

Maybe I'm not explaining myself very well, but I'd just like to see us retain what made us so special throughout my lifetime.

Maybe I'm scared of not recognising us in a few years, maybe I'm scared of change?

Maybe I should just accept what's coming, embrace it, and enjoy it?

Maybe I should stop carrying on with myself?

Meh.

 

[paul_blue]

What people fail to realise if that OT will have a capacity reduction of about 10,000 in order to comply with FIFA requirements.

I heard that the delegation who flew over thought that the swamp was old and out-dated. They were impressed with Eastlands, and the hospitality... they didn't even get offered a coffee at OT!!

CTID!!

 

[DontLookBackInAnger]

What people fail to realise if that OT will have a capacity reduction of about 10,000 in order to comply with FIFA requirements.

I heard that the delegation who flew over thought that the swamp was old and out-dated. They were impressed with Eastlands, and the hospitality... they didn't even get offered a coffee at OT!!

CTID!!

....................just a green and yellow scarf.....

 

[paul_blue]

I heard that the delegation who flew over thought that the swamp was old and out-dated. They were impressed with Eastlands, and the hospitality... they didn't even get offered a coffee at OT!!

CTID!!

....................just a green and yellow scarf.....

Yeah... and they had to pay for that!!

 

[Soulboy]

While you seem desperate to keep City somewhat exclusive and stay at a maximum of 47,000, I'll let you into a little secret of mine...

When I was a kid, growing up watching City, I regularly, and I mean REGULARLY, watched them in a stadium holding in excess of 63,000.

Yep, that's right. Over 40 years ago we actrually had MORE people who could come and watch us and, you know what, I never once thought that it diminished the quality of the City support.

Reading your post it comes across that you are still young, and are stuck in the Liddle Cideh mode where you don't realise the history of the club and that at one time we were even more MASSIVE than the rags!

It's true. And all I'm asking from you is to tell me why it can't get back like that again?

To be completely frank, if we were to pluck 20,000 fans out of nowhere in the next 10 years, I think it would diminish the quality of our support.

We'd all know those 'fans' didn't even know we existed 10 years ago, and on my part at least there would be pure unadulterated resentment.

Castrate me for my honesty, but I wouldn't have any respect for those people, I wouldn't be able to consider them blues. We'd all know that they had jumped on the bandwagon, and that just wouldn't sit easy with me.

Maybe I'm naive, or unrealistic, but when I dream of us as an unmitigated success I imagine us playing in front of the fans who made us who we are. Our support is what makes us so special, and if it was to change beyond recognition, we'd be a different club.

Maybe I'm not explaining myself very well, but I'd just like to see us retain what made us so special throughout my lifetime.

Maybe I'm scared of not recognising us in a few years, maybe I'm scared of change?

Maybe I should just accept what's coming, embrace it, and enjoy it?

Maybe I should stop carrying on with myself?

Meh.

We clearly have differences.

I want to watch a successful City team in one of the best stadiums in the world... whereas you want to watch who is sitting next to you in the stadium or the pub and judging them as to whether or not they deserve to support the same team as you!

If you want the club to be supported only by those who were there in the dark old days... we would have a crowd of 34,000 with most of them dead within the next ten years!