MaineRoadBlue said:
1961_vintage said:
Sounds fantastic. Why not exhibit it at the stadium as part of the tour maybe?
I seem to remember talk of Gary James trying to organise a City Museum in effect! Not sure if that ever happened or if indeed the artifacts and memorabilia you see on the current club tour are actually the upshot of that?
My only issue with it going to the club is the fact you would need to pay to see such things. I reckon an on site museum, free of charge of course, is certainly achievable both logistically and financially by the club bearing in mind they can find space for EA Sports to occupy our children with even more time on game consoles!
I know we have the National Football Museum in Manchester and considering that it is in partnership with Manchester City Council I wonder if its relocation to the Collar Site may one day be a possibility. If so that would really be another fantastic draw for the site as a whole.
I set up the City Experience Museum & Stadium Tour that opened at Christmas 2003 and closed in summer 2009 as the space was needed for the indoor ticket office and shop extension. It was the first club museum to be nominated for a national museum award and won various north west and Manchester tourism awards. It attracted around 20,000 fans each year and housed items from every era of the club's history, including themed displays, videos, cinema space, commentary box, virtual tour of Maine Rd, video jukebox of great City goals, and other interactive elements. Most of the objects were gathered from fans' collections and were on loan to the club.
It was the 3rd most popular museum and tour when it opened behind Utd and LFC, but it's figures weren't too far behind LFC, then Liverpool won the Champs League and it's visitors rocketed to around 100,000 per year but ours held steady at about 20,000 at a time when we had no success.
