Away Stand | Page 2 | Vital Football

Away Stand

A two tier (home and away)stand would almost certainly bring with it a better atmosphere bigger crowds .As would a better pitch and better football .It is very possible that Scally's hand has been forced on the pitch.
 
If they're daft enough to support another team then they fully deserve to be rained on. Fickle folk. :poop:
 
The fact we may well need to move to a new stadium to progress long term doesn’t mean that we would shrimp on Priestfield stadium, the pitch and the facilities. Get a cheap roofed stand at the Town End asap, doesn’t really matter how many it holds as the rest of the ground never sells out anyway.
As above the atmosphere and away attendances would improve, and therefore ticket revenue also.
How we fund it is another matter, I think we got a football league grant for the GRS, but there must be other options available.
 
Some people seem to think running a business is just like saying 'I need a pint of milk', then going up the shop and getting it.
Projects like a new stadium need to be planned over many years, hopefully meeting all of the initial wishes. Local planning meetings need to be convinced that land needs to be earmarked to enable a specific type of use well before any considerations for specific designs are drawn and applications for various stages of building are offered for tender. Then the actual building plans can be submitted for approval. Once approval has been given the tenders can be considered It is only once that tenders are received that the true costs of development are established, prior to that figures are classified as 'in the region of'. …………….. and on and on.
 
Bromley_GFC said:
1.) If we had a new away stand the average 200 away following would be increased

2.) If the above happened we'd actually have more money to spend on the playing squad as you & every Gills fan wishes.

3.) You talk of wasting millions on an away end for this proposed new shiny stadium, does any Gills fan really believe this will happen under Scally as Chairman? We've only been patiently waiting for 20 years so far...

I think you completely missed the point I was trying to make Steve. Gills fans are continually held to ransom for Scally's pipe dreams with nothing to go on apart from his word, sorry if I don't trust him anymore.

I think it's fair we question what is happening to our football club. Although anyone that says negative stuff about the way the club is being run "should go and support Charlton" according to our dear leader. We as Gillingham fans are being disrespected.

Wake up and smell the coffee lads!!
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I agree with a lot of what you say, Bromley - certainly about Scally. I was more than slightly facetious in my last post about Scally's stadium proposals and, like you, I'll believe it when I see it. I generally have some concerns about the way the club is being run and question not only the commitment to the playing side of things from our Chairman - in particularly the budget and players afforded to the current manager and the complete cheap option taken with the last managerial appointment - with Pennock and Taylor permanent appointment, despite having been hugely unimpressive having taken over from JED temprarily. To be fair to Scally, I think he generally does support managers and up to JED, did so. Whilst I have concerns about the way the club is being run from the top, I don't necessarily think that Scally is a disaster and should go - I can't see an alternative for a start, but I don't think he's got things right in he past couple of years.

However, on rebuilding the Town End, I am still of the view that this is completely pointless, unless, as I say, we were to get promoted, consequently have some more funds, and required to cater for about 5 times as many away fans every week and full or near full home crowds.

Sorry, but I just don't buy the fact that more away fans would turn up if we had a cracking away stand under cover. For me, there are far bigger factors than the quality of the stand, which dictate how many away fans turn up - the predominant ones being - the size of the club, locality of away team, and how that team is doing. For example, Sunderland filled the away end, as do Millwall and Charlton - none of them seem to be put off by the away stand, likewise, Peterborough probably brought double what they usually do on Saturday. Conversely, do you think Accrington or Rochdale are likely to take more away fans on a similar unattractive long journey for them to say Plymouth than us, because it has a nice covered away end? Or do you think Sunderland or Portsmouth, with a good away following, are likely to take more to say Charlton than they will to us, because of their nicer, under cover away end (they may take more there as there's more on the game at the top of the table, but I doubt a roof is much of a considerations)?

In short, I think lashing out millions on a fancy new away end is a waste of money for little return, unless, as I say, it is needed (i.e. if we get promoted and are likely to fill the ground and play teams like Leeds, Millwall, Derby and co on a weekly basis).
 
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Arsenal, Tottenham, Man Utd, Man City, Liverpool, Everton, Newcastle, Fulham, Chelsea, Palace, Aston Villa, Wolves, West Brom, Watford, Leicester, Burnley are not the onl;y ones but are all linked by a common factor.

The opposite list does not make such encouraging reading and begins with Chester City.
 
Are we not still allowed terraces in leagues one and two? can we not just return it to that? away fans would love the chance to stand on a terrace.
 
I tend to agree that there is little point in spending money on a new stand unless we are going to be here for another 10 years or so.

I don't known why we don't just put the away fans in the GRS though. With the exception of a few big clubs we don't need that away end. Close it down and give them the last two blocks of the GRS. We can open it up when clubs are bringing 500+ which will be rare.

If we are staying though then and we do build a cheap and cheerful stand at the town end then I would put the home fans in it and the way fans down half of the GRS.

Thing is until we get more than 4000 at home its all unnecessary.
 
jogills said:
Arsenal, Tottenham, Man Utd, Man City, Liverpool, Everton, Newcastle, Fulham, Chelsea, Palace, Aston Villa, Wolves, West Brom, Watford, Leicester, Burnley are not the onl;y ones but are all linked by a common factor.

The opposite list does not make such encouraging reading and begins with Chester City.
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Ok, I’m lost. What is this all about ?
 
Lark said:
doesn’t mean that we would shrimp on Priestfield stadium
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Are you part of the Prawn Sandwich brigade?! :grinning:

markinkent said:
Close it down and give them the last two blocks of the GRS.
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I think they are doing (testing?) something akin to that this season... Take a look about one-and-half blocks down the GRS from the Town End - you'll see a column of 2 dis-coloured seats - clearly visible from the Medway Stand. This season, that column of seats have been empty every game & I'm fairly sure there have been no Gills fans sat on the Town End side of that divide. Sometimes the whole block of remaining seats has been empty but there were definitely Boro fans in them at the weekend & Gills fans close by to the left of them. Maybe that space may grow in due course to cater for all away followings...
 
We couldn't finance building a proper stand there even if we wanted to, money just isn't there and no way we would make enough in additional gate receipts to pay off a loan to build it.

Scally is generally a disaster with most things he touches but with him on this (not that it's something even on his radar) and the pitch.

On a err...slightly more bleak note as most of us have accepted hes never going to find a buyer for what he considers a realistic figure, what happens to the ownership of the club when Scally dies!?
 
Away fans ARE being given blocks in the GRS. Only Sunderland haven’t. We probably don’t particularly like away fans in the GRS as it’s so easy to invade the pitch as well as the fact that the facilities are shared. Giving away fans half of the stand will solve the latter but not the former.

Clubs like Bournemouth and Fulham have done a halfway house by building a new ‘temporary’ stand with a roof. Half of Maidstone’s ground is metal FFS! I wouldn’t think a new all-seated stand would increase our attendances by much - our fans have the option already of sitting on concrete under a roof.

I wouldn’t mind terracing being built there though. Build a stand like Maidstone but with concrete - a bit like Exeter or Halifax. Away fans could then have the option of seats at the end of the GRS or terracing, and the Town End can get back to the Town End of Old but with a roof. Possibly even make it cheap. Obviously stadium height restrictions and the bastard EFL will limit proposals.
 
Out-of-town is for small, poor clubs in towns with little public support. Especially clubs which have no part in public development plans.
 
not to mention soul destroying - colchester anyone?

on the flip side Newcastle's ground right in town has to be one of the best locations!
 
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