Founders bar

[Harbour Boy]

is the town busy on non matchdays? If people aren't using the town on non matchdays, I can't imagine those habits changing because the club has a new pub attached to the stadium.

I just think football is becoming more and more corporate. If you're not going to spend hundreds/thousands of £££ then you can stand on a minging concrete concourse and be hassled by arsehole stewards. Even the fanzone was basically a few tables in the car park! We've got Quinn's, BCB, all the suites etc to cater for the corporates. How about the club tries to cater for average Joe as well? They want folk to stop leaving on 80 minutes? Make them feel valued.

Founders is basically an open goal for them and they'll miss by filling the place with corporates.

Can't see how they're missing an open goal if it's sold out with corporates every week paying for admission, drinks and food?

 

[Doberman]

Mostly, and seemingly increasingly so with the improvements. That drinking in Sunderland city centre thread on the SMB section of the board people are often commenting how busy town is now on non-matchdays. Then once Sheepfolds takes off with all the housing and that, it’ll be on many people doorsteps. I understand that’s a bit way off at the minute like.

I understand what you’re saying mind, but with all the other places within a short walk us regular joes have more than enough choice as well. I would presume the club have done their homework and feel there’ll be enough demand to fill it as an additional corporatey area and at the end of the day if it works and they’re generating more money from it they’ll have been proved right.

that's the issue. Us average joes don't generate enough income for them so they're not interested.

There's absolutely no reason for anyone to be in/around the stadium any earlier than 2:55pm (for a 3pm kick off) unless you're 8 year old and want to watch the warm ups. I reckon a good bar with music and teles at the stadium would change that. It was actually raised with Methven (I know) back in the day in a meeting with him and he agreed and said plans were afoot to rejig things by moving the ticket office and turning the club shop into a bar. We said it should be a matchday bar open to punters and he said that would be good.

 

[Football Dinosaur]

What's the colour code they're using for this bar?

 

[Walterwhite766]

The fan zone we had in the car park, if done properly, would make more money than it did

More cover and heaters for the bad weather.

I’ve seen a lot more places just sticking up the big marquees as semi permanent structures for hospitality/fan zone places

 

[Doberman]

Can't see how they're missing an open goal if it's sold out with corporates every week paying for admission, drinks and food?

meanwhile the average joes are stuck with shite concourses and arsehole stewards whinging every time we move. You can't complain about the atmosphere whilst simultaneously increasing corporate areas around the stadium.

 

[Sgt Pepper]

that's the issue. Us average joes don't generate enough income for them so they're not interested.

There's absolutely no reason for anyone to be in/around the stadium any earlier than 2:55pm (for a 3pm kick off) unless you're 8 year old and want to watch the warm ups. I reckon a good bar with music and teles at the stadium would change that. It was actually raised with Methven (I know) back in the day in a meeting with him and he agreed and said plans were afoot to rejig things by moving the ticket office and turning the club shop into a bar. We said it should be a matchday bar open to punters and he said that would be good.

That’s far from an SAFC problem though, that’s just modern day football for you. Such has been and is the levels of greed, the bar has been raised so high that clubs like ours do have to think of additional ways to generate revenue.

 

[DonaldDownTheWing]

Said it Doberman in a private conversation but if there was a decent sports bar (think street bar in the town) with wall to wall screens for watching early kick off/other sport, a decent drinks offering near/bedded into the south stand, they’d make a fortune pre match.

Get people in early, get them on the beers, the atmosphere would naturally build and it would carry on into the stadium bowl.

Pipe dream stuff I know.

 

[Doberman]

That’s far from an SAFC problem though, that’s just modern day football for you. Such has been and is the levels of greed, the bar has been raised so high that clubs like ours do have to think of additional ways to generate revenue.

I can't disagree. It's just I've known about plans for this bar since the early days of Donald/Methven and was hoping they'd let us average joes have this one but nope, it's just another Quinn's bar for people with special season tickets.

 

[Southern Monkey]

Sadly our ground is old and tired in so many ways compared to the new generation of grounds. We definitely need to make more match day revenue. I agree a fans bar for normal punters would be great but we don’t have the space to house enough people for that within the walls and you’re not going to get an outside drinking license with temporary marquees and toilets etc.

That said perhaps it is possible. I unfortunately ended up in the home end for the Milwall game. Maybe it was inhaling weed all game that affected me but the outside space and self service bars were top notch despite the awful weather. The revenue taken in the massive delays during the game meant they must have taken a fortune!

 

[Doberman]

Sadly our ground is old and tired in so many ways compared to the new generation of grounds. We definitely need to make more match day revenue. I agree a fans bar for normal punters would be great but we don’t have the space to house enough people for that within the walls and you’re not going to get an outside drinking license with temporary marquees and toilets etc.

That said perhaps it is possible. I unfortunately ended up in the home end for the Milwall game. Maybe it was inhaling weed all game that affected me but the outside space and self service bars were top notch despite the awful weather. The revenue taken in the massive delays during the game meant they must have taken a fortune!

it doesn't need to house everyone (obviously) but a bar with 300 capacity would be a great start. Tunes on, teles on, encourage an atmosphere (18+ maybe?). It's literally ready made but it'll be ringfenced for punters who pay silly prices for their ticket.

 

[DonaldDownTheWing]

Sadly our ground is old and tired in so many ways compared to the new generation of grounds. We definitely need to make more match day revenue. I agree a fans bar for normal punters would be great but we don’t have the space to house enough people for that within the walls and you’re not going to get an outside drinking license with temporary marquees and toilets etc.

That said perhaps it is possible. I unfortunately ended up in the home end for the Milwall game. Maybe it was inhaling weed all game that affected me but the outside space and self service bars were top notch despite the awful weather. The revenue taken in the massive delays during the game meant they must have taken a fortune!

Again I know it’s a pipe dream, but just imagine this…

They build on the land immediately outside the south stand, between the stadium walls and the road that leads to the main car park. A two storey building, with a full length bar on each floor. Loads of massive teles showing the early/late kick offs, sell good drinks at reasonable (same as town) prices. Play music that is used in sunderland chants, or have a DJ or some form of entertainment.

The bars stop serving 15 minutes before kick off, and there’s turnstiles at the back allowing quick and direct access into the ground.

Obviously there’s a million and one considerations and reasons as to why it wouldn’t work, but like I said, pipe dream

 

[Doberman]

Again I know it’s a pipe dream, but just imagine this…

They build on the land immediately outside the south stand, between the stadium walls and the road that leads to the main car park. A two storey building, with a full length bar on each floor. Loads of massive teles showing the early/late kick offs, sell good drinks at reasonable (same as town) prices. Play music that is used in sunderland chants, or have a DJ or some form of entertainment.

The bars stop serving 15 minutes before kick off, and there’s turnstiles at the back allowing quick and direct access into the ground.

Obviously there’s a million and one considerations and reasons as to why it wouldn’t work, but like I said, pipe dream

the first consideration being they want people to drink their beer at their silly prices whilst also wanting people to be polite, courteous and sober so we don't create a racket for their underpaid stewards or disturb the pensioners in the East Stand who might drop their bovril if we're too loud.

 

[Sgt Pepper]

I can't disagree. It's just I've known about plans for this bar since the early days of Donald/Methven and was hoping they'd let us average joes have this one but nope, it's just another Quinn's bar for people with special season tickets.

It would take more investment obviously, but what’s to stop them ever looking to exploit the equivalent place the old club shop/new bar is but on the southern end of the central West Stand? The way the stadium is built, I presume there is the room.

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So where that central part sticks out, you can see the club shop immediately to the left of the sticky out part - so what about the bit immediately to the right? There’s a canny bit space between those exterior West Stand walls to where the main concourse starts (where you can see the SWC wall joining to the West Stand).

There’s currently nowt there except two big square shaped brick archways unless there’s something hidden inside you can’t see from the outside, but things can always be moved. Where there’s a will there’s a way.

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[BarnesPark]

I'd like to think that I'm one of the founders seeing as my loyalty goes back over donkeys years, Not some fu cker who has just turned up and paid their money for the privilege.

With loyalty like this, who needs perfidiousness?

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[DonaldDownTheWing]

It would take more investment obviously, but what’s to stop them ever looking to exploit the equivalent place the old club shop/new bar is but on the southern end of the central West Stand? The way the stadium is built, I presume there is the room.

Logon or register to see this image

So where that central part sticks out, you can see the club shop immediately to the left of the sticky out part - so what about the bit immediately to the right? There’s a canny bit space between those exterior West Stand walls to where the main concourse starts (where you can see the SWC wall joining to the West Stand).

There’s currently nowt there except two big square shaped brick archways unless there’s something hidden inside you can’t see from the outside, but things can always be moved. Where there’s a will there’s a way.

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I might be wrong but I think it’s part of the kitchens where they cook the hospitality food for Monty’s/Riverview. There’s a service lift that goes from the ground floor up to box level.

 

[Doberman]

It would take more investment obviously, but what’s to stop them ever looking to exploit the equivalent place the old club shop/new bar is but on the southern end of the central West Stand? The way the stadium is built, I presume there is the room.

Logon or register to see this image

So where that central part sticks out, you can see the club shop immediately to the left of the sticky out part - so what about the bit immediately to the right? There’s a canny bit space between those exterior West Stand walls to where the main concourse starts (where you can see the SWC wall joining to the West Stand).

There’s currently nowt there unless there’s something hidden inside you can’t see from the outside, but things can always be moved. Where there’s a will there’s a way.

Logon or register to see this image

that would work but why would they do that when the equivalent space that is actually being turned into a bar in the old club shop isn't being used for what you've described?

The club simply have no appetite for entertaining folk that aren't paying top dollar. We're an inconvenience to them until we upgrade to a corporate/hospitality package. Hull scored the other day and they had stewards straight in ramping up tensions and pissing folk off within 30 seconds in the end that's supposedly meant to be rowdy and loud.

 

[seaham ftm]

It would take more investment obviously, but what’s to stop them ever looking to exploit the equivalent place the old club shop/new bar is but on the southern end of the central West Stand? The way the stadium is built, I presume there is the room.

Logon or register to see this image

So where that central part sticks out, you can see the club shop immediately to the left of the sticky out part - so what about the bit immediately to the right? There’s a canny bit space between those exterior West Stand walls to where the main concourse starts (where you can see the SWC wall joining to the West Stand).

There’s currently nowt there except two big square shaped brick archways unless there’s something hidden inside you can’t see from the outside, but things can always be moved. Where there’s a will there’s a way.

Logon or register to see this image

I think they’re Stairways to the premier concourse

 

[Sgt Pepper]

that would work but why would they do that when the equivalent space that is actually being turned into a bar in the old club shop isn't being used for what you've described?

The club simply have no appetite for entertaining folk that aren't paying top dollar. We're an inconvenience to them until we upgrade to a corporate/hospitality package. Hull scored the other day and they had stewards straight in ramping up tensions and pissing folk off within 30 seconds in the end that's supposedly meant to be rowdy and loud.

To be fair I’ve already explained why. Because the club needs to find ways of increasing revenue and if they’ve done their homework and it works, it’s good business sense. If it falls flat on its face due to lack of demand, it might end up becoming a regular bar anyway.

We’re on the same page about the stewards and the club’s overzealous approach to the fans behaviour. I’ve posted about it at length on other threads. I just don’t see the correlation between those issues and creating a new ‘premium’ bar.

I think they’re Stairways to the premier concourse

It’s the same for the northern ends of the West Stand. There’s stairways dotted right across the stand. I think the explanation given above about the kitchens and service list could be right though, and without finding somewhere new for that, would make it not possible anyway.

Shame Murray hadn’t the foresight to put the kitchens underground the same level as the lower section of the lower bowl, ground was tailor made for it ffs.

Although that said @DonaldDownTheWing , are the kitchens not on the very end part of the West Stand beside the SWC where it’s all bricked up? I was on about the part that are currently just empty space where the square brick ‘arches’ are so a little further up the stand. Exactly the same spot this bar will be in, but other side of that central section.

 

[Doberman]

To be fair I’ve already explained why. Because the club needs to find ways of increasing revenue and if they’ve done their homework and it works, it’s good business sense. If it falls flat on its face due to lack of demand, it might end up becoming a regular bar anyway.

We’re on the same page about the stewards and the club’s overzealous approach to the fans behaviour. I’ve posted about it at length on other threads. I just don’t see the correlation between those issues and creating a new ‘premium’ bar.

creating a new premium bar is great provided they're also catering for the rest but there's literally nowt. They're not interested in catering for anyone who doesn't pay top dollar. We're an inconvenience (hence the stewards and top brass in the security team having no issues with throwing their weight around and being arseholes).

 

[garyeaststand]

the first consideration being they want people to drink their beer at their silly prices whilst also wanting people to be polite, courteous and sober so we don't create a racket for their underpaid stewards or disturb the pensioners in the East Stand who might drop their bovril if we're too loud.

What’s reason you need a bar at the ground to help generate atmosphere ? in my early twenties we all gathered in pubs in town or near ground like terminus pre match, still plenty pubs near ground you could pick to do same