Current state of the SOL and surrounding area.

[doon toon]

You just get the feeling if say Quinn n Keane were around little things would be acted upon.

Which manager said clocks in changing rooms etc hadnt worked for years. Shall we volunteer to put some batteries in? Come on man this is safc, a once giant in the game not fecking seaham red star.
Need to see the back of some figures who are totally either unfit for purpose or unable/unwilling to invest.

The euros bid… imagine being an inspector doing an unplanned visit to the sol presently?

Maybe thats one of the reasons why the SOL has been dropped from the Euro stadiums bid.

 

[SPUFF]

Maybe thats one of the reasons why the SOL has been dropped from the Euro stadiums bid.

Wouldnt suprise me. Tired, neglected.

 

[UpTheDuff]

People volunteer all the time. It’s peoples choice. Are you the volunteer police?

If some fans want to litterpick or assist with low level maintenance jobs and it can be done safely why not?

Everyone is good at saying this should be done or that should be done but don’t get off their backside. Ihave been crucial of the owners and of course there is stuff that needs to be done by the club and can’t be done by volunteers but if people want to improve the area why not.

Apologies if I offended.

I get what you are saying to a point. However, it’s our club and I’m not suggesting we go and build the extension.

Plenty people volunteer to improve their area - I have just taken part in the keep Britain tidy campaign not that I want a blue Peter badge. Fans coming together to improve the area in and around the Sol is a good idea imho.

The owners can put their money into the transfer pot.

Fair enough probably shouldn’t have said that but haway. If people want to give their time in a way that benefits the club why not.

the fans will be long after owners. Let’s take some pride in the club and if people want to do it who are you to say they can’t.

No one is saying people can’t, and it is fine people want to volunteer. The point is they shouldn’t have to as the club should already be doing it. If the club owners did their jobs properly then there would be paid staff dealing with litter etc and there would be no need for volunteers.

If Tesco said they were going to make cleaners and shelf stackers redundant and would rely on volunteers instead, would you be happy with that?

 

[Zimba]

Maybe thats one of the reasons why the SOL has been dropped from the Euro stadiums bid.

I'd imagine it's more external things. Lack of hotels being by far the biggest problem.

Not to mention who else are you realtisically going to drop. If you drop Villa it's the whole of the Midlands unrepresented. Manchester and Liverpool are two massive football cities worldwide, the 4 nation's all deserve a ground etc.

 

[TexasMackem]

Also gives you an indication of owners intentions, ambitions and vision. If they want their club to be modern, grand and ambitious they pay close attention to it. If not, they don’t.

We’ve seen zero evidence of attention being paid to the stadium and surrounding area since KLD came to the club.

I'm not sure it's that significant mind, they appear to be prioritising the playing side which I'm sure we can all agree is the correct approach. Ellis Short did nowt about the pink seats at a time when the club was hoying money about. We all recognise that the clubs outgoings were stripped back to bare bones over the last few years and increasing any expenditure from this point should be only done where necessary. If, as the intention appears to be that we become cash rich through player sales however, I would expect that some funds would be earmarked for general maintenance and improvements.

Maybe thats one of the reasons why the SOL has been dropped from the Euro stadiums bid.

It just isn't an elite stadium any more. While it's still a great arena, I do wonder if we'll either see a huge redevelopment or even a move to a newer stadium in my lifetime.

 

[Sea to Shining Sea]

I'm not sure it's that significant mind, they appear to be prioritising the playing side which I'm sure we can all agree is the correct approach. Ellis Short did nowt about the pink seats at a time when the club was hoying money about. We all recognise that the clubs outgoings were stripped back to bare bones over the last few years and increasing any expenditure from this point should be only done where necessary. If, as the intention appears to be that we become cash rich through player sales however, I would expect that some funds would be earmarked for general maintenance and improvements.



It just isn't an elite stadium any more. While it's still a great arena, I do wonder if we'll either see a huge redevelopment or even a move to a newer stadium in my lifetime.

I posted this (on an old account) at the time about Ellis Short. The decline of the stadium was well under way whilst he was here. His absenteeism and the lack of funding in the last few years of his regime was indicative of the direction the club was heading.

The stadium was built to ensure that SAFC was in the elite of clubs for facilities and resources. But in order to stay in that club it needs to be maintained and modernised. It was built in a fashion that allows it to be. However it hasn’t been and other clubs have now not only caught up but gone way beyond ours.

We’re no better off now with the stadium than the club were in the 80s with Roker. That wasn’t the intention when it was built

 

[SuperGerryHarrison]

I posted this (on an old account) at the time about Ellis Short. The decline of the stadium was well under way whilst he was here. His absenteeism and the lack of funding in the last few years of his regime was indicative of the direction the club was heading.

The stadium was built to ensure that SAFC was in the elite of clubs for facilities and resources. But in order to stay in that club it needs to be maintained and modernised. It was built in a fashion that allows it to be. However it hasn’t been and other clubs have now not only caught up but gone way beyond ours.

We’re no better off now with the stadium than the club were in the 80s with Roker. That wasn’t the intention when it was built

I've said this for a while now too. The SoL, whilst still a fantastic stadium for us, has been well and truly left behind by the new modern stadia. We're no where near any of the best stadiums. For a Championship club its fine, but to compete at the top table we will require substantial investment or, whisper it, a new ground (which we're so far away from at present).

You only need to look at the Glass Centre to see how quickly buildings can spiral into problems if neglected for any any period of time and what the consequences can be.

 

[Sea to Shining Sea]

I've said this for a while now too. The SoL, whilst still a fantastic stadium for us, has been well and truly left behind by the new modern stadia. We're no where near any of the best stadiums. For a Championship club its fine, but to compete at the top table we will require substantial investment or, whisper it, a new ground (which we're so far away from at present).

You only need to look at the Glass Centre to see how quickly buildings can spiral into problems if neglected for any any period of time and what the consequences can be.

I don’t think there’d be any need for a new stadium. Ours is set up for easy redevelopment. The east stand and the south stand has loads of potential for modernisation.

It needs the will and the finance from owners. We’ve wealthy owners from a family that have ease of access to finance. Long term debt to pay for redevelopment is not a bad thing if they’re not willing to invest personal finance. It’s also within FFP.

 

[Zimba]

I've said this for a while now too. The SoL, whilst still a fantastic stadium for us, has been well and truly left behind by the new modern stadia. We're no where near any of the best stadiums. For a Championship club its fine, but to compete at the top table we will require substantial investment or, whisper it, a new ground (which we're so far away from at present).

You only need to look at the Glass Centre to see how quickly buildings can spiral into problems if neglected for any any period of time and what the consequences can be.

People don't go to a football match because of the stadium. People go to a football match to watch the football.

Unless there's a need to extend there's no need to upgrade anything major imo.

Tottenham, Everton, Man City and Arsenal all needed new grounds so it made sense to make them modern. Other than them 4 who really has a better ground? And West Ham is the worst stadium in the Premier League before you mention them.

 

[Roker Scoreboard]

Maybe thats one of the reasons why the SOL has been dropped from the Euro stadiums bid.

We haven't got it simply because of connectivity to the ground, lack of hotels and there's nothing really we can do about that.
The ground itself could be sorted out in a relative short space of time, a bit like Villa are doing.

 

[Sea to Shining Sea]

We haven't got it simply because of connectivity to the ground, lack of hotels and there's nothing really we can do about that.
The ground itself could be sorted out in a relative short space of time, a bit like Villa are doing.

In a way that we aren’t!

 

[SuperGerryHarrison]

People don't go to a football match because of the stadium. People go to a football match to watch the football.

Unless there's a need to extend there's no need to upgrade anything major imo.

Tottenham, Everton, Man City and Arsenal all needed new grounds so it made sense to make them modern. Other than them 4 who really has a better ground? And West Ham is the worst stadium in the Premier League before you mention them.

I agree in part, but a stadium and its facilities are like a shop front, representing the prestige of a club to a wider audience. They're the power projection of the footballing world.

As i've said - we're some way off needing a new ground as the SoL is still, all things considered, a great ground, but I think its important to acknowledge how much work would be required to bring it back to its former standing as one of the best grounds.

 

[TexasMackem]

I posted this (on an old account) at the time about Ellis Short. The decline of the stadium was well under way whilst he was here. His absenteeism and the lack of funding in the last few years of his regime was indicative of the direction the club was heading.

The stadium was built to ensure that SAFC was in the elite of clubs for facilities and resources. But in order to stay in that club it needs to be maintained and modernised. It was built in a fashion that allows it to be. However it hasn’t been and other clubs have now not only caught up but gone way beyond ours.

We’re no better off now with the stadium than the club were in the 80s with Roker. That wasn’t the intention when it was built

I agree with you, but in fairness there's still only a handful of better stadiums a quarter of a century after it was built, and we're not exactly an elite club at the moment. You couldn't modernise it to the standard of Spurs or Evertons stadiums without flattening the place altogether first.

 

[Sea to Shining Sea]

People don't go to a football match because of the stadium. People go to a football match to watch the football.

Unless there's a need to extend there's no need to upgrade anything major imo.

Tottenham, Everton, Man City and Arsenal all needed new grounds so it made sense to make them modern. Other than them 4 who really has a better ground? And West Ham is the worst stadium in the Premier League before you mention them.

We went from struggling to sell out 21/22k at Roker between 95-97 despite a promotion campaign and top flight football to having 40k regularly within two years. Matchday experience is important for lots of people, particularly in the modern day.

 

[Roker Scoreboard]

In a way that we aren’t!

Well true, but ours doesn't need as much work as Villa park, and the 49k capacity is more than enough for us at the moment

 

[Guinness Guzzler]

Anything going to come public about the clubs piorities on work to be done around the stadium yet mate do you know? or could RAWA not communicate any info?

We've asked the club again if they're going to communicate. It's not a secret or owt but when there's something vaguely positive (nowt groundbreaking but those on the walk around thought it was quite positive) to communicate it's only right to let the club do it. But if they don't get anything out soon I'm sure rawa will do so.

 

[Sea to Shining Sea]

I agree with you, but in fairness there's still only a handful of better stadiums a quarter of a century after it was built, and we're not exactly an elite club at the moment. You couldn't modernise it to the standard of Spurs or Evertons stadiums without flattening the place altogether first.

There are loads of better stadiums. They might be smaller, but they’re better.

We've asked the club again if they're going to communicate. It's not a secret or owt but when there's something vaguely positive (nowt groundbreaking but those on the walk around thought it was quite positive) to communicate it's only right to let the club do it. But if they don't get anything out soon I'm sure rawa will do so.

I’m well aware I’m a moany bastard, but why on earth does it need a walk round? Surely to God the club have people employed there who can see what the place is like without having to have their hands held and needing a push off fans groups? I thought this new owner was meant to be hands on?

It’s really frustrating like.

 

[SPUFF]

Havent been to burnley since the reidy days but on tv theirs seems to have had a lot of facelift/tlc?

The sol just looks fucked allover. I imagine its easier to do regular upkeep than just let stuff rot like the hole above my head in ne corner.

 

[Sea to Shining Sea]

Havent been to burnley since the reidy days but on tv theirs seems to have had a lot of facelift/tlc?

The sol just looks fucked allover. I imagine its easier to do regular upkeep than just let stuff rot like the hole above my head in ne corner.

It may also be even easier to kick the can until the club is moved on to the next custodians. At some point, there’ll be a huge bill or we’ll be stuck with a Roker-esque dive in 25 years

 

[SPUFF]

It may also be even easier to kick the can until the club is moved on to the next custodians. At some point, there’ll be a huge bill or we’ll be stuck with a Roker-esque dive in 25 years

Almost live the incumbents dont have long time ambitions here ey.

Was never a Berb Murray fan but imagine his disgust if he wandered around now.