How do people manage to find stuff like this?
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Founders bar
- Thread starter Weststand
- Start date
Doberman
Striker
aye and you all used to stand together at Roker etc.
Football's moved on and unless it's orchestrated properly it just doesn't happen. The closest we've got is the Wheatsheaf and that's ruined by a weirdo in a baby grow doing daft challenges.
I just think it would help but it would need to be encouraged by the club and we all know that's not likely.
Sgt Pepper
Striker
Which other clubs have regular bars for ordinary punters attached right to their stadiums? Genuine question because I don’t know if it’s the norm and therefore we are genuinely offering nowt, or if it’s not even that done a thing anyway and a potential mountain is being made out of a mole hill.
Other than the stewarding, I haven’t got a problem. I pay my season ticket, drink in town then turn up for the match and go back to town. I’m not expecting a red carpet rolled out for me.
Plus, if extra corporate revenue generated means it keeps the cost of season tickets down for the rest of us, I’d take that any day when the rest of my bills are continuously going up.
BarnesPark
Midfield
The lad told the board more than 20 times last season he wasn’t going to renew man.
Hadn't noticed
DonaldDownTheWing
Striker
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.
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.
The bit immediately under the archway is just exposed to the open air and nothing in it at all.
It’s absolutely ages since I was in that part of the ground so I might be wrong.
There’s a clear and obvious answer here mind.
Do the south stand extension, make it one huge safe standing area, with a New Monkey bar with dance floor & strippers. Sell 3 trebles for a 5er, pints of skittles and have a rooftop terrace as a smoking area (not open during the match obviously).
Sorted.
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Doberman
Striker
I'm just obsessed with improving the atmosphere (hence why I've been part of groups that have tried since 2010 - SFG, Ha'way the Flags, RAWA, SO37). I want the club trying to make the entire day to centre around the stadium or the match. At the moment, the match is secondary to "which pub are we going to this afternoon?" or "you out for a few afterwards?"
What are the club planning to do to change that attitude?
We're not asking for much
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Steve davison was looking into it i believe.
DonaldDownTheWing
Striker
I'm just obsessed with improving the atmosphere (hence why I've been part of groups that have tried since 2010 - SFG, Ha'way the Flags, RAWA, SO37). I want the club trying to make the entire day to centre around the stadium or the match. At the moment, the match is secondary to "which pub are we going to this afternoon?" or "you out for a few afterwards?"
What are the club planning to do to change that attitude?
We're not asking for much
Just pick the rabbit up and plonk it next to the Stokoe statue. Sorted.
Still is apparently, poor fucker hasn’t caught on that he’s been sacked yet.
How many tiers of 'fan' will this mean now!?
I remember when you'd have your corporate hoy poloys, then ST holder, then pay on doors.
Then we got BCB, and suites and so on and so on.
I accept what Sgt Peppers saying - you pay for you SC and that's for the match so what else do you want. Nowadays, a ST holder is basically the lowest strata of fan, apart from your casual turn up when they fancy.
As people say, times have changed. But sometimes I do think, wouldn't it be nice after paying continually for a ST for 30+ yrs just to get.....something else nice
Think all I've ever had is a free bcb upgrade 20 yr ago wasted on a 0-0 draw with Gary macallisters Coventry
I remember when you'd have your corporate hoy poloys, then ST holder, then pay on doors.
Then we got BCB, and suites and so on and so on.
I accept what Sgt Peppers saying - you pay for you SC and that's for the match so what else do you want. Nowadays, a ST holder is basically the lowest strata of fan, apart from your casual turn up when they fancy.
As people say, times have changed. But sometimes I do think, wouldn't it be nice after paying continually for a ST for 30+ yrs just to get.....something else nice
Think all I've ever had is a free bcb upgrade 20 yr ago wasted on a 0-0 draw with Gary macallisters Coventry
Doberman
Striker
How many tiers of 'fan' will this mean now!?
I remember when you'd have your corporate hoy poloys, then ST holder, then pay on doors.
Then we got BCB, and suites and so on and so on.
I accept what Sgt Peppers saying - you pay for you SC and that's for the match so what else do you want. Nowadays, a ST holder is basically the lowest strata of fan, apart from your casual turn up when they fancy.
As people say, times have changed. But sometimes I do think, wouldn't it be nice after paying continually for a ST for 30+ yrs just to get.....something else nice
Think all I've ever had is a free bcb upgrade 20 yr ago wasted on a 0-0 draw with Gary macallisters Coventry
absolutely spot on.
Once upon a time, having a season ticket felt special. Now it feels like it's only a method to avoid having the palava of having to buy individual tickets on ticketmaster every week. The only real perk. Don't even get a physical ticket anymore so it doesn't even feel like you're getting anything!
Once they hand over the club shop to the corporates, they'll upgrade the BCB to something not accessible by anyone who isn't paying top dollar and so on.
garyeaststand
Winger
Was early days of sol too with most having ST in SWC and south wing of west , we actually used to go in idols now and then I’m sure same bloke was on the mike , but we weren’t there to see him, that pop up bar up from wheatsheaf is close enough to south stand? Ultimately the club need to increase/improve corporate if we want to compete so any current room at the ground is gonna be prioritised for that , obvious one to improve general concourse and encourage people to arrive earlier woukd be to move turnstiles back and outside like allot of stadiums in Germany, set up stack like bars and kiosks, woukdnt cost too much to doaye and you all used to stand together at Roker etc.
Football's moved on and unless it's orchestrated properly it just doesn't happen. The closest we've got is the Wheatsheaf and that's ruined by a weirdo in a baby grow doing daft challenges.
I just think it would help but it would need to be encouraged by the club and we all know that's not likely.
If they’re hell bent on corporate at some point, to fill it all, they’ll have to improve the ‘product’.
riffraff
Striker
Not at the speed pints are pulled at the SOL it isn’t.
Mowgli
Striker
Plenty on here want to reduce the general admission capacity to out more corporate in.
Sgt Pepper
Striker
So this is the bit that I mean. If you think of the club shop, it looks tiny from the outside because it takes up just one square ‘archway’ with the glass entrance. However when you go in it goes canny far back and quite far to the right in the direction of the centre of the West Stand. I presume on the other side of the far right wall is that red carpet staircase that takes you from the main reception to the boxes and corporate areas above.
So is there not potential for a bar in the exact same position on the southern part of the reception main entrance where one of those square archways that is just exposed open air is, which is where the bar entrance would be. And then once inside it would, like the club shop/Founders Bar, stretch canny far back and left in the direction of the centre of the West Stand. Basically mirroring the shape/space of the club shop/Founders Bar.
No idea but I’ve already posted at length what I’d like to see them do, and that revolves around more standing areas across the south stand and giving the stewards direction to back the fuck off and let lads be lads. Obviously anything severe would need picked up on so I’m not suggesting let it become lawless, I’m just saying - as you have - stop with the over zealous stewarding and treating people in the end like school kids telling them off for the slightest things.
Im not convinced a general bar that would be open to all non corporate fans from all over the stadium would drastically improve the experience or atmosphere, it’ll probably only have capacity for a couple hundred max for starters anyway.
Fill it all? This bar will only have capacity for a couple of hundred max I would guess, maybe even less. The ground holds 47k+ and we don’t fill it. That’s hardly being hellbent on filling it with corporate. I’ve always thought for a club and ground of our size we lack ‘premium’ or corporate offerings tbh.
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From business club etc I feel the club are exploring corporate improvements/expansions far more than improving general fan areas.
Bruce presumably looking at what huge sums the big guns pull in. My point is Im amazed we sell so many premium packages currently (often theyre half price like). To fill further areas regularly they’ll need top flight football on show not yer Plymouths etc (with all due respect).
Sgt Pepper
Striker
Other than this new bar what other corporate improvements are being made? Another genuine question because I don’t know off the top of my head. This is clearly a pretty quick win for them given the space is already there and stood vacant after the club shop moved. Most of what people seem to be wanting for improving the general fan areas involves expanding the concourse which is clearly a much bigger job when it would involve knocking down the entire outer brick wall and rebuilding it a few yards back.
I’ve already posted on other threads I think there are some quicker wins that could be explored with improving general fan areas, particular along the North, East and South Stand concourses which need it most. And my suggestion there was more colour and comfort, trying to mimic a bit what the Premier Concourse concourse feels like as it’s much warmer and welcoming up there.
Harbour Boy
Winger
I can't think of one ground in the country in the top 2 tiers that offer this apart from shearers bar.
