Roker Park Move, history/nostalgia

njmackem said:
I still miss that feeling of walking up the steps to the Fulwell End seeing the pitch... Stadium of Light is great to see, but Roker was special.
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I do miss the cage at the top of the Fulwell, hopefully we'll recreate the atmosphere once the all standing gets granted for the bottom of the North Stand.
 


chriswallace85 said:
Think there was more twist about changing the badge than there was about moving to the SoL.

Loved Roker but the move had to happen - and I think the first two years under Reid would attest to that with promotion and top flight football, not to mention the away ban in the derby.

We'd had a few year to get used to the idea as well. The Nissan site went south, and I remember there being far more concern about moving there than there was to the eventual site. I know I didn't like the idea of us being all the way out as Nissan, and I doubt they could have picked a better site for the ground than the one we ended up with.

It would have been lovely to have kept Roker in some capacity, but as a site - it was done. Just look at the clart on Liverpool have had to keep their place up to date.


Naming the stands is a bit of nonsense to be honest, and it's not the Roker End. The lattice work looks a bit of a tack add-on as well - which it is. Nice idea but looks a bit naff really.

Safe standing - couldn't care less. If (big if) it's ever introduced by the league then by all means set a stand up for it, but I'll stay in me seat.

Flags - they're alright for big games before kick off, just don't wave them about in front of me.

The history and tradition of the club is more vital than ever. People need reminding that we don't belong is this shit league, and it is in fact very much beneath us to even be where we find ourselves. Yet here we are. There should be an exam to educate and remind people.
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I think you’re right in that the main concerns were raised about moving to the out-of-town Nissan site & also about the cost, which was estimated at £60m around the time of the fans referendum in 1992. Once that option went out the window & the Wearmouth Colliery site was chosen in ‘95 don’t think there were many complaints.

Interesting that the last edition of Wise Men Say in ‘92 ran an article inc criticism that 40k was too big for proposed new stadium & we should aim for 20-30k. Had been a real decline in attendances everywhere in ‘80s.
 
SAFCmal said:
Seem to remember a red card protest. Activists handing them out before a match iirc, still got mine somewhere.
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Was vs Stoke City. Think we won one nil. Andy melville. However, I seem to remember it was a protest about the way the club was being run in general. Crap on the pitch, and crap off it. Nufc flying with keegan, and us scrapping to stay up in the second tier...and I suppose inactivity regarding roker/Nissan site. Don't think the colliery site was even much talked about then, but might be wrong.
 
homeless kid said:
The Wembley of the North plans (despite shit location) were great. I think it was also 48,000 as the SOL is now but was all one tier
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Pics from this old thread - Wembley of the North


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I wonder if @Chunky Dunky has that model?

Wembley of the North thread post

Found this pic below on twitter here - Image LINK on Twitter
Richard Easterbrook mentions there are pictures in the Echo archives but there's no further picture in that twitter link.

 
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MackemX said:
Pics from this old thread - Wembley of the North


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I wonder if @Chunky Dunky has that model?

Wembley of the North thread post

Found this pic below on twitter here - Image LINK on Twitter
Richard Easterbrook mentions there are pictures in the Echo archives but there's no further picture in that twitter link.

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That used to be on display in the bar/cafe round the back of the family enclosure where we had our season tickets.

We used to gawp at it every week. Was a beautiful design.
 
MackemX said:
Pics from this old thread - Wembley of the North


Logon or register to see this image


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I wonder if @Chunky Dunky has that model?

Wembley of the North thread post

Found this pic below on twitter here - Image LINK on Twitter
Richard Easterbrook mentions there are pictures in the Echo archives but there's no further picture in that twitter link.

Click to expand...

These are great! Thanks for sharing them. Wonder if it was just down to cost thatthey shelved these plans and went for something else for SOL?

If anyone has copy of the referendum flyer that the club sent out that would be great to see.
 
Boris Bear said:
Roker Park was a shithole at the end. They were lopping a couple of thousand off the capacity every few years because it was decrepit. The experience and the memories you take with you.

I do remember liking the fans proposal to turn the ground 90 degrees and rebuild it in a traditional style with a 38k capacity. The reality was that Murray got the stadium of light for only £6m of his own cash so we were never going to do anything other than move.
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That’s a damn sight more than Donald has put in by the looks of things. ;)
 
OrdinaryJon said:
I think you’re right in that the main concerns were raised about moving to the out-of-town Nissan site & also about the cost, which was estimated at £60m around the time of the fans referendum in 1992. Once that option went out the window & the Wearmouth Colliery site was chosen in ‘95 don’t think there were many complaints.

Interesting that the last edition of Wise Men Say in ‘92 ran an article inc criticism that 40k was too big for proposed new stadium & we should aim for 20-30k. Had been a real decline in attendances everywhere in ‘80s.
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They said it would be a white elephant but Murray kept faith. Even that last season at Roker we weren't selling out every week, and that was with a capacity of only 22,000. The stadium made football more accessible though. Like it or not it's a more family friendly environment. More kids, more women (in the early days there was a stat kicking about that we had the highest percentage of female season ticket holders in the country or summit like that), and this is purely down to observation but I think more elderly fans too. Now I get that a number of male supporters between the ages of 18 and 55 might miss the hustle and bustle of the Clockstand paddocks, the Roker End, or the Fulwell End, but having an all seater stadium with outstanding views made football more accessible for the masses. And as the fates would allow, the opening of the ground coincided with us having the most exciting up and coming team we'd produced in a lifetime.
 

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