hammerdivone wrote:
Even if we win the bid, we do not have to take it up. There would have to be a bloody good reason not to though!?
Ah, the old we have said we want it but , well, what can we do, our fans don't want it so we'll give up now, thanks for the opportunity dream .HD1, we all know everything is a negotiating stance by the club .The secrecy , the mixed messages , the lack of definitive staterments .What will not change from the owners persepctive is the club has £91m of debt , to rebuild the East stand would be over £20m and their choice is for them to foot the bill , recovering the money from us over the next 50 years , or sell the lot and move , taking the cash now .
Let me see , which do I think the more likely ?
hammerdivone wrote:
Pinky you accept that this bid is different to our purchase of the OS previously don't you? As tenants you have rightly pointed out we lose naming rights and various other income streams, so for us to move there the conditions have to be right for everyone.?
The naming rights will be determined by how much the various bidders actually bid......if you want the stadium for gratis, you don't get the NR , if you are willing to pay £xm you get X% of the NR etc . Again, all a negotiation .
hammerdivone wrote:
And are you saying that the toilets and food outlets for 80,000 people watching the Olympics are inadequate? At least if you suggest money needs to be spent on these afterwards then that's what I think you are saying??
No running hot water in the bogs at the Boleyn..........none at Stratford .So, yep money needs to be spent .No food outlets are permanent , so either they need building or it's hot dog vans surrounding the stadium .Not neccesarily a bad thing that , but not a huge improvement on current arrangements .
hammerdivone wrote:
Which fans are going to get shafted? The ones who have not been able to afford tickets before but could in the future as the pricing structure will be lower? The ones who spend hours trying to get away from UP station, or stuck in their car on the A13? Those with views a long way from the pitch? What about the away fans at St James Park, or up the back at the Stretford End, or at the back at Wembley? We will always be able to find fault with the refurbished OS, but I'm willing to predict the benefits outweigh the downsides.?
You are now comparing the view for the away fans at Sid James park with what our home fans should get ? A once every couple of seasons view for a few thousand of us with the view most fans should get once a fortnight , for ever ?I don't go to Newcastle to watch the game , I go to support the club .Thick and thin .Asking me to endure the same for every single home match is beyond the pale though .
Ticket prices ? The club could cut ticket prices for certain groups of fans right now but chooses not to .Instead they give them away to children for £1 .
Current average ST prices, net of VAT, are around £17 per game .Where are the people without £17 to watch the club , and what price would it have to be to attract them ? Are we targeting the £5 a head sector - go to football instead of an M&S ready meal ?
Stuck on the A13 ? If you drive to the Boleyn on the A13 now, why won't you use the A13 for Stratford ? The fact that the OS has a big railway station next to it, doesn't mean that every fan has a local railway station next to them does it ?
hammerdivone wrote:
I would much prefer us to stay at the Boleyn, develop the East Stand and accept we can only get 40-42k crowds. However as most of the Premier League clubs have realised if you want to compete in the transfer market and as a result in the league you need bigger crowds and bigger revenues. Where do we want our club to be competing? Lower 10 or upper 10 in the Premiership?
Hang on , weren't you justifying the OS on cheaper tickets, now it's bigger revenues ?
That's the point HD1 .The club needs to maximise revenue to compete .The dream of cheaper tickets for the average fan at Stratford is just that .
A dream .That's why we are going to get shafted .
Off to the game now, may as well enjoy the view while I can .