If Ruth Kelly says "no"...

[Publius Ovidius]

I think if that was even possible, you would hve to have the park and ride busses picking up from North of the Sportsman car park....but i am 100% convinced that Withdean is not an option

 

[Perry's Tracksuit Bottoms]

Reading these comments one can't help but feel the desperation of the supporters.
The way I see it, the day the Goldstone was sold was the beginning of the end, I hope that I am wrong, but the majority of people living in and around Brighton and Hove don't want a football team at all.

The referendum proved that this is not correct

It interferes with the idea of Brighton being the bohemian city full of luvvys, street theater, poncy festivals, gay tributes(no offence) and lots of nice arty farty things.
Football with it's supporters, rowdiness and general atmosphere is extremely not welcome.
The local government don't want to know because they would rather see people coming in to buy josticks, than being frightened away every other Saturday by footballing types and riff raff.

I think this is a pretty out-of-date view of football fans. Lots of arty farty people like football and vice versa these days.

The Shoreham idea is a good idea because travelling supporters would not have to go through Brighton and chant and drink and stuff, these run down areas would benefit financially also.

Brighton positively encourages tourists to go through Brighton and chant and drink and stuff. A few football fans once a fortnight in the winter isn't going to make a huge difference to the town as a whole... though it might well provide perks to an industry that booms in summer and slumps in the winter.

If a new ground is ever built I will come back for the first game, but it won't be at Falmer.

See you there

 

[OzMike]

The inevitability of not getting Falmer has to be realised, the nimby's have probably got a list of appeal reasons as long as your arm and the only people profiting are the lawyers,as usual.
The money will run out, more players will probably be sold to pay these lawyers.
We may end up as a part time conference team, looking at an extreme case.
If Shoreham is the only alternative then so be it, if the capacity at the Withdean were to be increased it would mean planning and would create a whole new branch of the nimby's Withdean division , moaning about property prices and noise pollution.
As for the vote pro a football team, what percentage of the population voted and what percentage of these were Albion supporters

 

[OzMike]

Perry's track suit bottoms:..............see you there.

Mines a pint

 

[tedebear]

sorry you can't have the cement works Crabbers and I have already designated it as our indoor snow dome for snowboarding and skiing - SO THERE!!

 

[Commander]

I lived in Withdean for the first 22 years of my life and the only impact is an increased level of traffic. Noise? I would say that is minimal - it could be a lot worse.

I don't think for one minute anyone is suggesting noise is a problem at Withdean!

 

[andybaha]

I thought opur record attendance was over 35K?

Not at Withdean it isn't

 

[Publius Ovidius]

Not at Withdean it isn't

yes...agreed, but there are obviously lots of people out there who dont go to withdean, who will go to Falmer wont they.....so there is no point in suggesting a crowd figure at withdean to be a comparison is there?

 

[Perry's Tracksuit Bottoms]

As for the vote pro a football team, what percentage of the population voted and what percentage of these were Albion supporters

The referendum took place at the same time as local council elections. 95% said yes to the stadium, 68% said yes to Falmer.

 

[The Large One]

The inevitability of not getting Falmer has to be realised, the nimby's have probably got a list of appeal reasons as long as your arm and the only people profiting are the lawyers,as usual.
The money will run out, more players will probably be sold to pay these lawyers.
We may end up as a part time conference team, looking at an extreme case.
If Shoreham is the only alternative then so be it, if the capacity at the Withdean were to be increased it would mean planning and would create a whole new branch of the nimby's Withdean division , moaning about property prices and noise pollution.
As for the vote pro a football team, what percentage of the population voted and what percentage of these were Albion supporters

Shoreham is NOT an option. Never has been.

 

[tedebear]

Shoreham is NOT an option. Never has been.

I tried to tell em - but would they listen?

 

[Blackadder]

What about building permanent stands with roofs at Withdean, wouldn't take much to get capacity up to 12K or so and with the crowds we are getting at the moment should be more than enough. We never got more than 8K in the Championship.

Andy, If we had a decent ground the gates would have been far higher that 8K, trust me.

For starters some of the larger Championship sides would have brought 1,000s rather that 100s to a decent stadium on the south coast.

There would be many more home supporters as well. Higher gates would generate funds for better players and...happy days.

As for the ground. I want Falmer but to be honest I just want a stadium. Would be happy to go elsewhere, if there are any viable alternatives. Unfortunatley, that doesn't appear to be the case.

 

[andybaha]

I really hope we get Falmer and when we do I'm sure we will get bigger crowds than we get at Withdean, you only have to look at the demand for West Ham tickets to see the interest that exists when something of a better standard is on offer. However if the worst came to the worst and we don't get Falmer I honestly believe the only viable option is to upgrade Withdean. I don't believe we have the resources for another planning application and wherever we go the NIMBYS will fight us. So we might as well fight the Withdean NIMBYS. From a personal point of view I don't think a 12,000 seater covered Withdean would be the end of the world.

 

[Barnham Seagull]

A 12'000 seater withdean would not be the end of the world and attendances would be much higher, probably the same at falmer if we were bottom half of div 1 (6500 - 9500 depending on who we were playing).

A 12'000 withdean would thow condem us to nothing better than championship football, if we ever got to the prem we would not sustain premiership football with gates of 12'000.

Come on kelly get your knickers in gear and just say yes preferably this side of the next millenium!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

...what happens next?

I don't mean "the club will go out of buiness / its the end of the Albion etc etc" because I have kind of worked out those consequences of a "no" decision myself.

What I mean is, can the club appeal? Or is that really it?

Trouble is, if the club can appeal, then so can LDC. And they will. Every single time. Cos another six month delay is another five hundred off the attendance figures. They're in no rush. They can play this game forever. If allowed to remain in office and squander their constituents council tax money that is.

 

[seagull-lad]

Derby, Stoke and Coventry are just three grounds at the top of my head that are miles away from anything (pubs included!) and they have set up a decent bus service.

Derby's pride park is right near the station!

 

[Nemesis]

I don't think a 12,000 seater covered Withdean would be the end of the world.

It may not be the end of the world but it would be the end of any ambitions this club has....

 

[withdeanwombat]

Didn't the Withdean area used to be stuffed out with NIMBYs?

Their current tolerance of the club might be reversed if it was thought that a permanent ground would be established.

More planning hassles,more years of woeful conditions.

Talk of a stadium "anywhere" also means planning,opposition,costs,delays dee dah,dee dah.

Its Falmer now,so come on Ruthie!