Where would we be today if the Goldstone saga had never happened?

[Brovion]

Another point: Whilst we were all desperate to leave Withdean some people wouldn't have wanted to leave The Goldstone. You can just imagine the binfests on here: "Why do we need a new Ground, the Goldstone is our ancestral home, it's perfectly adequate for a provincial side like Brighton, I don't want us to play in some soulless corporate bowl, etc etc etc."

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

Indeed. I wonder what the Falmer footprint is in relation to the Goldstone? I.e. if we tried to build an exact replica of the Amex on the old site how much of Goldstone Lane and/or Newton road would we have had to buy up in order to accommodate it?

The biggest problem is we would have been stuck with it. One of the great weapons we had in our fight for Falmer was the 'sympathy vote'; we made a lot of capital out of the way we'd been treated by Archer and co and how we were now having to play in a rented athletics ground. If we'd been at the Goldstone the opposition and objection to a new stadium at Falmer, or indeed anywhere in the Brighton and Hove area, would perhaps have been insurmountable. The only realistic alternatives would have been places like Pende.

Good can come out of bad things. I know giving any credit to Archer for where we are now is a bit like thanking the Luftwaffe for helping to re-develop the east end of London, but we had to 'go there to come back' if you can understand what I'm saying.

Yes i do know what you are saying & have envisaged this myself(above).

please note the following is merely a recollection and not hard and fast,although i think it's not far off.

I believe the Goldstone was 4.5 acres

The current ideal minimum size site for a new stadium 12 acres

&

Falmer 8.5 acres

 

[Bwian]

Yes i do know what you are saying & have envisaged this myself(above).

please note the following is merely a recollection and not hard and fast,although i think it's not far off.

I believe the Goldstone was 4.5 acres

The current ideal minimum size site for a new stadium 12 acres

&

Falmer 8.5 acres

Which shows how much vision was needed when the plans were first drawn up. I can remember looking at pictures of the field and thinking "How the hell are they going to fit a stadium there"?

 

[Northstander]

We still would have needed a new home to move forward, it had if I remember development limitations and to be honest, Goldstone was passed its sell by date.

Its history...look forward to the exciting future we have in our new home!

*everything happens for a reason!*

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

Which shows how much vision was needed when the plans were first drawn up. I can remember looking at pictures of the field and thinking "How the hell are they going to fit a stadium there"?

True & if it was not for the purchase of the Brighton university buildings/ land at a cost of some £5m? and the cliffe being dug behind the West than it would never have happened.

110,000 pages & 7,500 diagrams (by Dick Knight's team) vs a poxy picture drawn by an (no disrespect) 8 year old,from Archers mob(re Toads hole) shows what really was involved to get the job done.

 

[whitelion]

Ignore all the financial problems of the 90s and the ground's sale. Say we had a decent chairman in place instead of BA and didn't sell the ground, where would we be today? Would we still be at the Goldstone in 2011? Or would we have redeveloped the ground into a modern stadium, or perhaps moved on on our own free will? Perhaps we would have inevitably ended up at Falmer as its the only other feasible location for a ground apart from the Goldstone.
Also where would the club be in the football league? Would we have moved up the divisions earlier? Or would we possibly be non-league?

Obviously no one knows for sure but I was thinking about this today and thought it was quite an interesting thing to ponder on.

Thoughts?

Asked a similar question in October 2010:

If we were still playing at the Goldstone?

 

[CliveWalkerWingWizard]

If redeveloped maybe would have looked something like vicarage rd ? I think we would have been limited.

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

If redeveloped maybe would have looked something like vicarage rd ? I think we would have been limited.

or worse Oxford's old Manor Ground,maybe Selhurst.

 

[The Large One]

Indeed. I wonder what the Falmer footprint is in relation to the Goldstone? I.e. if we tried to build an exact replica of the Amex on the old site how much of Goldstone Lane and/or Newton road would we have had to buy up in order to accommodate it?

The biggest problem is we would have been stuck with it. One of the great weapons we had in our fight for Falmer was the 'sympathy vote'; we made a lot of capital out of the way we'd been treated by Archer and co and how we were now having to play in a rented athletics ground. If we'd been at the Goldstone the opposition and objection to a new stadium at Falmer, or indeed anywhere in the Brighton and Hove area, would perhaps have been insurmountable. The only realistic alternatives would have been places like Pende.

Good can come out of bad things. I know giving any credit to Archer for where we are now is a bit like thanking the Luftwaffe for helping to re-develop the east end of London, but we had to 'go there to come back' if you can understand what I'm saying.

You call it 'sympathy vote', I call it 'necessity vote'. No town or city this size can hope to thrive (survive yes, thrive no) with no stadium to befit its status. Every local authority would (or at least should) understand that.

In answer to the original question - in Lewes' position with Portsmouth's facilities.

 

[libra-gully]

The proper question to ask is where would be if Mike Bamber had better health and lived a few more years? The nonsense with the Goldstone and the evil gang of three would never have happened. RIP Mike.

 

[Return of the Rev]

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

Quality but at the same time hateful pictures Rev.

 

[Return of the Rev]

 

[Northstander]

The question is: Amex or Goldstone? Its Amex everytime for me!!

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

Superb & quality pictures-like the Lion King-the circle of life.

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

The question is: Amex or Goldstone? Its Amex everytime for me!!

the Amex has 4 roof's-some older generations liked the atmosphere of the Goldstone and by that i don't just mean in the ground-not the fighting,just the location etc.

 

[Northstander]

I used to love the North stand, I do remember however the delapidated state Goldstone was in and the dated appearance....sad loss but we now have Amex and time to move on!

I will not forget the problems this club has experienced and survived!!

 

[Seagull Steve]

I used to love the North stand, I do remember however the delapidated state Goldstone was in and the dated appearance....sad loss but we now have Amex and time to move on!

I will not forget the problems this club has experienced and survived!!

Absolutely this.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

I too loved the north stand and wish I could have spent more time there. But an all-seater North stand would have been shit, and we would have had no choice but to convert it

 

[Brovion]

You call it 'sympathy vote', I call it 'necessity vote'. No town or city this size can hope to thrive (survive yes, thrive no) with no stadium to befit its status. Every local authority would (or at least should) understand that.

In answer to the original question - in Lewes' position with Portsmouth's facilities.

Sympathy, necessity, whatever. The point is we would be deemed to already have a ground, so would we have got the same level of support for Falmer, even from the City council, if we weren't deemed to be 'homeless'?

The proper question to ask is where would be if Mike Bamber had better health and lived a few more years? The nonsense with the Goldstone and the evil gang of three would never have happened. RIP Mike.

It's actually the same question. The OP did say 'ignoring the financial problems of the 90s' (which I didn't in my original answer!). So there we are. Bamber (and Wickenden) lived, no really stupid financial decisions were made, Archer never got involved, there was no exile in Gillingham, the Goldstone was redeveloped into a basic but functional 13,000 all-seater stadium - and the club could never get any higher than the lower reaches of the Championship as everyone else had bigger and better grounds. We would basically have a souped-up Withdean, and in order to progress the club know they need a bigger ground, but local opposition means that every site in the Brighton and Hove area is unavailable, then Pende (where the training ground is going to be) becomes available. Would you be in favour of re-locating? Or would you be 'Goldstone till I die?'

[Don't forget Bamber foresaw this and even back in the 1970s was looking at relocating. He mentioned Waterhall, Hove Dog Track, Shoreham Airport, and of course his worst suggestion: ground-sharing with Palace in a stadium at Gatwick Airport!]