Darlington's new ground!

[dougdeep]

I doubt Darlo has a huge education department built in either, we'd never have got planning permission without it.

 

[Notters]

That graph looks remarkably similar to my dates to shags ratio of that era,how one does miss the 70s

25000 dates per shag or 25000 shags per date??

 

[Notters]

I doubt Darlo has a huge education department built in either, we'd never have got planning permission without it.

Plus the roadworks are costign £5m or something aren't they?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

The thing is, darlo have never had a history of the type of crowds to fill at 25,000 stadium. They should have built for 10-15k.

We, on the other hand, do have a history of big crowds, if the team is right.

build it and they will come...!

I do like the idea of foreign students though

 

[Curious Orange]

Plus the roadworks are costign £5m or something aren't they?

A lot of that is being paid for by SEEDA though.

Going back to the original point of the thread though is that comparing Falmer to the Darlington Arena isn't a like for like comparison.

What you have to understand is that Darlo's ground was built in a residential area with poor access, and has very a restrictive set of conditions placed on its usage as part of gaining planning permission as a result - which is why it has turned out to be such a white elephant as they can't do very much more than hold football matches there. It is bigger than Falmer at 25.5k seats, yet its effective capacity is actually only 10k as they have to get special permission every time they think they are going to have more people turn up!

 

[loco61]

6000 on boxing day after several defeats and years of cold comfort at withdean

could equal a 15-18000 crowd on boxing day in a decent stadium with half decent football, whether they all come back regularly will depend on how well entertained they are , what it costs and winning!

 

[Lord Large]

As I've said before ...

With a new stadium, is there any reason why the Albion shouldn't be attracting the same size crowds that Leicester City have been getting this season?

There is a difference though. Leicester have had a few years in the Premiership to attract fans and, in all probability, are spending a rogue year in League 1.

We on the other hand have been sniffing around League 1 for years, losing regular fans left right and centre and, in all likelihood, are probably going to be around this division for a while yet.

Watch Leicester's average gates drop if they get stuck in this league for more than a couple of seasons.

 

[Curious Orange]

Watch Leicester's average gates drop if they get stuck in this league for more than a couple of seasons.

You could say that about any team, Leicester or the Albion aren't special cases by any means.

 

[Simster]

There is a difference though. Leicester have had a few years in the Premiership to attract fans and, in all probability, are spending a rogue year in League 1.

We on the other hand have been sniffing around League 1 for years, losing regular fans left right and centre and, in all likelihood, are probably going to be around this division for a while yet.

Watch Leicester's average gates drop if they get stuck in this league for more than a couple of seasons.

Ed's point does still stand though. A sustained run up the league and the punters will pour through the Falmer gates, make no mistake about it.

How long has is taken Reading to gain regular gates of 17,000 upwards? 5 years?

 

[Lord Large]

Ed's point does still stand though. A sustained run up the league and the punters will pour through the Falmer gates, make no mistake about it.

How long has is taken Reading to gain regular gates of 17,000 upwards? 5 years?

Ah yes, a sustained run in the league. Up to, I assume, the Premiership.

And there is the problem.

 

[Simster]

No more of a problem than for any other Championship club though. And entirely possible down here.

 

[Curious Orange]

Ah yes, a sustained run in the league. Up to, I assume, the Premiership.

And there is the problem.

Probably just as well that our new ground isn't just a football stadium then.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Looking at all this, why on earth are we building a 22000 seater stadium?!

22,000 looks about right for a club with ambition. At least it gives us a level playing field and a chance of building something a bit special on the pitch as well as off.

Apart from anything else, I'm sure there was mention at the last Inquiry of plans to hold a certain number of gigs per year at the stadium. Which on a capacity of 22000 has to work out at half a million quids worth of gate receipts per gig. Every little helps.

 

[Dave the OAP]

I remember when Town went and played at Darlo's new ground HTFC-World slammed the stadium for its poor design and quality. It is on the site.

It is always a gamble when you build a stadium and somewhat nieve to think that a new ground automatically brings success.

For all the Hulls, Wigans and Readings of this world there are the Leicesters, Oxfords, Huddersfields who struggle along relying on benefactors ( certainly in Leicester's case)

As I keep droning on and on about, its all about hassle. If you put any kind of hassle in the way of people going to football at Falmer, they wont. we have lost a hell of a lot of goodwill and fans in this City to London and we must try hard to win them back...this starts on the playing field. We must not let the financing of Falmer to have a detrimental effect on the playing side as much as it already has. Yes we will get huge gates for the first few games at Falmer, of that there is no doubt, however if we are in the fourth division, that euphoria will soon evaporate.

However, I am for ever the optomist and I would rather be in a brand spanking new stadium than at Withdean any longer...I really do f***ing HATE that place

 

[Lady Whistledown]

This is brilliant. A while ago, loads of people were complaining that Falmer will be too small. Now we're saying it's too big??

I think we've got it just about right. We need to be pitching it at around the same level as Reading and Hull. Not Derby, and not Colchester.

Yes, we had crap crowds in the late 80s/early 90s, but football as a whole was going through a very low period (I hate to say it, but pre-Premiership). Crowds in the 1980s were amongst the lowest in Football League history. Newcastle got gates of 15,000, Palace would play in front of 7,000, and even Man United's average crowd was somewhere in the 30,000s. Middlesbrough nearly went to the wall, so skint and badly supported were they. The advent of Sky involvement made football popular again, and the Hillsborough disaster made clubs have to think about the quality of their product as well as the safety element. Football became fashionable again.

Darlington is an odd case, as their ground was built to satisfy the ego of a flash Harry businessman. Even their own fans knew it was too big- their crowds have often been around the 2-3000 mark in the past.

While we haven't sold out Withdean recently, I'm sure Falmer will prove to be about right. Some people will be attracted because of the novelty of the experience, some because for the first time in years it will be (loosely) possible to decide on a Saturday morning to pop down to the Albion, rather than having to bugger about getting tickets. Some will go because of the innovative and enticing ticket prices lolol and others because it will be a pleasant experience, unlike Withdean. And some because for the first time in a generation, they will be able to go to an Albion game and be proud to support the club, no longer embarrassed.

We'll be fine

 

[Nottseagull]

Middlesbrough nearly went to the wall

Middlesbrough did go to the wall; the current club of the same name were founded in 1986, yet were able to take MFC's place in the FL with no penalty or liablity for their debts.

 

[Nottseagull]

As I've said before ...

With a new stadium, is there any reason why the Albion shouldn't be attracting the same size crowds that Leicester City have been getting this season?

Peterborough               23,390
MK Dons		         23,351
Hereford                   22,920
Northampton		22,795
Millwall		         19,591
Bristol Rovers		18,941
Hartlepool		18,578
Tranmere		         17,798
Walsall		         17,178
Crewe                      16,991
Southend                   16,836
Yeovil Town		16,528

Leicester has a population of 280,000. Brighton & Hove's population is 249,000 - more if you count the urban areas that are attached.

Ticket prices aren't an issue:-

The cheapest adult tickets for home games at Leicester are £23.
Over-60s tickets start at £21.
Under-22s & Students from £15.
Under-16s are £10.
Under-12s are £5.
Under-8s are £3.

Posh seats go up to £30 for adults.

And Leicester City have a lot more league clubs within easy striking distance of the city than we do.

The support Leicester attract is even more remarkable when you consider no more than half its population is white. As non-whites still form a tiny percentage of any gate, this means a particularly high percentage of the remaining 140,000 are attending. Factor in the huge crowds the rugby union club attracts, and you really have to ask how do they do it?

 

[BRIGHT ON Q]

They do seem to support their local team well in that part of the country.Derby also get very good crowds and so do Forest considering there is also Notts County as well.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Can I share this link with you and just ask...

What the f*** goes on in that media room, they got a softcore porn company going to get some extra cash??

have a look for yourselves...

http://www.dfcarena.com/virtualtour.asp

Yes...

Superb stuff

 

[Mustela Furo]

That Darlington situation is in NO WAY comparable to ours, not for a second. That safecracking crook built a ground MILES too big for them, and everyone could see that and was saying so at the time. I actually think the biggest tragedy of that lunatic's actions is the loss of Feethams, a lovely old ground.

the saddest/funniest (delete as applicable) thing is that the Darlo stadium was built "sympathetically" to allow for an easy expansion to 60,000, should the need arise