Falmer(Amex)

[The Great Cornholio]

I just thought it was really funny! You wanted to change your username and, perhaps bit unwisely, put a poll up with a shortlist and asked people to choose. 'Couldn't give a rat's arse' was one of the options and when, unsurprisingly, it won, fair play to you, you had it changed! On the opening page where you see the last thread title and the name of the last poster you'd see things like "Will we get relegated this year? ... Couldn't give a rat's arse"

Close but it was a little experiment to show that the masses would take inane posting from some but not others. So I posted the poll fully expecting abuse which duly arrived. I actually set up another account rather than renaming this one but stopped using it as the missing apostrophe caused by a character limit in user names really bugged me. I'm sure I have OCD at times.

 

[The Large One]

The Albion can barely get 6,000 of our own fans to watch the team at Withdean. Don't give me all that tosh about the Withdean factor. There are plenty of seats in the North & South side that are near the pitch; and that was when we were in a higher division than now!! Also our magnificent away support that some crone on about is not that magnificent. Over a season what it averages about 800. So those who only go to away games & not to Withdean, but will now attend Falmer, will hardly bump up the gates that much. Take a look at the home gates of our competitors & you will note when the massive BHA turn up, we are invariably not within the top 5 or 6 highest crowds of the season.

Good grief. It terrifies me to think that society allows people with this mentality out on their own during the hours of daylight in a built-up area.

My two-penn'orth, or what it's worth, is that I don't know of ANY Brighton fan - die-hard or casual - who ISN'T going to Falmer. I can also think of a fair few non-Brighton fans who will turn up.

 

[severnside gull]

I have to admit having some concerns about the longer term sustainability of much larger crowds once we move to our new home. Of course much will be down to success on the field and, to some extent, to the style of play. The much vaunted "cashless" entry system, lack of parking, and the continuing system of not allowing someone to walk up and buy a ticket at the ground on the day will deter more people than I think is generally recognised. It just feels very complicated when compared to almost any other form of entertainment let alone any other football game.

However there are many like me who will travel to see more home games than currently and I do believe that our much higher than average away support indicates that there is scope to increase the basic crowd level once we have a quality venue. I wouldn't expect much more than 15,000 attendances initially though and I would expect that to fall to between 10K and 12K for less attractive opponents whichever league we are in over the next few years. That is still roughly double current attendances and would make us one of the better supported clubs outside the premiership if it could be chieved. I think the Board would be more than happy with that.

 

[Brovion]

Close but it was a little experiment to show that the masses would take inane posting from some but not others. So I posted the poll fully expecting abuse which duly arrived. I actually set up another account rather than renaming this one but stopped using it as the missing apostrophe caused by a character limit in user names really bugged me. I'm sure I have OCD at times.

Ah well fair do's, I wasn't aware of your reasons, but it did make me laugh!

 

[BLOCK F]

It will be chaos at falmer station after the match and that is all you will hear about unfortunately from everyone unless some radical proposals are secured in the next 11 months.

There needs to some serious park and ride facilities nr the falmer and/or lewes areas to alleviate the train traffic and unless I`m mistaken there isnt hardly any. The amount of trains that can get through that line on both sides in 1 hr is peanuts compared to what will be required. Although on a saturday alot of fans will stay behind for a beer and watch the 5 oclock sky game at least i hope we can, the evening games will be farcical with everyone trying to get their last connection from bton, inc the away fans, they`ll be tales of people having to get taxis home cos they missed their last train etc etc etc.

This is potentially one of the main concerns that could affect the longevity of support if not enough is done. I`d like to know what the clubs stance is on this at this moment in time.

I believe ease of access( 0r otherwise!) to and from Falmer could potentially have a significant effect on attendances.Too much aggravation and people may stay away especially if they have young children with them.
Living in the Chichester area,convenient travel to and from the stadium is a major concern of mine and please don't call me negative for predicting that there will be a degree of chaos in the early days, especially.
Personally,I hope there are some coaches put on from places like Chichester to bus people straight to and from the ground.....that would be great!

 

[Billy the Fish]

Personally,I hope there are some coaches put on from places like Chichester to bus people straight to and from the ground.....that would be great!

It's been said on other threads but I really think this will be the answer to any travel problems at Falmer. At Norwich away last season one thing that struck me was the amount of coaches the home fans had, presumably from the outlying towns in norfolk/suffolk.

If the club could run coaches from Worthing, Littlehampton, Haywards Heath, Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne as a starter I'm sure there would be plenty of interest. Even if it ran at a small loss sometimes I'm sure in the long term it would pay for itself by slowly expanding our fan base

 

[The Great Cornholio]

It's been said on other threads but I really think this will be the answer to any travel problems at Falmer. At Norwich away last season one thing that struck me was the amount of coaches the home fans had, presumably from the outlying towns in norfolk/suffolk.

If the club could run coaches from Worthing, Littlehampton, Haywards Heath, Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne as a starter I'm sure there would be plenty of interest. Even if it ran at a small loss sometimes I'm sure in the long term it would pay for itself by slowly expanding our fan base

Doesn't even need to be the club - on the Villa coaches they were handing out leaflets asking if you would take a coach to Falmer. Hopefully more details will emerge as the station is the only real drawback to Falmer at the moment. I seem to remember that the coach park had parking for something like 150 coaches so presumably they are on top of this. Still 11 months away so not worth fretting about at present.

 

[Billy the Fish]

Doesn't even need to be the club - on the Villa coaches they were handing out leaflets asking if you would take a coach to Falmer. Hopefully more details will emerge as the station is the only real drawback to Falmer at the moment. I seem to remember that the coach park had parking for something like 150 coaches so presumably they are on top of this. Still 11 months away so not worth fretting about at present.

Indeed, and if they've been trying to guage interest since last season it sounds like they're on the case.

Like you say, even if the club don't do it themselves I'm sure there's a bit of money in this if someone decided to have a go at it.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

Like you say, even if the club don't do it themselves I'm sure there's a bit of money in this if someone decided to have a go at it.

Coventry is my local ground which suffers from a lack of parking. Where I live a coach picks up everyone from 1 of 3 boozers before taking them a distance the equivalent of Brighton to Lewes for £4.50 return and is more or less full. There are plenty more which operate by the club or privately.

Falmer is more than a money making chance for the club.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

I'm quoting myself in a thread from a couple of months ago that went over much of the same ground. Basically you can't compare crowds today with those of the Eighties. Here's why:

"Football has changed - is far more popular as a live spectacle than it was then. Reuters recently reported that crowds in the League outside the Prem have more than doubled in the last 25 years (article - http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE64K3Z820100521). So a 10,000 crowd in 1990 would expect to be 20,000 or more now. Crowds in old Div 2, 3 and 4 are higher than at any time since 1959. "

 

[SweBHAFC]

Early this century - albion playing at Whitdean but still bring 30k plus to Cardiff.

That is a fact. It is entirely up to the marketing team to ensure that 2/3rds of this 30k crowd come to watch the Albion play at Falmer. If they enjoy the comfort of Cardiff they will enjoy the comfort of Falmer.

Websites like this can help by rallying support. Get mates and collegues talking about it. Send comments to the Argus. Billboards in city centre. Radio phone ins. Poll on what song to play as the players come in etc.

The buzz has started and us fans can be massive help to the marketing team by feeding off this buzz.

:albion1:

 

[Steve Foster]

I see where he is coming from if you look at it from a purely numbers perspective but equally I can see the other side of the coin that none of the other teams who have moved grounds have come from such a shabby stadium and there is a very large catchment area for BHA which we are lucky to have.

It is all conjecture as so much of it will be influenced by activity on the pitch. If we go up this year and by a miracle the year after as well, I’d expect we'd pretty much sell out every week. I just don’t think it’s that unreasonable to suggest that we might not break 10K if we are still kicking around in League 1 on a Tuesday night the wrong side of Christmas. The novelty of a new stadium will inevitably wear off at some point as will standing around waiting for a train or something like that (the subject of which there will be many threads on here in a years time)

If you actually cut through a lot of what you and SF say, you are not really that far apart just one looking at it half full and the other half empty. In the Hartlepool example (I have no idea why we have picked on them), you are only 2-3K out.

Couldn't agree more Mr Referee!!

 

[Jambo Seagull]

the average at Millwall (a similar club yo-yo-ing between L1 and championship) is around 10-11k. Huddersfield and Charlton are about 15k. many clubs in the Chamioship struggle to get that, you have to be one of the regional county clubs, Ipswich, Coventry, Leicester, Notts Forrest, Leeds etc to rely on 20k+.
the board know this. they know full well they can expect a surge of interest next season before we revert to ~10k in this league and about ~15k if in the Championship.

It will be very easy to find another 3-8k, so many people dont go to Withdean because it is shit and difficult to get tickets (the card thing will hopfullly work well if we can topup in lots of places).

Aren't Brighton a regional county club? We have a much bigger potential than the likes of Millwall and Charlton, surely.

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

People keep banging on about falmer station being THE problem. Well how do other clubs manage and how many other clubs have a station more or less on the concourse?

Of course people may have to wait a while and of course trains will be crowded but it's hardly a long ride and it's been a bloody long wait for the stadium.

 

[The Great Cornholio]

People keep banging on about falmer station being THE problem. Well how do other clubs manage and how many other clubs have a station more or less on the concourse?

Of course people may have to wait a while and of course trains will be crowded but it's hardly a long ride and it's been a bloody long wait for the stadium.

But how many of those clubs have NO on site parking for the majority? No-one really knows until it happens for real but surely you have to admit that it MAY turn out like Lewes on Bonfire night? With all of the transport consultants the club have hired I presume they have it in hand but it will be a concern until people see how it copes with a capacity crowd.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

People keep banging on about falmer station being THE problem. Well how do other clubs manage and how many other clubs have a station more or less on the concourse?

Of course people may have to wait a while and of course trains will be crowded but it's hardly a long ride and it's been a bloody long wait for the stadium.

Ever tried getting a train back to Waterloo fromTwickenham after an International? It's like being on one of those Japanese platforms where they shoehorn people in with sticks. Falmer station will be fine after a few teething problems.

Current P&R (from Mill Road at least) is brilliant. Can't see why the Albion won't get Falmer sorted to the same level.

 

[The Large One]

But how many of those clubs have NO on site parking for the majority? No-one really knows until it happens for real but surely you have to admit that it MAY turn out like Lewes on Bonfire night? With all of the transport consultants the club have hired I presume they have it in hand but it will be a concern until people see how it copes with a capacity crowd.

Who has 'no on-site parking for the majority'? Most clubs, I would think.

Within 400 yards of the stadium, there will be parking for about 2,250 cars - if I recall the figure correctly.

 

[Deleted User X18H]

Who has 'no on-site parking for the majority'? Most clubs, I would think.

Within 400 yards of the stadium, there will be parking for about 2,250 cars - if I recall the figure correctly.

That's the 1901 allocation though. Around 1/10th of the capacity.

 

[The Large One]

That's the 1901 allocation though. Around 1/10th of the capacity.

No it isn't.

 

[Deleted User X18H]

No it isn't.

Yes it is!