The Large One
Who's Next?
Unlikely. 1570 P&R spaces would cater for 5,495 (at 3.5 per car). Let's add another 1,000 for walk-ups.
Still short.
Hire the buses (at vastly higher costs) from the company that has already said it can't offer buses...?
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Non Boxing Day football [moved to Tue. December 18th]
- Thread starter Freddie Goodwin.
- Start date
Unlikely. 1570 P&R spaces would cater for 5,495 (at 3.5 per car). Let's add another 1,000 for walk-ups.
Still short.
Hire the buses (at vastly higher costs) from the company that has already said it can't offer buses...?
If the drivers contracts state that they don't have to work xmas day and boxing day then why should they unless for they're getting overtime. Not sure many people would go to work on their day off just to get you and me to a football match, then sit around for 3 hours so they can take you back to your car. The club could on this occassion hire buses at additional cost bearing in mind they have collected an extra £30 from season ticket holders for the service but disappointing this wasn't picked up and sorted earlier!!!
Lord Bracknell
On fire
We still haven't quite worked out what we're complaining about.
Is it that the Boxing Day fixture might be moved, to ensure that as many people as possible can get to the game?
Or is it that the Boxing Day fixture might not be moved, thus making it difficult for lots of people to get to the game?
Is it that the Boxing Day fixture might be moved, to ensure that as many people as possible can get to the game?
Or is it that the Boxing Day fixture might not be moved, thus making it difficult for lots of people to get to the game?
Bit of both I think. You could sum it up by saying people are complaining about the 'necessary stupidity' of building an out-of-town stadium heavily reliant on public transport in a country with inadequate/patchy public transport.
Hire the buses (at vastly higher costs) from the company that has already said it can't offer buses...?
If, has been suggested, Boxing Day is outside of the current contract, I'm sure this is little more than the starting point for negotiations. Roger French's mob is a commercial business and I very much doubt he will turn down an offer for his buses to run. It might be more expensive than usual, but that's life. If I get a taxi on Boxing Day it will be more than usual. It was a bit of a pain but it was achieved.
That said, there are other bus companies which I am sure could step in. I have been to plenty of festivals over the years where they hire fleets of buses from all over the place to shuttle people from the nearest train station to the site. And the rail companies seem to be able to hire fleets of buses often at very short notice when the trains screw up. I recall the o2 in London had a similar issue when the jubilee line was closed for upgrades for the Metallica gig a few years ago. This venue is very remote, and of a similar-ish size to the AMEX but they developed a transport strategy utilising all manner of ideas to get people to and from the venue.
As a one off this is inconvenient and will need everyone to play their part but it is do-able. Someone once said we could not build on the Downs. We overcame that hurdle; we can certainly pull this off.
I'm complaining that we'll always have to play away on Boxing Day meaning that it'll always be difficult to get to.
Tooting Gull
Well-known member
- Jul 5, 2003
- 11,033
The bottom line is we shouldn't even be discussing not being able to carry out a Boxing Day home fixture, it makes us look tin-pot and will rightly piss both the League and other clubs off. Any travel/transport plan should have taken that day into account (it is quite a well known football day), and not ignored it.
If it's true there is no contract for buses on Boxing Day, truly I despair of whoever it is making these decisions. Seriously, it's a joke. There must have been a meeting where someone said 'Right, Boxing Day games, no trains, we'd better make sure the bus thing is nailed down in the contract for the P&Rs'.
If the buses cost a bit more that day, the club has to stump up. That is just a price of building where they have. In the grand scheme of things, quite a small price, but a necessary one.
Seriously, is there anyone who would disagree with what Tooting says here? We have to be able to host Boxing Day matches, end of story.
I agree with Tooting but as yet haven't seen any evidence that either the match has been moved ( or indeed will be moved ) or that the club haven't planned for transport that day. This thread is currently lots of hot air about something that hasn't happened !
1. Exhibit A: Darren Balkham on The Albion Roar all but said the game wouldn't be played on Boxing Day.
2. Exhibit B: The club's statement this week: Brighton and Hove Albion | News | Latest News | Latest News | Boxing Day 2012: Albion v Millwall It doesn't take much reading between the lines that the Albion do not want the game to go ahead as scheduled, whilst other parties do.
Agree. It looks rather tin-pot and defeatist IMHO.
What's amusing me is those with absolutely no professional experience in this matter seem only able to trot out "how difficult can it be..." type lines.
If there were any difficulty at all, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
If there were any difficulty at all, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Have you mentioned how this wouldn't happen in Germany yet?
Not me, [MENTION=47]Tooting Gull[/MENTION] is spot on.
Titus
Come on!
I blame Ashley Barnes.
Gazwag
5 millionth post poster
Are there really only 1,570 P&R spaces, not that I'm disputing your quote, but I always thought there would be many more than that, Mill Road for example seems massively long when you drive up it.
The Large One
Who's Next?
Pinkie Brown
Wir Sind das Volk
I don't think anyone thinks the situation is easy to solve. Thanks to the failure of the bus & train companies to supply matchday transportation this coming Boxing Day, the club have a major logistical headache that isn't of their making, to try & sort out, one way or the other.
When I say "isn't of their making" - I'm assuming nobody involved in the drawing of the contract on the clubs side has made a balls up in the wording, which allows Brighton Buses to squirm out of providing a service on Public Holidays?
I'm certainly not underestimating the challenge of holding the Boxing Day game. Its going to be a pain in the arse to solve, BUT, in my opinion, its not impossible to find a solution.
As a side issue: I was told yesterday by somebody who I would describe of sound mind & not a Billy Bullshitter type: The Railways Companies receive a subsidy from the Government to run trains on Boxing Day, BUT, its actually cheaper to pay the fine for not running the trains rather than operate a service!
Anyone 'in the know' care to shed some light as to if there is any truth in that statement? If (?) true, maybe the level of fine needs to be reviewed?