Football In The Community

[Guest North Street]

The general feeling seems to be that despite not gaining the three points most enjoyed the trip to Rushdene. I thought City could as pointed out learn from this club about stewarding , catering and security outside of the ground all of which then brings me around to thoughts of Severnside.How much does Nene Parks site actually detract from the day out as :-

i saw not one person walking to the ground [pretty obvious!]

there are no pubs

the lack of housing, communities, history and thus identity

If City are going to have something similar in mind i will probably sadly walk away after thirty years of continued suppport as i could not bring myself to having to experience similar to yesterday every two weeks. To me Ashton Gate is special because it exists in the community that grew with it. I recently watched England at Old Trafford which is special again because it is based in a "community" not in the equivalent of Cribbs Causeway.If City really have to go down the road of moving forget any talk of using Readings theme park as the standard to be followed.St Mary's now that is a ground!

[openEnd]

The general feeling seems to be that despite not gaining the three points most enjoyed the trip to Rushdene. I thought City could as pointed out learn from this club about stewarding , catering and security outside of the ground all of which then brings me around to thoughts of Severnside.How much does Nene Parks site actually detract from the day out as :-

i saw not one person walking to the ground [pretty obvious!]

there are no pubs 

the lack of housing, communities, history and thus identity

If City are going to have something similar in mind i will probably sadly walk away after thirty years of continued suppport as i could not bring myself to having to experience similar to yesterday every two weeks. To me Ashton Gate is special because it exists in the community that grew with it. I recently watched England at Old Trafford which is special again because it is based in a "community" not in the equivalent of Cribbs Causeway.If City really have to go down the road of moving forget any talk of using Readings theme park as the standard to be followed.St Mary's now that is a ground!

I wasn't at R&D yesterday, so can't comment on their ground.

Your point about out of town mechano stadia is spot on though.

You mention about the Madejski and as nice as it is, gimmee Ashton Gate everytime. Not necessarily for the facilities inside AG at present (cos they are below par in the 21st century) but for the whole day out. The 90 minutes football is ONLY part of the home game experience for me and the guys (and girls) I meet up with regularly.

The game itself is more the reason for meeting and having a few jars before and after the game. The same bunch of us once had a trip to Reading's new home by train and we had to get a taxi to the stadium from the nearest pub to the ground!It's not for me I'm afraid, not what the home game experience should be about, once a fortnight. A view I'm sure many others must share.

Ideal scenario from my point of view, redevelop AG.

Having said that my opposition to Severnside isn't a case of 'Stay at AG' at all costs, I understand redeveloment ain't cheap but any move to a new purpose built home must be within SOUTH BRISTOL. The St. Mary's example in Southampton being the perfect example of how it should be done, if we (the board) decide to go down that route.

[SimplyRed]

I agree with the point about maintaining a presence in the community.

I visited the Boleyn ground in Feb to see England lose to the Aussies, but what really impressed me was the way that West Ham have developed it.

It really is a fabulous stadium and one they can be extremely proud of.

The same goes for White Hart Lane, which I also visited this year.

These two grounds alone are a shining example of how existing facilities can be developed and remain in the community that spawned it.

Given the choice, I would really like to see the Gate developed along the lines of the plans that were published in the last year. A re-developed and integrated Williams and Wedlock stand would give us the perfect springboard to move our team into the 21st century and up the league ladder.