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Post by northernmike on Jun 18, 2021 16:44:02 GMT
Ild like to see a roof over the railway end, i know its the away end.. but think that could look so smart
i get that it might cost abit thou lol !
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3330
Contributor
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Post by 3330 on Jun 18, 2021 17:21:22 GMT
Looks like new seats are going in the Cheadle End now. linkThe list of stadium upgrades grows month by month... so glad MS is the real deal |
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Post by timberwolf on Jun 19, 2021 7:53:19 GMT
Ild like to see a roof over the railway end, i know its the away end.. but think that could look so smart i get that it might cost abit thou lol ! like us to get promoted before any major improvements are done at EP and i realize its cheaper to get it done today as it would in a year or even two years time. |
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Post by Durango95 on Jun 19, 2021 19:27:00 GMT
Actually buzzing to see the CE seating being redone. It’s way overdue, they look knackered as you’d expect being 26 years old.
Fair play to Stott, the stand will be like new again by the start of the season.
I don’t envy the person/people painting the red blue though. Fair play to them.
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ut5
Newbie
Posts: 34
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Post by ut5 on Jun 19, 2021 21:21:20 GMT
Notice that the Danny banner has come down and the long scarf at the back. Hopefully being cleaned and not gone for good. Good to see new seating going in.
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Post by stonerose on Jun 19, 2021 21:26:45 GMT
Notice that the Danny banner has come down and the long scarf at the back. Hopefully being cleaned and not gone for good. Good to see new seating going in. I commented about the Danny banner looking filthy at the last game, if it's not going back up I'll have it back as I painted it for the last trip to Wembley. |
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Post by Bredburyhatter on Jun 19, 2021 21:35:27 GMT
Notice that the Danny banner has come down and the long scarf at the back. Hopefully being cleaned and not gone for good. Good to see new seating going in. I saw that the Flynny banner had come down too at the side of UT1.. hope that gets put up again. The Jim banner at the back of UT1 was removed too, but not suprised by that one, and understand why that may not be put back. |
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Post by Durango95 on Jun 19, 2021 23:57:42 GMT
They’re painting all the red framework blue, that’s why they’ll have been removed. They all need a clean too, no one maintained them, looked scruffy.
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Post by stevie57 on Jun 20, 2021 5:35:50 GMT
The work that has been done so far has obviously been long overdue - I think Simon Wilson described it as ‘cosmetic’ in the last interview with JK - but it certainly looks much better on the screens, and hopefully, the overall spectator experience will be improved as well; plus it has been almost universally well-received.
Lots of great ideas on here - many thoughtful and imaginative - but the last Co-op report for me from the meeting with the Club was a real dampener, in particular, with the uncertainty over the land around the Bungalow, Bowling Green, and Railway End which appears to be unresolved.
Additionally, with EP being owned by the Council - which was surely always intended as a short-term not long-term move - these two things together ie Stott owning neither EP, nor the land at the Railway End, just how much more can we realistically expect beyond the ‘cosmetic’ in the near future?
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Post by timberwolf on Jun 20, 2021 7:13:19 GMT
Additionally, with EP being owned by the Council - which was surely always intended as a short-term not long-term move - these two things together ie Stott owning neither EP, nor the land at the Railway End, just how much more can we realistically expect beyond the ‘cosmetic’ in the near future? one thing the club needs to do is keep the council on side for any future developments. being owned by the council should not be seen as detrimental to the club in the future. being council owned has certainly not put a break on ground developments at accrington. hartlepool also council owned have got major plans to redevelop their ground stand by stand over a 4 year period starting in 2022. |
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Post by edinburghhatter on Jun 20, 2021 7:36:22 GMT
The work that has been done so far has obviously been long overdue - I think Simon Wilson described it as ‘cosmetic’ in the last interview with JK - but it certainly looks much better on the screens, and hopefully, the overall spectator experience will be improved as well; plus it has been almost universally well-received. Lots of great ideas on here - many thoughtful and imaginative - but the last Co-op report for me from the meeting with the Club was a real dampener, in particular, with the uncertainty over the land around the Bungalow, Bowling Green, and Railway End which appears to be unresolved. Additionally, with EP being owned by the Council - which was surely always intended as a short-term not long-term move - these two things together ie Stott owning neither EP, nor the land at the Railway End, just how much more can we realistically expect beyond the ‘cosmetic’ in the near future? I'm not sure all the Cheadle end seats are actually being replaced: it may just be a case of fixing/replacing the broken ones. Complete replacement, while it would look great, would be about 4 times the cost of the Railway end work, and the CE seats actually look to be in much better shape than the old RE ones were. That's not surprising, as they've had a roof to keep the worst of the weather off them. But we'll see.
Painting the main roof girder blue (if that's what's going on) from a cherry-picker without removing all the seats below looks like a nightmare job to me, and I'm not sure it'll be able to reach everything anyway.
But clearly something is going on. It would (once again) be good if the club could proactively inform supporters of their intentions, especially as their earlier efforts at refurbishment seem to have met with 99.9% approval...
As for "how much more can we realistically expect?": could one way out of the log-jam of land ownership not be a County-Council partnership, with if necessary compulsory purchase of the land in question? Which would allow (at the very least) better access to the RE and the Pop side, and in turn make redevelopment on the club-owned land behind the Pop side much more feasible. Given that there appears to be general acceptance that EP should always remain as a sporting venue, and thus safe from other forms of development, it would seem only logical to make possible any necessary improvements and enhancements.
I'm not certain that actual ownership of the ground needs to be stumbling block: shared ownership, or even simply a secure, very long-term lease, would allow development to continue. And as I've said before, there's definitely enough room within the current EP footprint to get the capacity up from 10,800 to around 15,000. (How much more does the club need?!) But better access is an issue, and one which needs to be sorted out sooner rather than later, to the mutual benefit of the club, the Council and the local community. 
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Post by stalybridgehatter on Jun 20, 2021 7:59:18 GMT
Notice that the Danny banner has come down and the long scarf at the back. Hopefully being cleaned and not gone for good. Good to see new seating going in. I commented about the Danny banner looking filthy at the last game, if it's not going back up I'll have it back as I painted it for the last trip to Wembley. I love that Danny banner, always makes me feel a tad sad when I see it, but it's followed by a feeling of pride and happiness! |
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Post by tgttiw on Jun 20, 2021 8:05:27 GMT
The work that has been done so far has obviously been long overdue - I think Simon Wilson described it as ‘cosmetic’ in the last interview with JK - but it certainly looks much better on the screens, and hopefully, the overall spectator experience will be improved as well; plus it has been almost universally well-received. Lots of great ideas on here - many thoughtful and imaginative - but the last Co-op report for me from the meeting with the Club was a real dampener, in particular, with the uncertainty over the land around the Bungalow, Bowling Green, and Railway End which appears to be unresolved. Additionally, with EP being owned by the Council - which was surely always intended as a short-term not long-term move - these two things together ie Stott owning neither EP, nor the land at the Railway End, just how much more can we realistically expect beyond the ‘cosmetic’ in the near future? I'm not sure all the Cheadle end seats are actually being replaced: it may just be a case of fixing/replacing the broken ones. Complete replacement, while it would look great, would be about 4 times the cost of the Railway end work, and the CE seats actually look to be in much better shape than the old RE ones were. That's not surprising, as they've had a roof to keep the worst of the weather off them. But we'll see.
Painting the main roof girder blue (if that's what's going on) from a cherry-picker without removing all the seats below looks like a nightmare job to me, and I'm not sure it'll be able to reach everything anyway.
But clearly something is going on. It would (once again) be good if the club could proactively inform supporters of their intentions, especially as their earlier efforts at refurbishment seem to have met with 99.9% approval...
As for "how much more can we realistically expect?": could one way out of the log-jam of land ownership not be a County-Council partnership, with if necessary compulsory purchase of the land in question? Which would allow (at the very least) better access to the RE and the Pop side, and in turn make redevelopment on the club-owned land behind the Pop side much more feasible. Given that there appears to be general acceptance that EP should always remain as a sporting venue, and thus safe from other forms of development, it would seem only logical to make possible any necessary improvements and enhancements.
I'm not certain that actual ownership of the ground needs to be stumbling block: shared ownership, or even simply a secure, very long-term lease, would allow development to continue. And as I've said before, there's definitely enough room within the current EP footprint to get the capacity up from 10,800 to around 15,000. (How much more does the club need?!) But better access is an issue, and one which needs to be sorted out sooner rather than later, to the mutual benefit of the club, the Council and the local community.
If ep extension isn't feasible I think I'm in the minority who wouldn't be bothered about moving grounds. Providing the location is as good as ep. A town centre ground would work. It would kill castle street but could bring much needed footfall into the town centre. |
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Post by m14hatter on Jun 20, 2021 8:23:05 GMT
I think there’s still the space to make some upgrades to EP, just needs a bit of creative thinking.
As for a new ground, I really hope we don’t we go down that route. There isn’t a location available as good as EP.
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Post by edinburghhatter on Jun 20, 2021 8:48:58 GMT
If ep extension isn't feasible I think I'm in the minority who wouldn't be bothered about moving grounds. Providing the location is as good as ep. A town centre ground would work. It would kill castle street but could bring much needed footfall into the town centre. But EP extension is definitely feasible!
Even without the land behind the RE you could comfortably fit another 1000 on the Main stand side, maybe up to 1000 more on a completely rebuilt RE and at least 2000 more behind the Pop side. It would take some rather more ingenious solutions for access/egress, but it could certainly be done.
As for the land behind the RE, I'm not sure the Council necessarily would see its current state (a derelict clubhouse, and a former bowling green now used to store containers) as ideal uses, or indeed neighbours, for the new homes currently being built there.
I appreciate you wouldn't be bothered about moving. BUT (1) I seriously struggle to think of any town centre site remotely big enough to hold an expanded EP (and if it were not expanded, why even consider moving?) AND (2) I don't like to see unnecessary and pointless waste: EP has many years of life left if looked after properly AND (3) the obliteration of one of the UK's few remaining sizeable, traditional and characterful grounds (I won't call it iconic, because I think the word is over-used) would be an absolute crime. |
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