Redevelopment Closer Than Ever?

[The 12th Marquis of Sixfields]

Correct.

how come we didn't sell out the Fleetwood away end then

[The Rauldinho]

I’d actually turn sixfields into a giant casino and forget about the football
I’d have a giant roulette wheel where the centre circle is and fill the west stand concourse with fruit machines.
Some of the west stand rooms could be used for poker and the east stand could be knocked down for extra car parking.
Imagine sitting in the west stand betting on roulette while watching a giant roulette wheel in the centre circle.
You could knock down the north stand and build a stage there for bands to play and have concerts/betting all in one.
It’s the future.

I'd be up for this, at least it would be entertaining.

[guest168]

The town / NBC / fans might be more interested in 'buying in' to bonds etc if the owners of the club actually had a plan and focus on growth.

The town / Trust / NBC should be focussing on using that land for the best interests of Northampton not KT and a bit for NTFC if they are lucky.

It's time KT / NBC / Trust sorted it all out

I want KT to leave and hand his shares in to the Trust just like DC did for him. If he really needs his £150k back I might consider giving it to him myself, depending how much money he has already earned from that initial investment.

[meccanostand]

What the **** is your obsession with terracing...It's never going to be allowed back as court case this week went towards proving...As soon as we go up we'd have to knock the bloody thing down again..You really don't help yourself

What court case was this? We could build a standard terrace with provision for rail seating and or seats should needs be. Not sure why you would but it is possible.

The easiest and cheapest thing would be to install rail seat safe standing in the North and wherever else we wanted it.

[BedsCobb]

Explain "sell the club hard"

As an entertainment entity? Good luck with that

In its present guise, yes but Northampton town football club should be a name that stands alongside and equal  that of Ipswich Norwich Middlesbrough cardiff or Swansea etc.
If you have the hierarchy constantly  down playing our potential and many supporters believing it, it gets very hard to escape the downward spiral.
Had Thomas talked up the need for a 12k capacity stadium with 21st century facilities  2.5 years ago, then worked with the supporters and our catchment area, we wouldve been well on our way to achieving now but instead made excuses to avoid any redevelopment and now we're back to the basement and going further down.
We need a route map to achieving whats posible and not worring about the imposible.
Football is big business, its our national sport and sells well if you have the right product.

[BedsCobb]

how come we didn't sell out the Fleetwood away end then

I was among 5/600 others that made the long trip, that is many more than sat in the open seats at much nearer gillingham.
Lose your obsession with 'sell outs' an increase in visiting numbers and home support to a better ground is what we need.

[BedsCobb]

What the **** is your obsession with terracing...It's never going to be allowed back as court case this week went towards proving...As soon as we go up we'd have to knock the bloody thing down again..You really don't help yourself

Its our only hope of increasing the capacity in a sustainable way that excites those who we seek to attract in bigger numbers, our younger fans.
Theres no ban on new terracing that has a safety certificate, as seen at the saints.
Also note while we're at it, there is no 25 yo covenant stating Sixfields should not be redeveloped or any gypsie curse on us, though the latter does make me think.

[bri77]

Just as much as others love your pie in the sky 3k terrace business model.

You have absolutely no facts to back up your theory of more fans will attend because of a terrace so why don't you lose your obsession with the bank of terracing?

[guest2487]

I was among 5/600 others that made the long trip, that is many more than sat in the open seats at much nearer gillingham.
Lose your obsession with 'sell outs' an increase in visiting numbers and home support to a better ground is what we need.

I made the trip as I hadn't been there before and it was a huge game. Not because they had f***ing terracing.

[meccanostand]

When Beds talk about a bank of terracing is that for the home end or the away end? Why not just refer to the original plans and extend the South simply with seats as it was meant to?

[bri77]

When Beds talk about a bank of terracing is that for the home end or the away end? Why not just refer to the original plans and extend the South simply with seats as it was meant to?

I think it depends on the day of the week you are asking him, it has ranged from home fans to away fans to split with the two.

Exactly, extending the north and south as designed would add another 2 k to the capacity and I believe this would be a relatively inexpensive way of doing it.

[meccanostand]

I think it depends on the day of the week you are asking him, it has ranged from home fans to away fans to split with the two.

Exactly, extending the north and south as designed would add another 2 k to the capacity and I believe this would be a relatively inexpensive way of doing it.

You could extend the North according to the original designs, rail seat the existing tier and also extend the South with seats. This seems fairly sensible.

[WasRambo]

In its present guise, yes but Northampton town football club should be a name that stands alongside and equal  that of Ipswich Norwich Middlesbrough cardiff or Swansea etc.
If you have the hierarchy constantly  down playing our potential and many supporters believing it, it gets very hard to escape the downward spiral.
Had Thomas talked up the need for a 12k capacity stadium with 21st century facilities  2.5 years ago, then worked with the supporters and our catchment area, we wouldve been well on our way to achieving now but instead made excuses to avoid any redevelopment and now we're back to the basement and going further down.
We need a route map to achieving whats posible and not worring about the imposible.
Football is big business, its our national sport and sells well if you have the right product.

You are totally deluded. We're nowhere near any of those clubs in terms of achievement. I'm assuming you think we should be alongside them because we are similarly populated? Has the penny not dropped that being a large town does not entitle you to a decent team?

Talking up a 12k stadium is one thing, funding it another and filling it entirely different! How many L1 clubs get 12k week in week out? Historically we don't sell out 7600 every week, so what makes you think we will fill 12k?

Which brings us to the product. Football is the product and our product has been predominantly bargain basement for 50 years. Recognise and accept this. No point building a Hugo Boss shop and stocking it with Primark. That won't encourage custom, it will kill it.

Until we have a premium or grade 1 product to sell, no point over wrapping it

[guest168]

FFS Rambo how many times do we have to say that we cannot possibly keep / get the good team that you want. We have never had good facilities, hence why we are bottom division team. Something has to change.

We need aspiration to grow and develop, we have a large potential customer base who will support the club in the right circumstances and that means on and off the field. You need both, for the last 15 years we have only had investment ON the pitch, where has that gotten us?

[guest2487]

Didn't someone have a stat showing how much time we have spent in each division?

[cobblergaz59]

Its our only hope of increasing the capacity in a sustainable way that excites those who we seek to attract in bigger numbers, our younger fans.
Theres no ban on new terracing that has a safety certificate, as seen at the saints.
Also note while we're at it, there is no 25 yo covenant stating Sixfields should not be redeveloped or any gypsie curse on us, though the latter does make me think.

My apologies...It wasn't a court that decided it was the government 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43701400

[Manwork04]

When Beds talk about a bank of terracing is that for the home end or the away end? Why not just refer to the original plans and extend the South simply with seats as it was meant to?

This is the only solution

[guest1269]

This is the only solution

Of course it is - he constantly talks about a tin pot non league ground and then talks up a means to make it more tin pot - ffs it obvious first finish the horrendous east stand and hopefully get a bit more commercial revenue in - then if we can actually get a team that’s worth watching in higher numbers than 5-6k seats in the south and perhaps even seats in the north - there’s your 12,000 and frankly that’s the best anyone is likely to see in the next 20 years.

[The 12th Marquis of Sixfields]

I was among 5/600 others that made the long trip, that is many more than sat in the open seats at much nearer gillingham.
Lose your obsession with 'sell outs' an increase in visiting numbers and home support to a better ground is what we need.

You tell us that visiting fans will flock to Sixfields to sample the delights of standing up. Well, by that thinking, every ground with an away end that is terraced must sell out every match, surely?

Doesn't seem the case though, does it?

Personally, I think they're more likely to travel depending on how well their own side is performing and the distance involved but there you go.

[guest3114]

If we are talking off the top of the head dreams and plans for the future then possibly Bayern Munich have the best model in world football? Obviously on a much smaller scale perhaps this could be the future for clubs like us? The biggest disappointment for me has always been the level of support and/or involvement of locally based companies like Carlsberg, Barclaycard, Nationwide and Travis Perkins? Imagine a 51% majority share holding held by the supporters trust with a 49% shareholding by local businesses of the caliber of the aforementioned group?  I would imagine there would be significant public relations and promotional benefits for these businesses to be involved in a model like this? Never happen in a million years, but that would be my dream for the future?