Redevelopment Closer Than Ever?

[Melbourne Cobbler]

Not when you are in a swimming pool

Or at the dentist, so a friend told me.

[TVOR]

The NHE was a great conceptual idea. Wasn't ground breaking but was along the lines of what we needed. They had done their research, got some CGI's (but we all know CGI's aren't acceptable  ) Got a financing company on board from memory and then threw their dummies out the pram when the club refused to do all the hard work.

THAT is the sort of thing the Trust should pick up and develop. Speak to local breweries about some sort of profit share, set up a Go Fund Me type page to see if their is appetite for the fans to contribute. More you give, the more you get. £50 gets your name on a giant board in the area. £500 gets you a free pint at every home game etc. If there is, great we all win. If there isnt then you proof that apathy is rife.

This sort of thing is perfect for the Trust with their current plight. Get it up and running and you are heroes again. Get it to a point to deliver and the club block it or make it impossible you have PROOF that they are the bad guys.

As I have posted before, good survey, now give us something tangible to get behind!


https://www.gofundme.com/en-gb/c/crowdfunding

[Observing]

I am sure the NHE had zero funding.

[Peter Frost]

Good post TVOR - people constantly state a town our size/catchment area should be operating at a higher level out of a bigger stadium- not unreasonable but what is unreasonable is expecting someone else to do all the heavy lifting.

Some of the old guard trust seem to think their primary objective is to hold the owner‘s to account - in reality they have very little power to do this and by taking that stance simply invite a cycle of conflict.

How refreshing it would be to see more effort on unification, less focus on who is right, less ego driven communication and taking initiatives as you describe.

[Terryfenwickatemyhamster]

Good post TVOR - people constantly state a town our size/catchment area should be operating at a higher level out of a bigger stadium- not unreasonable but what is unreasonable is expecting someone else to do all the heavy lifting.

Some of the old guard trust seem to think their primary objective is to hold the owner‘s to account - in reality they have very little power to do this and by taking that stance simply invite a cycle of conflict.

How refreshing it would be to see more effort on unification, less focus on who is right, less ego driven communication and taking initiatives as you describe.

Get ready for the "We have tried everything, but KT does not want to engage" retort. You have tried every to prove to him that you think you can do a better job. Without moving nothing more than your mouths.

Well said TVOR I could trawl back right to the days of Vintage posting on here, when we didn't see eye to eye on ways to generate co-operation and to effectively engage and galvanise the support. A lot of those posts raised similar stuff to what you are suggesting TVOR. It has to be that you stop clandestine meetings, and liaisons with third parties in an attempt to usurp the current owners, and you take a moralistic approach to gaining some recognition. The potential expansion of the ground lends itself ideally to something that will appeal to the support.

[Manwork04]

The NHE was a great conceptual idea. Wasn't ground breaking but was along the lines of what we needed. They had done their research, got some CGI's (but we all know CGI's aren't acceptable  ) Got a financing company on board from memory and then threw their dummies out the pram when the club refused to do all the hard work.

THAT is the sort of thing the Trust should pick up and develop. Speak to local breweries about some sort of profit share, set up a Go Fund Me type page to see if their is appetite for the fans to contribute. More you give, the more you get. £50 gets your name on a giant board in the area. £500 gets you a free pint at every home game etc. If there is, great we all win. If there isnt then you proof that apathy is rife.

This sort of thing is perfect for the Trust with their current plight. Get it up and running and you are heroes again. Get it to a point to deliver and the club block it or make it impossible you have PROOF that they are the bad guys.

As I have posted before, good survey, now give us something tangible to get behind!


https://www.gofundme.com/en-gb/c/crowdfunding

It needs to come from the club to make it official but so many clubs have improved their infrastructure by means of a bond or buy a brick schemes, AFC Wimbledon, Stevenage and Coventry City are examples.
Unfortunately the current custodian has zero interest expanding the stadium FACT.

[west stand oap]

My granddaughter went to the Football Aid match at Stamford Bridge last night and said the pitch was worse than Sixfields. Perhaps have a report on Anfield after she has been to see Taylor Swift next Saturday.

[Terryfenwickatemyhamster]

It needs to come from the club to make it official but so many clubs have improved their infrastructure by means of a bond or buy a brick schemes, AFC Wimbledon, Stevenage and Coventry City are examples.
Unfortunately the current custodian has zero interest expanding the stadium FACT.

If you suggest an intention to do something, coupled with the vast majority of the support on board. You would come from a very strong position in terms of the collective power of persuasion. We can always put it forward via the Supporters advisory group. If the Trust are willing to front it UNCONDITIONALLY.

[Tabasco Kid]

Todays Trust drivel.
https://www.facebook.com/ntfcsupporterstrust

And a bit of copy and paste:


Today our infrastructure survey results focus on the priorities around improving Sixfields stadium.
The survey was held to consider infrastructure improvement priorities and possibilities at Sixfields Stadium beyond the completion of the East Stand, due to be finished early next year.
30 per cent of Trust members would choose to round off the stadium and fill the corners in and then looking more closely at North Stand expansion.
With the survey broadened out to all Cobblers fans, the resulting priorities were the same.
In terms of a stadium quick fix, 59 per cent of Trust members would welcome a tidy up of the stadium footprint and the surrounding area.
Cobblers fans more widely favoured this option but here the vote was 42 per cent.
Next up was fitting out the stadium with new seats to complement those already in the North Stand.
But how would all this be paid for?
Fan funding options were also surveyed and these will be discussed next week.

[BackOfTheNet]

If you suggest an intention to do something, coupled with the vast majority of the support on board. You would come from a very strong position in terms of the collective power of persuasion. We can always put it forward via the Supporters advisory group. If the Trust are willing to front it UNCONDITIONALLY.

Given recent form, if the Trust were to tell me they were fronting a social event, had found a venue within a beer factory and hired an experienced event planner to coordinate things then I still wouldn't trust them with a penny of my money as they will only manage to land the planner with a huge legal bill and burn down the venue.

[Monkey]

Todays Trust drivel.
https://www.facebook.com/ntfcsupporterstrust

And a bit of copy and paste:


Today our infrastructure survey results focus on the priorities around improving Sixfields stadium.
The survey was held to consider infrastructure improvement priorities and possibilities at Sixfields Stadium beyond the completion of the East Stand, due to be finished early next year.
30 per cent of Trust members would choose to round off the stadium and fill the corners in and then looking more closely at North Stand expansion.
With the survey broadened out to all Cobblers fans, the resulting priorities were the same.
In terms of a stadium quick fix, 59 per cent of Trust members would welcome a tidy up of the stadium footprint and the surrounding area.
Cobblers fans more widely favoured this option but here the vote was 42 per cent.
Next up was fitting out the stadium with new seats to complement those already in the North Stand.
But how would all this be paid for?
Fan funding options were also surveyed and these will be discussed next week.

I still don't see the relevance of these surveys. Who are they actually for?
I can only assume the purpose is for the Trust to send to the club to then try to beat them with a stick with when they inevitably ignore it all?

Please just accept the Trust in it's current form is done, it's painful to watch.

[TVOR]

It needs to come from the club to make it official but so many clubs have improved their infrastructure by means of a bond or buy a brick schemes, AFC Wimbledon, Stevenage and Coventry City are examples.
Unfortunately the current custodian has zero interest expanding the stadium FACT.

Respectfully disagree. In a world where the Trust and the Club have a professional relationship, then this sort of this should be possible. It would need engagement from both sides and a professional relationship but no reason why there couldn't be a joint ownership.

Club provide land and bar staff, Trust / Fans pay for marquees, 3 beer pumps, TV's, sound systems etc. A % is kept in a Trust bank account to cover maintenance etc and any profits go to the academy, women's team, tickets for armed forces, tickets for Ukrainian kids etc.

Probably a much better way of doing things but just 'thinking' out loud. Must be some clubs with a similar model.

Easier said than done etc but first step for me... dust down the NHE plans, modify to East stand maybe and set up a crowdfunding and see what appetite there is.
Where's Tony gone 

[BedsCobb]

The irony is if they did expand the North stand as he demands, Beds would no longer be able to see over the top of it while watching from the hill.   

The South stand first as ntfc lose £500,000 per L1 season in lost ticket sales..
The North can be done later.

Yes I know Thomas doesn't want our players freezing should Sixfields get more vociferous...
So we'll just have to make do with a warehouse carpark and it's service rd.

[Shoemaker]

I still don't see the relevance of these surveys. Who are they actually for?
I can only assume the purpose is for the Trust to send to the club to then try to beat them with a stick with when they inevitably ignore it all?

Please just accept the Trust in it's current form is done, it's painful to watch.

I agree with this
The club couldn’t make it any clearer that they won’t engage with the trust and have given the reasons why on more than one occasion.
The club also gave the reasons in a written response so that the trust could publish to their members and thus the wider fanbase.

It begs the question , what is the point?
Are the results going to be sent to the saints, Tesco , Morrisons , rishi sunak , Peter Kay?
The one organisation that they need to go to are Northampton town football club and the old gang of trust members still can’t accept or grasp that they are no longer part of any process.

A new concept and board has been set up to replace them and they are having input with the club instead.

Nothing the old gang says is going to be taken on board or replied to as was made clear in the letter they were sent.

Why is it so hard to acknowledge that position?

[BedsCobb]

In a nutshell. I find it inconceivable the degree of arrogance that some people display on here, and other social media platforms. They have been spoon fed by a culture that insists that owners should dip into their own finances to satisfy some "supporters" sense of entitlement. Can you imagine how it would look to someone on the outside if you just highlighted the behaviour of the two biggest mouths about the club. Beds and Duston.

What would you like? We want a championship level stadium. Who's going to pay for it? The owners. What guarantee have they got of seeing a return of their cash? None. Most don't get a return. Is it because it's spoiling your matchday experience? I don't go to games WHAT THE ACTUAL FCUK 🤣🤣🤣

I have never wanted or expected Thomas to spend a single penny of his/their own money...
But I want NTFC to use that vast £5.8m that belongs to the club to improve the stadium to be able to trade correctly as a L1 club..
10,000 capacity by extending the south by 2500 with the 10 boxes squeezed into the tiny east stand would be great.
But the horses arse that's appearing behind the East is cause for great concern.
We don't need a service rd or warehouse carparking hemming in the stadium.
You do realise once this disaster plays out, NTFC will be looking to build whole new ground to help it get a minimum requirement of 12000 in order to reach the championship.

Its clear to me that you, Melbourne and the others banging the drum for the speculators, have realised we've been properly mugged off and are now too proud to back down...
Enjoy your warehouse service rd, its carparking and maybe the 10 boxes coming in at an eye watering £5,800,000...
Well done you guys . 

[Terryfenwickatemyhamster]

Of course. All of this could be resolved by the current Trust board doing what shout have happened after the JR outcome. Resigning, and allowing fresh blood to come in and establish a new rapport with the club. But that would require insight into their part in the breakdown of the relationship between them and the club. And a willingness to allow others to succeed where they have not..

[TVOR]

The South stand first as ntfc lose £500,000 per L1 season in lost ticket sales..

At the risk of not being clear, its an absolutely bat s*** crazy f***ing mental shoot yourself in the dick idea to give away teams more fans and help them build a better atmosphere.
Really dont get it. For the sake of a few quid, give them less seats, the stale out of date pies and the dregs in the barrel. Its a football team not a f***ing red carpet black tie event.
If I still sit sound like I am sitting on the fence.... f*** em.

[Terryfenwickatemyhamster]

I have never wanted or expected Thomas to spend a single penny of his/their own money...
But I want NTFC to use that vast £5.8m that belongs to the club to improve the stadium to be able to trade correctly as a L1 club..
10,000 capacity by extending the south by 2500 with the 10 boxes squeezed into the tiny east stand would be great.
But the horses arse that's appearing behind the East is cause for great concern.
We don't need a service rd or warehouse carparking hemming in the stadium.
You do realise once this disaster plays out, NTFC will be looking to build whole new ground to help it get a minimum requirement of 12000 in order to reach the championship.

Its clear to me that you, Melbourne and the others banging the drum for the speculators, have realised we've been properly mugged off and are now too proud to back down...
Enjoy your warehouse service rd, its carparking and maybe the 10 boxes coming in at an eye watering £5,800,000...
Well done you guys . 

I presume you realise that land would have gone to another property developer no matter what. The Trust enacted the ACV and failed to secure any meaningful funds to do anything with it. At that point, had it not gone to the current owners, it would have been sold to another developer. So as I have said over and over. The council were our only saving grace. They could have put anything they liked on the land. They could have sold it and invested further into the asset that THEY own. No amount of howling at the moon by you and a few others changes who is to blame for where we are. I will not hold any resentment towards the owners, unless they fail to complete the East stand. Unless of course you can highlight another promise that they have made, and are yet to fulfil.  

As for me being "mugged off". It would require of me to have stated anything past what I said, and was completely right about. You are very much a johnny come lately compared to my prediction within hours of the club being taken over. That nothing would happen without the land.

[Winslow Lee]

The South stand first as ntfc lose £500,000 per L1 season in lost ticket sales..
The North can be done later.

I don’t disagree that I’d like to see the South stand have an increased capacity but that figure is absolutely ridiculous!
Looking at average away followings last year 5 teams averaged over 1,200
Reading 1,278
Wigan 1,325
Bolton 1,528
Portsmouth 1,554
Derby 2,265
I appreciate that is only a rough benchmark for potential lost ticket sales but I just don’t see where you get £500,000.

[tcobb]

They are Beds pie in the sky figures, to return £500,000  all the away teams would have needed to bring 900 extra fans, considering that the away end was not sold out for every game that would take some doing. I'm all for expanding the ground, but the North Stand would be the first port of call.