DrillingCobbler
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Im not going to say what I think of what is happening at the moment because frankly, until I've seen the new look stadium, what we've got for our money etc...its very difficult to judge anything. For instance, IF these improvements are going to generate a significant revenue stream over and above board more seats in the next 2 - 3 years then thats fine by me. Obviously I have major doubts that this will be the case in real terms, however I just want to see the season out first and thats quite frankly the only thing Im concerned about in the next 2 - 3 weeks....football league survival.
Moving on from that though, it is my belief that unless we ever get a decent sized stadium (i.e. 12000 plus) we are never going to become a seriously league1 player let alone a championship one. The reason I say this is because its the 'big games' that pull in new supporters. For instance, how many of my generation still support NTFC on the back of the Carr glory spell? Or even the spell under Atkins?
Look at it this way. We get roughly 4-4500 home fans at a game. When we get a big game that figure can only currently go up to around 6000. So at most you are getting the current hardcore swelled by the '2-5' game a season fan. You will see this when we play Pompey and Oxford. So there is very little opportunity to pull in any new fans.
Net result...we are never going to grow our fan base! On the other hand, if we had a ground that held 12000 plus, when we do play a big game it can be pay on the gate, those 'new fans' will know they will get in, creative marketing could double our season ticket sales (aka Bradford), give tickets to all the schools EVERY WEEK on the basis that they have to come in with a paying adult. Theres loads of initiatives that could be employed to build up the fan base.
With the capacity going up to just 8-8500, we are still in the status quo that we currently are. Its just not big enough to make any in-roads. But like I said above, I want to see exactly what we are getting before making any rash judgements and slating DC all over the internet.
In the meantime, all roads lead to Wycombe...
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JollyCobbler
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Good post, Drilling. I am sure I read an interview with David Mackintosh, in which he stated the club had been given the loan because they couldn't compete without a capacity of 10,000, and the creation of other revenue streams. As it stands, with the addition of several hundred corporate seats, we could actually end up with no increased capacity for regular fans. I think the club needs to make a proper statement, because the stuff blurted out on Radio Northampton did little to paint a clear picture
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NaggerPagger
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IMO there wont be any more seats built in the near future but if the redevelopment means we are self financing and clears debt from the club then this cant be bad. If that is the case it will mean we will be in a far better place than we ever have although not playing in the stadium I'd hoped for.
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Vintage Cobbler
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I think we are all trying to look through Cardoza's opaque office window. Until he makes a clear statement on the subject on the OS it is difficult to make out exactly what's happenning and then if past experience is anything to go by he will change his mind again. I'm afraid this latest episode from the Chairman's office shows unclear thinking and lack of planning.
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guest49
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I'd be happy if they replaced all existing seats with padded ones. Makes a world of difference on the farmers. Joking aside, quite a few of the new developments are fully padded, which in itself improves the viewing experience.
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Deepcut Cobbler
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That's a bit of a 'U' turn?
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“They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.” Laurence Binyon
The Hotelend Grand National Sweepstake Champion 2009
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sbedscobb
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This could be a case of non Cobblers supporting Project managers and financial directors brought it to over see the spend, done some number crunching and found it more profitable to concentrate on the hotel build so completely missing the point and disregarding The Towns football club and its supporters by leaving no funds for the Stadium?
This could be total pie in the sky, but its the only thing that could possibly explain all the covert deviations from what we were promised and why Northampton Town FC is now not getting the promised stadium expansion.
Maybe local journos could help put some flesh on the bones and help stop all this speculation.
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Coolcat
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But, more importantly, an expanded stadium signals the intention of the club to progress itself.
Darlington
No, Wigan, Reading, Rotherham, Doncaster, Swansea, Brighton, Chesterfield...ad lib to fade! If DC has reneged on the capacity of the East Stand being increased by another tier and now planning a 400 increase only then as has been posted by some already, shocking lack of ambition and yet again DC promising and not delivering! Not sure how he can reply (e mail) in the vein of no, we're all wrong and nothing has changed if the capacity is to only be increased to 8000!
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JollyCobbler
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I emailed David Cardoza about a few of the rumours flying around, he's happy for me to share his response...
Below is my initial email and then his response...
Hello,
I just wanted to pop an email to yourself and firstly say how impressed I was by your interview this week, the one about everyone pulling together. I couldn't agree more, lots of stuff has been said over the past few weeks (myself included) but I think the time has come to put everything to one side and really unite to try and help the boys get enough points to stay in the Football League.
Chris Wilder has done a fantastic job so far, under what have been very difficult circumstances. Mr Boothroyd left us in a pretty horrific position and it's huge kudos to Wilder that we are still in with a real shot of survival.
All fans have their thoughts and opinions but I think it's important to remember everybody wants the same thing, the best for the club.
I've read so much waffle on message boards over the past few days, specifically about the redevelopment saga and I think lots of fans have hidden agendas in their comments towards yourself, the club and the process.
I was just hoping you could clarify a couple of items that seem to have been started by the rumour mill...mainly about the redevelopment.
Will there still be an extended supporters bar?
Am I right to think that the conference centre will now be linked to the West Stand? The hotel also?
Also I believe we are looking at boxes in both the East and West stand with slightly less boxes?
I presume/hope we have an option to increase seating in the stands behind the goals?
Personally I can understand that plans change and I think originally you wanted the West as the main stand still and now it seems that is possible.
Would appreciate an answer but understand you probably get hundreds of random emails.
Here's to hoping for three points tomorrow and the road to safety!
Up The Cobblers.
Many Thanks
Neil
*******
Hi Neil
Thanks for getting in touch. These are stressful times for all of us apart from the person that put us here in his well paid job coaching our country’s future stars! Chris is a breath of fresh air and I have no doubts that we will be in and around the top 7 places next season in League 2. I have seen some of the comments on the site and I have to say some of the comments are shocking - having spent million of pounds keeping us afloat and to have finally got us to the stage where we will become self sufficient and be able to sustain a very decent wage bill in the coming years I would have expected better.
The upshot is nothing has fundamentally changed with the development except we are moving the conference centre , which will be connected to the west stand and probably the hotel, and we will have less additional seating in the east as we will build some boxes and corporate facilities in the west - we only have a finite amount to spend.
Your questions:
Will there still be an extended supporters bar? Yes - there will be a home and away bar in the west . A large kiosk/bar in the concourse of the east stand and one possibly two bars within the stand.
Am I right to think that the conference centre will now be linked to the West Stand? The hotel also? Yes for both
Also I believe we are looking at boxes in both the East and West stand with slightly less boxes? 10 - 14 boxes in the east stand - no change there and 3 - 4 large boxes in the west stand which are additional from previous plans.
I presume/hope we have an option to increase seating in the stands behind the goals? Yes definitely when needed.
Any other questions please just ask
Up the Cobblers!
All the best David
Only just spotted this. I'm assuming Duncan posted it as a tongue in cheek wind-up, and that DC's reply is also fabricated. Leastways, I hope so
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HertsCobbler
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The West Stand plans are now on-line on the Council Website.
- raised directors box / exec area - middle part of concourse extended back to provide three rooms at back - in effect chopping concourse in half - lots of work on ground floor - looks like the bar is extended into the current boardroom - club shop replaces the players lounge - ticket office replaced by gym / treatmentroom
In effect this looks to be replacing the areas lost downstairs.
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Alfred
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Nice one .. Can you post a link
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DuncanSpeddingsLeftFoot
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Only just spotted this. I'm assuming Duncan posted it as a tongue in cheek wind-up, and that DC's reply is also fabricated. Leastways, I hope so Sadly not.
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sbedscobb
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Cardoza acknowledged 10 years ago that 7600 capacity is not enough for a town of 220,000 and its too small to promote the club to the town and county also wont get us a or sustain a double promotion campaign, so what has changed? We needed the extra capacity years ago bit 10 years of promises and pleas for patience he gets a Directors box and we what for our council loan of £12,000,000? Jack shiit by the look of it. Going no where anytime soon, and if anyone thinks capacity will be 'added on as and when' is deluded, this was our one and only chance and we've blown it.
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Razor
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Going no where anytime soon, and if anyone thinks capacity will be 'added on as and when' is deluded, this was our one and only chance and we've blown it.
Sadly this truth seems to be sinking in. A spade is a spade afterall...
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betamax toploader
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The West Stand plans are now on-line on the Council Website.
- raised directors box / exec area - middle part of concourse extended back to provide three rooms at back - in effect chopping concourse in half - lots of work on ground floor - looks like the bar is extended into the current boardroom - club shop replaces the players lounge - ticket office replaced by gym / treatmentroom
In effect this looks to be replacing the areas lost downstairs.
Planning application N/2014/0388 only mentions an extension to the existing face of the west stand, for directors boxes. Where are you getting the other bits from please?
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To baldly go where no Betamax has gone before...
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guest49
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Read more: http://www.northampton-news-hp.co.uk/News/Northampton-News/Northampton-Town-football-club-reduces-planned-capacity-of-Sixfields-stadium-from-10000-to-8500-20140414131253.htm#ixzz2ytr2kQeK“The development will include a brand new east stand with additional capacity, a significantly enhanced west stand, hotel and conference centre. All generating income for the club and giving our supporters a better match day experience with brand new seats and better eating and drinking facilities.” Yay, I might be getting my padded seat afterall. So, with so much confusion, do we pay (and therefore own) the new hotel? Or presumably a chunk of the original £12m gets paid straight back by the hotel company? I know it's been said but £12m doesn't seem to be stretching far, especially as any remediation on the ground footprint is already done. Having said that, the hotel will be costing a fair old whack. For less than £20m you can get a new ground from scratch. It puts into context what a flat pack stadium Sixfields was in the first place. Allowing for inflation it cost the equivalent of £10m to build from scratch, which would have included shifting hundreds of tonnes of muck to get the site ready. Anyway, the first rule of the ground redevelopment is you do not talk about ground redevelopment......
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Wolvo
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Anyway, the first rule of the ground redevelopment is you do not talk about ground redevelopment......
Do you mind clarifying the second rule of the ground redevelopment?
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Pink Army!
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guest49
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Do you mind clarifying the second rule of the ground redevelopment?
I think these are the full rules. The first rule of the ground redevelopment is: You do not talk about the ground redevelopment. The second rule of the ground redevelopment is: You do not talk about the ground redevelopment. Third rule of the ground redevlopment: Someone yells "where did the £12m go?", questions the plans or dares to ask questions, then extra seats go. Fourth rule: only one guy is in control. Fifth rule: two stands at a time, fellas. Sixth rule: no shirts (for sale in the clubshop). Seventh rule: Ground redevelopment will go on as long as it has to. And the eighth and final rule: If this is your first ground redevelopment, we reserve the right to make the rules up as we go along. Although I haven't seen them in writing.
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HertsCobbler
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Planning application N/2014/0388 only mentions an extension to the existing face of the west stand, for directors boxes. Where are you getting the other bits from please?
By looking at the plans - there is one for each floor.
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