Redevelopment Closer Than Ever?

[JollyCobbler]

I think fans that don't see growth as a possibility are the ones that are happy just to go and watch the cobblers irrespective of how well we are doing and whatever league we are in. They can then attempt to lord it over anyone that would like to see a sustained period of expansion, if there are more fans it's harder to claim they are the best.

Oh yes. let's not forget there are some around here, who consider themselves superfans, and who are positively lauding the merits of relegation to the conference

[bri77]

Have you not read the comments about us being the biggest club in the conference, biggest budget, biggest away following and how we'd win more than we lose etc

I loved it when we were playing teams like man city, Leeds, Leicester and forest in league one but how much better would it be to be playing them because we are growing and improving rather than relying on them to be failing and without ambition the best we could ever hope for would be what Yeovil have achieved (and that's not looking likely)

[sbedscobb]

I can only assume that the local press have also been promised a Cardoza style 'box in the sky' to keep them warm on a cold night, as they have remained very tight lipped on the Chairmans broken promise of a decent east stand as shown in the drawings and not the sh1te he's now stealthily presenting.

[clarkeysntfc]

The local press know that if they write anything overly investigative or critical then Cardoza will have them banned. See Morecambe/Gary Johnson resignation story. Therefore it's too risky for the local press to risk alienating a major source of readership for them.

[Vintage Cobbler]

That may be true and local journalism is often an inferior product when it comes to investigations. However, an article based on FACTS would be a starting point and then we can begin to ask the questions the local journalists are banned from asking DC by their bosses.

I for one am totally confused as to what is happening and when and what is going into the East Stand and West Stand respectively.  DC seems to have made significant changes to his published plans at a time when our minds are on the relegation battle, a tactic taken from the manual of our political classes.  In DC we trust?

[Deepcut Cobbler]

DC has acknowledged the concerns of the fans regarding the re-development, most recently in the match day programme.  He has released his latest update, which have been fairly regular, in a limited fashion and I suspect not unintentionally.  He could have revealed a lot more but for whatever reason he chose not to.
What makes you think that he will reveal anymore if he is questioned by the local hack?  He doesn't need to because he has his own media outlet(s) which he does use.
The way he is approaching this could be from a completely different angle from the voluble posters on here are.  I believe that whatever he is intending to do will eventually be for the good and benefit of NTFC however long and down whatever route, including diversions, that that will take us.
As I said, he has acknowledged the concerns but doesn't believe that he needs or wants to publicise any further detail just yet.  There maybe a justifiable reason why he hasn't?

[guest48]

I can only assume that the local press have also been promised a Cardoza style 'box in the sky' to keep them warm on a cold night, as they have remained very tight lipped on the Chairmans broken promise of a decent east stand as shown in the drawings and not the sh1te he's now stealthily presenting.

I've asked this before , but where does this "Boxes in the sky" come from ? I think I'm correct in saying that the only thing we have seen about the East Stand is the artists impression and that , officially , there has been no drastic changes to this or have I missed something?

[DuncanSpeddingsLeftFoot]

He's obsessed with stilts and boxes in the sky Barton, I'd ignore him but he's very persistent. If you shout about something for long enough then people start to believe it and presume it is true.

[DrillingCobbler]

This I don't believe has ever been discussed...how much does DC think he will make out of say 16 boxes? In league2 or the conference...

I would strongly argue that all that will happen is that the businesses that do take them up will simply be redistributing their current spend with NTFC. For example, if a local business spends 2 grand on advertising boards, are they not just likely to spend that money on a box for a couple of games instead?

I am really struggling to see how boxes are going to make much difference at this level. Even IF each box generated 10k a season, thats only 160k. Then you've got to feed the guests etc, staff them. And as I say, companies will not increase their marketing budget with us just because we've got boxes, they will just do them instead of something else in the main.

Of course big businesses in the town would get involved but thats only realistically if we got to minimum of championship level.

I am also struggling to see how they will be hired out at will during the week. Conference centre..yeah, I get that. Hotel, ditto. But this obsession with boxes I believe is very very short sighted. It will not make hardly any cash in the short term and I would argue that a bigger capacity would generate more short term revenue in the odd game where we would sell more tickets (e.g. Pompey and Oxford). An extra 2000 people in a big away end = about 30k for starters. And you haven't got the associated costs to service it.

So I ask the question to all you 'box lovers'....hows it gonna benefit us?

[bri77]

I am confident that the boxes will bring in much needed extra revenue but the potential for just a couple of larger attendances per season with an increased capacity could be just as valuable. That's why Id like to see them both developed together and not one instead of the other.

[A view from the east]

To grow a fan base you need the ability to accommodate them. We (the club) should be promising low cost ticket deals (for next season) to students, under 21's, schools: Anything at all to fill the ground with fans, and create a cauldron to help carry the team forward over the next few years.
Get them interested while they're young, and a percentage will always remain loyal to the club. And if 'Success promotes growth' is the God policy, then how come so many others have prospered with the boon of additional capacity?
The argument about unneeded extra space and the waste of funding it now, is flawed. Going by this logic it will never be worth the cost of expanding the ground, as it will always require an upfront funding. However, the funding is currently in place, so shouldn't we use it for the purpose it was borrowed?
It was borrowed because we needed additional capacity, and revenue streams, to prosper. Remember?

Dont disagree with any of that Jolly but its worth asking the question that if the redevelopment had gone ahead at the start of DC's tenure would we be anywhere different to where we are now ? Would we still be sitting in the lower reaches of L2 staring at row upon row of empty seats ? Yes the money is there now but its a loan not a gift and it needs to be spent wisely because someone has got to pay it back. Not totally convinced by the revenue stream argument either , is there any guarantee that any profits from houses , hotel , or conference centre will come back into the club ? Like any other supporter I would love to see us playing to a packed stadium in the championship every week but while this regime is in charge I doubt there will ever be enough investment in the team to realise that.
At this moment the redevelopment is a real distraction , all I want is to be sitting in some version of Sixfields watching league football next season.

[Deepcut Cobbler]

There are a lot of people with too much time on their hands worrying about something that they do not have all of the facts working on rumours, are not intimately involved in, have no financial liability towards the loan and/or expenditure and should concentrate on supporting the team that appears on the park week in and week out throughout the season.
If you want to get involved, speak to DC and offer your services, I am sure that he would welcome your constructive advice about where he is going wrong because discussing this on here is actually getting you nowhere and is boring me now.

[cricketside]

I love it when I read on here "cauldron" and similar words. It reminds me of when I was young and hopeful; I envy some of you, but call it naivety now, not hope.

[guest49]

I think DC has too much time on his hands, reading what people have to say who have too much time on their hands. Maybe he should have concentrated on the team on the park to address why the team is in such a mess in the first place. 
To be fair it is helping, as the noise clearly triggered his latest communication and the fans support for the team has been very apparent recently.
If his only mistake ends up being inadequate communication then everyone's a winner.

[sbedscobb]

I've asked this before , but where does this "Boxes in the sky" come from ? I think I'm correct in saying that the only thing we have seen about the East Stand is the artists impression and that , officially , there has been no drastic changes to this or have I missed something?

Yes you have, about 2000 seats which has now disappeared with out trace.
Seats that were paid for by a loan from the Council, which we're now not getting.

[mackemcobbler]

This I don't believe has ever been discussed...how much does DC think he will make out of say 16 boxes? In league2 or the conference...

I would strongly argue that all that will happen is that the businesses that do take them up will simply be redistributing their current spend with NTFC. For example, if a local business spends 2 grand on advertising boards, are they not just likely to spend that money on a box for a couple of games instead?

I am really struggling to see how boxes are going to make much difference at this level. Even IF each box generated 10k a season, thats only 160k. Then you've got to feed the guests etc, staff them. And as I say, companies will not increase their marketing budget with us just because we've got boxes, they will just do them instead of something else in the main.

Of course big businesses in the town would get involved but thats only realistically if we got to minimum of championship level.

I am also struggling to see how they will be hired out at will during the week. Conference centre..yeah, I get that. Hotel, ditto. But this obsession with boxes I believe is very very short sighted. It will not make hardly any cash in the short term and I would argue that a bigger capacity would generate more short term revenue in the odd game where we would sell more tickets (e.g. Pompey and Oxford). An extra 2000 people in a big away end = about 30k for starters. And you haven't got the associated costs to service it.

So I ask the question to all you 'box lovers'....hows it gonna benefit us?

because companies buy the box for the season paying 1000s for the privilege to use it on non match days with food & drink extra 

[everbrite]

There are a lot of people with too much time on their hands worrying about something that they do not have all of the facts working on rumours, are not intimately involved in, have no financial liability towards the loan and/or expenditure and should concentrate on supporting the team that appears on the park week in and week out throughout the season.
If you want to get involved, speak to DC and offer your services, I am sure that he would welcome your constructive advice about where he is going wrong because discussing this on here is actually getting you nowhere and is boring me now.

I don't think some on here want to know that

[guest48]

Yes you have, about 2000 seats which has now disappeared with out trace.
Seats that were paid for by a loan from the Council, which we're now not getting.

So where is this info about 2,000 disappearing seats ?

[Razor]

So where is this info about 2,000 disappearing seats ?

The chairman said himself that capacity would only be '8-8,500' - There is also an article on the OS published today which talks about the 'trade off' for the work in the West being a reduction in the number of seats in the East. There are 6 rows being added to the WINGS ONLY (the bits either side of the current disabled viewing area at the back). If you want proof of that go on the Official Site and look at season ticket options for next year in the East Stand!

[Razor]

The 'wings' are 46 seats long on either side.

46 x 6 (x 2) = 552

Minus 20 each side to account for the stairwells and by my calculations that amounts to an EXTRA 512 SEATS ONLY.

That's not speculation or gossip, it's based on what is available to buy for next year.

Take into account the likely reduction of capacity in the West to fit the directors box in and we'll be left with a capacity that MAY reach 8,000 but quite probably won't even hit that figure.

The capacity of the stadium when it opened was 7,653 (later reduced due to removal of seats at the back of the North).

11 years of wrangling with the authorities and a £12m council loan later and we MIGHT end up about 400 seats better off than we were in 1994.