Breaking News - New Stadium and Training Facilities

[milne_afc]

Pittodrie is hardly rocking at the weekend.

Same as every team in the league against the dross opposition. Although that's atmosphere not *soul* maaan.

[fatshaft]

There are two ways to look at it. There's the "if you're not going just because the travel is slightly more inconvenient then you're a c**t" angle and then there's looking at it from a business perspective and asking whether small things actually make a large difference over the years to the attendance.

Personally I completely buy into the idea we should move, my big concern about it is the unintended consequences of seemingly minor stuff like making travel to the stadium even slightly less convenient. People are creatures of habit. You can't just assume that because someone walks 15 minutes to get to the stadium now they won't care about getting a bus out the city to go to a game. There are plenty of businesses in the past that have made apparently logical decisions to move their location and saw, for no major reason, that their customer base dried up. Getting all that stuff right should be priority number one (well ahead of any gimmicky sh*te about what the stadium actually looks like).

That works both ways. Since moving back out to the shire, I make very few games (maybe 8-10) in a season cos getting to Pittodrie is a total pain in the arse. There's a lot of casual fans in the hinterlands who I'm convinced will attend more often if the ground is easy to get to. And that is absolutely eberyuone outside the city. So that 45% of ST holders are only going to increase.

Then, as I've said heaps on this thread, there's plenty in toon who will also now have a shorter trip to new stadium than they do to Pittodrie, and plenty who will be only marginally worse off.

Finally, there's the city centre/seaton/Linksfield/Bridge of Don mob who will now be worse off. No doubt some will fall away being the reverse situation of what I've felt myself, but it wont be all of them.

On balance, to me it looks a no brainer that attendances will increase, we'll lose some of course. There's a couple old guys are in the Caley every week, couple years back I got the full post match reason why they will stop going if we move from Pittodrie. I cant remember the spiel now, but I did say fair play to them, they were the first guys that had nailed down good reasons not to move, and I felt so sorry that lifelong guys like that will stop going.

But, no-one has a god given right to have the ground on their doorstep, and those that have been that lucky all their life, well I'm sorry, you're now going to have to make a bit of an effort like the majority of fans have to now.

[mastrick1960]

come on then the pro kingsford crowd step forward and tell us why we will be better off than st Johnstone ???? Already we are scaling everything back on the stadium design ....steep terraces =no...1000 capacity supporters bar ( ala loirston ) =no...safe standing = don't hold your breath ....never mind I am sure you will have more kiosks to purchase your Sodexo run ****e pie ...we will be on the level of Kilmarnock etc within 10 years of moving....never mind though fatshaft etc will still be able to get there easier than he does to pittodrie ...

[mastrick1960]

That works both ways. Since moving back out to the shire, I make very few games (maybe 8-10) in a season cos getting to Pittodrie is a total pain in the arse. There's a lot of casual fans in the hinterlands who I'm convinced will attend more often if the ground is easy to get to. And that is absolutely eberyuone outside the city. So that 45% of ST holders are only going to increase.

Then, as I've said heaps on this thread, there's plenty in toon who will also now have a shorter trip to new stadium than they do to Pittodrie, and plenty who will be only marginally worse off.

Finally, there's the city centre/seaton/Linksfield/Bridge of Don mob who will now be worse off. No doubt some will fall away being the reverse situation of what I've felt myself, but it wont be all of them.

On balance, to me it looks a no brainer that attendances will increase, we'll lose some of course. There's a couple old guys are in the Caley every week, couple years back I got the full post match reason why they will stop going if we move from Pittodrie. I cant remember the spiel now, but I did say fair play to them, they were the first guys that had nailed down good reasons not to move, and I felt so sorry that lifelong guys like that will stop going.

But, no-one has a god given right to have the ground on their doorstep, and those that have been that lucky all their life, well I'm sorry, you're now going to have to make a bit of an effort like the majority of fans have to now.

Eh? Where are all these dons fans who currently don't go to pittodrie suddenly going to come from when the new stadium opens ? Seriously you sound like an afc mouthpiece

[fatshaft]

You might want to read the planning application again; steep stands have been scaled back due to residents concerns raised at the consultation.

I hadnt read that, but was afraid it was the case when the club said they'd reduced the height of the stadium but not the number of seats.

Gawd I ****ing hate Westhill My first job post-school over 30 years ago was there, even then it was expanding from the tiny village it was, and filling with the pretentious wannabes who thought they were something cos they were moving into the latest legoland got on my tits even then. It's only got worse. Winkers.

[milne_afc]

Conjecture .

Dismissed.

[fatshaft]

Eh? Where are all these dons fans who currently don't go to pittodrie suddenly going to come from when the new stadium opens ? Seriously you sound like an afc mouthpiece

Sorry was that too confusing? People who now go casually cos Pittodrie is the arse end of the city, will now go more often, lile I said, like me for example.

I work in an office of four, one wifie, nae interested in fitba, one casual follower who stays Br.OfDon, he'll still be casual, and a third never attender from Westhill who is contemplating a season ticket, not casual attendance, but a full on season long new fan.

So from a sample of just three, you've gained a fan and a half right there.

Look at the AWPR route, then look at how much it cuts off travelling for everyone from the north and west, and even largely from the south too.

[fatshaft]

Dismissed.

Every bit as valid, if not more so, as the doomongers who seem to think Kingsford is in Alford, and not 3 miles from Hazelehead and Sheddocksley

[mastrick1960]

Sorry was that too confusing? People who now go casually cos Pittodrie is the arse end of the city, will now go more often, lile I said, like me for example.

I work in an office of four, one wifie, nae interested in fitba, one casual follower who stays Br.OfDon, he'll still be casual, and a third never attender from Westhill who is contemplating a season ticket, not casual attendance, but a full on season long new fan.

So from a sample of just three, you've gained a fan and a half right there.

Look at the AWPR route, then look at how much it cuts off travelling for everyone from the north and west, and even largely from the south too.

So a bit like st Johnstone's ground then eh ? Easier to get to but a soulless ****hole....ever spoke to a Johnstone fan ? They will tell you the heart of the club was ripped out of it when they moved from muirton park....never mind at least you won't t have all the hassle of trying to get away from pittodrie after we move....

[Gogsred]

All those are meaningless if nobody can be arsed/can't get there. FWIW St J do have a supporters bar. You might want to read the planning application again; steep stands have been scaled back due to residents concerns raised at the consultation. As for catering facilities - that'll be sodexho, so hurrumph.

Are you sure that is right? I read the planning stuff (again) just now and the only reference I can see, is to reducing the height of the stands as a result of the consultation. I couldn't see any reference to reducing the angle of the gradient on the stands.
Or am I missing it somewhere ?