Oakwell

[Young_Nudger]

Go on then - after the sudden slow down - I’ll be the first to post.

We are sold out for Friday.
Great.
But not great for those still needing a ticket.

IMO - if we had a better ground we would attract more support in general.
Most of Oakwell is not fit for purpose.

Ponty - not big enough.
West Stand - last of the old Oakwell but needs replacing.
East Stand - seems to be mostly fine - but I’m sure improvements could be made.
North Stand - a 5000 seater that’s only open to away supporters.

IMO - not just the West Stand - the whole stadium needs a revamp.
Hopefully to a 25k to 30k capacity.

I’m sure if we had a decent ground and were successful in the Championship with spells in the Premier we would sell 20 to 25 k season tickets.

As I’ve said - the potential of BFC has never been realised.

[pass_and_move]

I agree the potential is there but it's a big if. The ground was built by John Dennis with that in mind. However, the truth paints a different picture. Our average gate over the last 20 years averages out at around 10/11k give or take.

The last time we dragged in over 20k was probably the Chelsea match in 2008.

To build a bigger stadium would be daft.

There's around 3000 empty seats in the North stand going begging on Friday night if they segregated it....... Bloody Madness imo.

[Dingle council]

I can’t believe the club is not letting reds fans in the north stand on Friday
It would be advantageous to the team having their supporters occupying all 4 stands as well as potentially £60,000 + in ticket revenue
I can’t think of a reason why, other than maybe syp have stuck their noses in?
Look at the away end at kenilworth road tonight, surely this is doable

[pass_and_move]

I can’t believe the club is not letting reds fans in the north stand on Friday
It would be advantageous to the team having their supporters occupying all 4 stands as well as potentially £60,000 + in ticket revenue
I can’t think of a reason why, other than maybe syp have stuck their noses in?
Look at the away end at kenilworth road tonight, surely this is doable

Exactly. It's stupid. As tha sez, extra support and revenue.

[Young_Nudger]

I agree the potential is there but it's a big if. The ground was built by John Dennis with that in mind. However, the truth paints a different picture. Our average gate over the last 20 years averages out at around 10/11k give or take.

The last time we dragged in over 20k was probably the Chelsea match in 2008.

To build a bigger stadium would be daft.

There's around 3000 empty seats in the North stand going begging on Friday night if they segregated it....... Bloody Madness imo.

Well we can either STICK or TWIST.
We can stick with the awkward not fit for purpose stadium that dosent equate to more people wanting to visit Oakwell - and hence dosent bring in the revenue to make success on the field more likely.

Or we can twist and build something that looks fabulous and brings in more support.
I think the directors will be weighing up the risks and opportunities.

As for the North Stand - I along with most supporters thought it was great when it was built.
In hindsight it’s an horrible design.
Just a huge block of seats that has little flexibility.

[SBRed48]

All this "We Need You", "Let's Fill Oakwell" stuff now being pumped out every game is a strange contrast to Ahmad not segregating half the North Stand and opening up half the West Stand for Barnsley fans.

Other clubs seem to manage by putting a net across and employ a few more stewards.

The West Stand section now unavailable just needs a few portaloos and a burger van parked up.


If the "big and exciting news" that Ahmad said was coming is about the lease then the Board have the ideal opportunity to show vision and invest in a new West Stand. Ahmad seems to have gone coy on the news, his latest statement being along the lines of "Well we internally at Oakwell think it is exciting". New rumours are claiming it is about allowing more access to Oakwell for women's football. My biggest fear is that any new lease removes the covenant stating that Oakwell is protected as a football stadium. Otherwise it becomes open house for speculators as and when ownership changes.

[pass_and_move]

Well we can either STICK or TWIST.
We can stick with the awkward not fit for purpose stadium that dosent equate to more people wanting to visit Oakwell - and hence dosent bring in the revenue to make success on the field more likely.

Or we can twist and build something that looks fabulous and brings in more support.
I think the directors will be weighing up the risks and opportunities.

As for the North Stand - I along with most supporters thought it was great when it was built.
In hindsight it’s an horrible design.
Just a huge block of seats that has little flexibility.

Good results bring in more support. Twas ever thus

[pass_and_move]

Friday night is a classic example of why the stadium isn't utilised correctly. Whether it's the club or SYP, I don't know but it shouldn't be like this in this day and age. Football has its idiots, it always will but on the whole, the game is far more family orientated than it was 30 years ago and as I keep saying, why the feck can't the home supporters go in the North stand on Friday?

[Young_Nudger]

Friday night is a classic example of why the stadium isn't utilised correctly. Whether it's the club or SYP, I don't know but it shouldn't be like this in this day and age. Football has its idiots, it always will but on the whole, the game is far more family orientated than it was 30 years ago and as I keep saying, why the feck can't the home supporters go in the North stand on Friday?

They should be allowed.
I remember a few years ago - I think it was against Leicester - reduced entrance fee to £5.
I got into the West Stand and there were people totally blocking the aisles with nowhere to sit.
Outside there was a crowd that couldn’t get in - including 2 people that I used to regularly go to the games with.

If the club wanted to fill Oakwell to its maximum - all that they needed to do was make all the seating areas available - lower the entrance fee for such a big game to something like £10 - then stand back.

[wanderlust]

The EFL ruling is that the proceeds from the playoffs are divided equally between the four clubs so not making seats available has less of a financial impact on the home club which is presumably why the Wanderers weren't given the whole of the stand for Friday's game i.e. tactical reasons.
Oakwell is a great stadium IMO but there is more income to be had from a larger one. Our average gate for league games this year was just shy of 19k and we'd easily fill the stand but there's more to it than the money e.g. the opportunity to engage more of the community which is why we get a lot of families and kids - a lot of whom are very disappointed they won't get to experience the playoff game at Oakwell.