http://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/gillingham-stadium-plan-revealed-21982/ 24,000 capacity????? bigger than our record attendance in over a hundred years!
To be big think big, I remember us being in the Championship and Reading being in L2, then Mr Madjeski came along and hey presto, where are we and where are Reading, it is still in Gillingham and Long term, no Priestfield is getting old, afford it how though?
If we have any ambition for the future it's not achievable in our present ground, away supporters are treated to one of the worst experiences in the league, car parking is non-existent, there is no room for improvement. We could of course build a 6,000 seater stadium and might fill it most weeks whilst yo-yoing between leagues 1 and 2, or we can have a vision and plan for a better, bigger future.
Catch 22 for me. If It is true that we have the largest catchment area of any club in the country then filling a 24,000 seater stadium is more than possible. But to get those numbers you need success and potential for more success. To get success you (unfortunately) need money and luck. To have money........ Etc etc etc
I think that it's good news. Surrounding facilities will bring about added income, just by having the 300 houses may draw in the image of a family orientated day out. 24,000 is too large for us at the moment but if we want this ground to be our foundation for the next hundred or so years I don't see the issue. Larger amounts of space for parking as well as an on site train station make the Gills leisure Yokosuka Dome (Mark IV) a more accesible stadium to both home and away supporters. Also this isn't as bad as stadiums like Shrewsbury's with a ridiculously distant ground, this is a mile away from the current spot, still accessible on foot from both Rainham and Gillingham. The train station would offer the other facilities revenues of income over the off season and if parking were to based on the other side of the dual carriageway with bridge access it makes training sessions at Beechings Cross all that easier to visit. It's a good plan, brings in more money makes more modern day, accessible and family friendly, not to mention how investment friendly a new stadium looks. The only issue is the capacity, if designed correctly the accoustics of the ground will be core to the design process ensuring that sound isn't lost when the ground isn't full. For games like the upcoming Newcastle game I could forsee capacity numbers turn out, don't forget how many turned up to Wembley. The opportunity is there as long as we don't require 12,000 fans a game to keep ourselves afloat and I'm sure Paul Scally isn't as naive as that.
It simply is too big and the running costs are bound to be a millstone around our necks financially, just look at Darlington. People have mentioned other clubs, likes of Reading but those clubs have had constant backing and financial support; unless the big Arab backer Scally has been looking for has shown up I can't see that happening. It is a catch 22, we need more fans to support help a strengthen the team but we need success on the pitch yada yada yada. But I think Scally should be looking at investing in the team and filling out Priestfield before building the new ground
I think people are missing the point here! There is no money to spend on improving the team, with the current ground and parking facilities little scope for improving attendances, we do however own a piece of land that could have a supermarket chain, and a house building firm both agree to finance building a stadium in return for having houses and a supermarket as part of the project. Like it or not a new stadium is the only way Gillingham can survive long term.
I think a larger stadium is the way forward as the additional cost of building say a 22,000 seater stadium over a 12,000 seat stadium is probably not great, but I agree with gillslad69 that the design will be important to ensure that a proper atmosphere can be created when there are only 6-7000 in there. The only alternative I can think of would be to design a stadium that holds, say, 12,000 which could be increased in capacity at relatively low cost at some time in the future - in other words build the addition into the design - structural engineers will be more aware of the requirements, but the obvious ones are ensuring the foundations are strong enough to take additional weight in future, as well as ensuring that the capacity of services such as electricity, water and waste would be sufficient for a larger capacity.
Only 5,100 today, and that after a good away win in League Cup and drawing Newcastle in next round. New stadium required? mmmmm
I believe that Itsimupnorth is on the right track re design etc.....the Amex stadium is Brighton is a good example. We could start with 12,000 expand up to 15,000 then onto 20,000 should the need ever arise. What is required is a design at the outset that has the capability to evolve and expand according to needs. Just building a 12000 or a 24000 capacity stadium without considering the possibilities what the future may hold is very short sighted and in terms of business planning just pure pants.
Ok today's attendance is somewhat relevant, but with people having little money to spend, the relevance is somewhat diluted. If the global (sorry politics here) financial position was better then I think people's views may be different. Without Paul Scally we would be a car park or a Lidl. I like his new idea, still in Gillingham and keeps in favour with the Rainham end fans. Yes will cost a bit, but if we can push up the leagues we do have the potential fan base to compete with at least the championship, we do have a record at Wembley with the number of supporters at the final. If we stay, from a mental point of view at Priestfield, we may never push on towards the future.
A bit sad,but i like lower league footy.Paid £24 to sit in the Rainham end today,dont think i could afford prem footy under Scally.
I think there is a stigma on the image of Priestfield with some of the people that live in Medway, people that haven't been to Priestfield think of a tin shed and food and drink being served out of a van near an alley that serves as a loo. A new stadium is as much of a rebranding as it is a new venue. Priestfield is a good stadium for this level when you discard the gripe about the Brian Moore stand; a mate of mine who works for Rotherham FC (he's not obese and red faced) was pleasantly surprised at his first visit last season and said Priestfield was a decent ground, however he had the same feeling that our spiritual home was going to be a dump. It's preconceptions like this that I feel keep the attendances down, with people wanting to go elsewhere (any London club) to seek what they believe would be a better experience. We know that Medway has the population (over 250,000) to fill Priestfield - it certainly will a week on tuesday - a new stadium can help unlock that. Gillingham Kangaroo, with other avenues of income it would allow PS the opportunity to lower prices.
I think where football in general goes wrong, we have LC 2nd round tie against Newcastle...it costs £20...i've heard many people even non Gills supporters say they might like too or are considering going. So my view is if we don't have a full house then the pricing structure is wrong...if we have a full house or near on...then the structure was right...first and foremost we need to be sorting out these issues and understanding better why we do not fill Priestfield before venturing into what is basically the unknown. So many new builds have got it wrong, few have got it right, and Premier or Championship football is no guarantee for anyone. There is an entire L1 and L2 filled with clubs having the same dreams and that's not even counting non league. We've moved into the plastic era of football via TV...we all know what happened last time we went into that market trap. And do the traditionalists want it...i don't.
