The City itself is going to be more attractive due to the new plans coming to fruition. Add in Smug's idea of a passenger ferry coming up and down the coast which docks beside the stadium and you've got an instant attraction (and don't forget the monorail )
Our support is great but I think people get a bit carried away with its potential at times. Sunderland isn't a big city. and it's not particularly easy to get to. It would take years of sustained success for us to pick up the prawn sandwich and corporate brigade who fill the bigger stadiums. United games are tourist events as well as football games. Takes a lot of work to get there.
42k with safe standing behind the goals would be my preference. Not sure what you do with the dxtra 7k, but some kind of roof top bar/fan zone instead Away fans get a choice of standing & seats Advanced pitch infra/tech for hosting gigs A rectractable roof for the hell of it. Games wouldn't get postponed
I've known a lot of lads down here over the years organise pìss ups/stag nights to the North East. Unfortunately its nearly always the wrong town Maybe not the best example but people will travel. I think concerts at the sol again would put Sunderland and the club more on the map. It's surprising how many don't realise Sunderland has beaches and with South Shields, some amazing coastline. Among other things. After this covid is over the council should look at improving areas and tourism. But we all know what councils are like.
We averaged low to mid 40s as a bang average prem side so I don't see any reason we can't push the 50s with a bit of success. As said before though affordability is huge. I also think decent investment in the matchday experience would get more in too. Its garbage for people with young kids at the minute. I get they are there to watch the match but a better fan zone with a bit more to do pre game, and even some decent pre match/ht entertainment might help get parents along with their kids.
my kids are grown up now, but on the few occasions I did take them to SOL, they just didn't have anything to entice them back. There was nothing for kids, and because the football was a bit ****e at the time, and the weather cold, they were finished by half time. If they want to get kids into the stadium, they need to entertain them before and afterwards, and outside & inside the ground. make them feel part of the matchday experience, and make the stadium available to the public for loads of different events of all kinds, make it a focal point for the community, not just the football fans. We only need the grassy bit once or twice a week, the rest of it has great facilities that stand empty for most other days, we could surely utilise it better, and maybe the knock-on effect would encourage more to the matches. Its what some of the biggest clubs do, and it seems to pay dividends.
I agree with this. As an aside, if anyone has any examples of things they'd like to see, let me know. Technically I'm the family zone rep for RAWA, so it would be good to be able to feed things in regarding ways where we can improve the experience for families. Got some ideas of my own because my 6 year old has been a few times and I've seen first hand some of the issues, but anything that people can suggest to improve it would be welcomed. The new ownership is very open to the structured dialogue approach that was put in place before, and very committed to improving the fan experience. This is the sort of thing that I really wanted to get involved in and we've got a real chance to improve things and attract the next generation of fans
good post. One thing I've noticed on a matchday is the number of young teenage lasses who just walk around the stadium bowl for most of the game,(PERV ALERT) now obviously its the young teenage lads who attract them there, but they've obviously paid good money to be inside the stadium, so why not turn it on its head and get some young local bands in before and after the game to attract the lasses in for the boy-band thing, which would in turn get more young lads in who maybe weren't regulars at the games , but would follow their mates , obviously attracted by girls and music. Young lads are going to be the mainstay of our future support, get them in as younguns and they'll stay for life ( hopefully) I'm sure there's loads of bands out there who'd love the exposure and publicity, there's plenty of space at the ends of the concourses underneath to rig up some temporary stages, and a bit of live music would add to the atmosphere before the game, and maybe get more fans in drinking and eating a lot earlier than just 10 mins before the game. I know the fanzone outside tried it somewhat, but it was a bit half-hearted. We've all seen the popularity of Pop Idol type shows on telly, there's a massive audience for amateur musicians out there, I'm sure we could bring some of that excitement and following into the matchday experience without detracting from the 90 mins of football. just an idea.
Was their any truth with them trying to use the old Audi garage for the fanzone? Something indoor would be good when the weather is crap. The BoL is good with the activities it puts on, my son loves the fans museum, trying the shirts on and stuff but also because the early kick offs are on tv. Could they get some massive tvs and show the early games in the fanzone? I don't think there are any bogs in the fanzone either which is a pain if you need to access the stadium to have a wazz. Having a few of the players not in the squad was a good idea for autographs and stuff. Are the plans still to move the ticket office and club shop around? Have the new owners seen the last results of the RAWA survey? This might be worth a separate thread mate.
I have said this for a long time, all rail travel has to go through Newcastle, it would be good to have a link from Sunderland direct to Durham, I think I read somewhere about maybe a metro link to Durham, that would be a massive improvement, I am sure this has been discussed at the club many a time. I live in North Lincolnshire now and its not too bad to get to the games via the motorways, I can be home within 2 hours after the game, and that is leaving after the final whistle!
Dortmund is a former industrial city, situated in large conurbation containing several very well-supported football clubs. Because of its industrial history it was heavily bombed in the war. There are no nice buildings there, its not historic, its not on the coast, and the weather isn't that great. There's not much reason for tourists to visit. Borussia Dortmund attract fans from all over the world. More than 1000 people travel from England for every home game. They are a global phenomenon, and thats despite the fact that they haven't won a European trophy since 1997 or league title since 2012. They've also nearly gone out of existence twice in the last 30 years. There's no reason why we couldn't do something similar, but it would take something very special from the people who run the club.
Try spending a weekend in Whitby with the girls, and trying to go to the match while they shop Three and a half hours to do 60 bloody miles ... ... the sooner we get this booze cruiser to Sheepfolds the better.