According to the Evening Post front page,we are bottom of the league regards sports facilities in Bristol against evey major city in the uk. That is some statement Sums up where the two football clubs plights are with regards the grounds scenario. Where new stadiums have been built the local teams have improved. Example cardiff and swansea both prem sides now. Bristol needs to wake up and realise the potential of quality stadiums offering not just sports but other benifits to the city.
I was in Cardiff last night to see Joe Bonamassa and as I drove through the city passing the Millenium stadium and new Cardiff City ground to arrive at the Motorpoint Arena where parking was just £2, it occurred to me what a difference there was between the two cities The only thing that was comparable was the traffic which was dire !!
This is why the Ashton Gate and Ashton Vale plans should be scrapped, and why the club should try to take a leaf out of Bristol Rovers book by building a new stadium outside of Bristol, perhaps in Keynsham. The land will probably be cheaper and I reckon it'll be a lot easier to get permission to build a good stadium and some new facilities for an area hit by the loss of the Cadbury factory.
The article was lopsided. Its sports facilities in general, not stadiums. Building out of town stadiums will not improve the social facilities within the City.Investment in the Cities publically owned parks and schools would do more to improve this, or new sports centres.
I have not been inside Cardiffs new stadium but once ended up there as I was coming home previous from Tenby in the South West Wales and the petrol light came on so came off at the junction marked for barry island which took me to the stadium as the stadium has been built on a site with supermarkets, shops and restaurants. The other point is the road access, the main road is 4 lanes, with 2 lanes coming off at each junction. Very American in the size. Its even the same in Plymouth that through Plymouth they have two lane dual carridge way and because you have park and ride based at their ground you can use the park and ride at other sites that will drop you off at the ground. they also now have their olympic stndard swimming facilities built next to the ground. Both Plymouth and Cardiff are also very cheap to use public transport which is also regular. Bristol, because they are too interested in being green or having any other title have one of the worse road lay out, the worse public transport, and the worse for development. Its even difficult to find a half decent swimming pool to use that you can swim in. I do think that Bristol probably elected the wrong major who all he cares about is getting cars off the road by bring in parking charges and talks of congestion charges without looking at bring more public transport in which is affordable to encourage people not to drive. Its just a backwards thinking plan and there is no surprise it will put businesses off from being in Bristol. To use a city that is similar to Britol, Amsterdam use various transports for people to get around their city. They have water ferries (using the water around them). They have trams and they use trains. In Bristol we just use over priced buses that arent reliable. Even the park and ride has become so expensive its cheaper to park in Bristol as if you took away the people who have free bus passes no one would use them. Again in Cardiff you can pay £2 and everyone in your car can use the park and ride. Think in Bristol its about £3 per person the last time I checked So yes the Sport teams are suffering but its the whole City that is wrong
Amen, and we're back on the subject of people in power with their heads in the sand. This city is fast turning into even more of a backwater than it ever was and it's never been great for progress
Ender - Keynsham is a good idea as a location but the local roads aren't built for the traffic there now without a spur off of the Ring Road being built
I was in Newcastle on the weekend and visited St. James park, purely to look, not having been there before. It is right in the centre, a huge stadium and a club shop that is on two floors that sells every item of branded merchandise you could possibly think of- When you look at the two Bristol grounds and compare. it was quite embarrassing. Bristol is the 8th largest city in England- (10th UK) Newcastle is 14th (18th UK).Its about time we had a decent ground, even Exeter Chiefs ground by me is better
Also, I should add that Newcastle (smaller city) has a metro train system that seems very effective. What has Bristol got?
Not a lot No decent stadiums No concert venues other than Victorian/Edwardian ones that aren't fit for purpose and only C rated acts come here No truly international airport No decent roads in and around the city No cheap or reliable public transport No speedway team I could go on.... !
