I'm sure that a partial marquee type cover ( similar to that at the ground of Bristol Rovers ) would not cost much in the grand scheme of things - especially as we don't seem to be moving any time soon. The Town End is a bit of a joke amongst most away fans. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25758243
Im sure Mr. Scally sees it as a lose/lose scenario, if we build a new stand or put a roof on it and we then move to a new ground in the future thats then wasted money for him but if we don't move, not putting a roof on just leaves us with a bit of a farcical away end. Theres a reason literally every picture of priestfield is either taken from the town end or from that little box between gordon road and the town end.
I can't see them being allowed to put any type of roofing on it as it was only meant to be a temporary structure in the first place. I assume the certificate for this monstrosity must have got renewed.
Do we need it so big? reduce the capacity to 1,000 and fit a top on it, 1 or 2 games a season might need more capacity but it normally has less than 25% used.
I was quite surprised at how few supporters moved back to the town end as most of us got the hump when it was closed originally and we were scattered throughout the ground and I really can't see it being open to home fans next season, as for a roof it's not the only open end in league football ( not sure if it's the only open seating ) and football is an outside sport I don't see the problem, on any other day of the week everybody dresses for whatever weather is expected so why not when in the town end
It would have to be a properly contructed roof that would need additional planning permission. If it was not,can you imagine what would have happened to it in the recent winds if it was a temperary structure?
I wasn't advocating a temporary structure. I was suggesting the sort of marquee covering ( properly constructed ) that is at the ground used by Bristol Rovers. I don't think that this roof would be overly expensive - thereby allowing a little more comfort for fans. As far as the current winds - I haven't heard of any problems with the Bristol marquee ( much windier in the West ) - and there's no guarantee that conventional roof materials would be any less suspect to the elements
I was actually quite impressed with what Crawley did for this season on one of their stands, it was also apparently constructed within 10 days! For those who haven't been, when we played them on Boxing Day 2 years ago (World cup final) their ground was shambolic (ot still largely is) however opposite the 'main' stand there they have put up what looks like what you would refer to as temporary seating but with a marquee type roof, as one of the previous posters have suggested they also have at Rovers. There is absolutely no need for the current size of the Town end, it could be halved and have some sort of roof over it, yes photos would still be taken from that corner, but it would be a better experience for away fans and create a better atmosphere. I know it's strange to want away fans to have a nice day out, but it irks me when I hear opposition fans saying Priestfield is a joke, now i've been to a hell of a lot of grounds in the lower league following the Gills and I genuinely believe ours to be of higher league 1 standard, so we need to make these minor improvements.
Isn't the planning permission for the new stadium due to come through this year? If so then its pointless paying out for an extra not necessary expense. Yes you can talk about the morale of the away fans but lets face it, none of us want them to go home happy and if they're unhappy when they get to the stadium, they're less likely to sing out and get behind their team. I say leave it as it is, even if it does sound cold-hearted.
