I like going to Carrow Road and there are several factors in its favour - 1. There is an excellent selction of places to drink/eat near the ground and several pubs welcome supporters of the away clubs as well 2. It is not too far from the city centre 3. It is near the train station and there is a bus stop only a few hundred yards from the ground I'm sure there are aeveral others!!!!
I think I checked the wrong option?? I am wary of moving to a purpose built and new stadium following the misfortunes of clubs of a similar ilk to ourselves (Derby co, Coventry City), unless we have a rich owner (Wigan, Reading, Southampton). While Carrow Road is a nightmare if you have to drive to see the games I would rather see the ground developed, as there appears to be the room to do it. Not that I am likely to be going their again much/ever? in the remainder of my life. I have watched CR grow and be redeveloped since 1975 and I think now is starting to look pretty good and once we have a nice big new stand adjacent to Carrow Road it should look quite awesome
can we have option 3 leave all well alone to we have actually established ourselves in the top tier, when we have lets expand Carrow Road If you want to build something out of the city build an incinerator cause we don't want one in Lynn
Carrow Road is our spiritual home and it would be really sad were we to leave. However, I believe that we could really only expand the capacity to around 30-35K and as we grow as a club (the population of the area is growing fast too don't forget), would that really be big enough ? With the influx of many more people there will be a greater demand to watch (hopefully), Premier League football. At the moment 35K would probably be more than enough, but in the long term as an ambitious club, should we not also consider the alternative ? I've often advocated the building of a new stadium on the Costessey show ground. An ideal location just off the A47 and also really easy to get to from the soon to be dualled A11. Masses of room for a large car park with an expanding retail park nearby. Those who live in the centre of Norwich would I suggest, hate a move away from Carrow Road others maybe could be persuaded that a move like this could be beneficial to the club in the long term. It really is a tough one to call but looking to the future with my head and not my heart I'm voting to move. Not now but possibly in a few years time if we're still competing at the top table P.S. Could be a great debate this JR
If city stand could be increased by about 3000 and the Jarrold already has the foundations in place for an extra tier, that would take the capacity to 37,000; is something bigger needed? I doubt it. Moving away from carrow road to grounds outside the city are soulless, can be great stadiums but something is often lost, man city's move was understandable, but visiting the old Maine road had infinitely more soul that the Etihed (although very good views of the pitch). Overall my experience of visiting new grounds compared to the old ones is better views but devoid of emotion, especially Middlesbrough Location is vital. the showground is too far out in my view, and feels disconnected to the city, (see middlesborough and Bolton)
If a move were to be to the Showground, that would be perfect for me, literally ten minutes up the road, but I'd still hate it. Carrow Road is perfect with transport links, pubs and dining in close proximity. A soulless metal box out of the city would be awful in my opinion. If we were to outgrow the expansion capabilities of our home (which I seriously doubt), then I guess a relocation would be inevitable, but I'd rue the day.
Look at Colchester as an example. I know Layer Road was small, cramped and dire in facilities, but you could meet up with your mates in a pub pre-match, have a couple of beers then walk to the ground. Now, you meet your mates at the park and ride bus stop, and are shuttled to and away from the new ground like away fans Plus there are precious few facilities in that part of town. I bet they wish Layer Road had been upgraded - shall I ask Colu_mikey?
On my travels around football grounds I always prefer the older grounds steeped in history (even if they are starting to decay.. Glandford Park for example) The new grounds, Pride Park, Keepmoat, Walkers etc. are all impressive but are so bland and have very little character and charm, they're often referred too as flat packs as they all seem to be designed by the same architect.. the only difference is the colour of the seats I actually think CR is a decent ground, well positioned and a decent day out for all fans. Also I remember Ipswich having the same debate some 12 years ago and we now have an impressive stadium that we ultimately couldn't afford... Having a ground and filling it regularly isn't a case of missing an opportunity (to expand) like a lot of people think! It's only a pointer that you are doing something right so why be so hasty to change?... So many clubs have fallen foul to this panic to 'cash in' and ended up out of pocket (ourselves included) and things change so quickly in football that I wouldn't recommend putting all eggs in one basket and potentially damaging the whole culture of the club
i don't mean the ground killed the owner, rather the owner killed the club by building a new ground in the wastelands and other activities.
I wouldn't like a move away and don't think the local authorities would agree to a move away or give planning permission as matchdays at Carrow road breath life into the city centre.
To be fair, zeller, I'm sure the local authorities all had similar views in Reading, Coventry, Leicester.....
4. It's got a hotel for a stop-over. 5. Nicer approach, nothing bland or electric pylons outside (like Derby and Leicester). 6. Still 'Carrow Road' so doesn't have a sponsor's name to get used to. 7. Nice retail park. 8. Petrol station nearby if you're on empty. 9. You can get you car sorted at the garage behind the Barclay (if the hours permit). I love Carrow Road.
If you look at the recent matches, Swansea, toffees, i think we have just managed a home sell out a few days before the match. Last season, the casual tickets went like gold dust. Hence there is a drop in demand this season, be it from people's household incomes being lower, novelty factor of first season back in the top flight, less goals / attractive football (less not go into that too much!) etc. You can chuck in some extra season tickets, but again, who knows if demand for those will continue to grow. This is a factor as well to consider any expansion - will the club regularly sell out a bigger stadium, or are we close to our limit now (excluding big games)? something else for the club to consider.
This is a very fair point. Leeds Utd are currently playing in a half empty stadium following quite a number of years in the wilderness (among one or two other factors such as pricing etc). It would only take another relegation and a couple of years stagnation in the Championship and a 35,000 capacity stadium may not hold the same appeal and could actually work against us. Having said that, it should be done as we are likely at some point to have attendances of 85%-90% (possibly higher) on a regular basis if we remain in the PL or are heading toward a promotion from whatever league.
I can't estimate the numbers, but it does seem that many non members are put off coming because of the difficulty of getting seats together. I've not gone with my partner or taken kids because only single seats are left or only 2 together and it's a little bit difficult to spread 3 boys aged 6-10 over the top tier of the Barclay, they'd be ejected within minutes. Also there are some restricted views still, these things play quite a big role. Oh on the subject of restricted views I phoned up for away tickets at Liverpool and was told yes there are tickets but if the crowd stands up, you won't see a thing because of the roof. I decided against going and I wonder how many other folk are put off by these things.
longsight, i sat in the Aviva community stand upper tier on sat, when i bought the ticket it said 'obstructed view' on it. it was absolutely fine though, i had one small bit of the penalty area i couldn't see due to the N&P stand structure, it was very small though and i didn't miss anything. it's a great view in there, and i was amazed to find limited queueing at HT for refreshments - must be the seats to kiosks ratio being low. interesting point re getting more than 2 seats together - it is difficult in the more popular areas, but in the Aviva stand and N&P/Geoffrey Watling fill in there are usually multiple seats availiable if you get in early. Obviously you've little chance of that in the other stands except maybe the jarrold.
For me it has to be redevelop FCR. Proper ground short walk from the station and the city centre. If we mirrored the Jarrold then the ground would look balanced and probably lift capacity above 30k with the option of adding another tier on either side if Norwich suddenly becomes a million city.
