Cidered Abroad Thanks for the feedback, which will certainly be passed on. I have made a few initial responses to some of the points raised below. Regards David Lloyd Supporter Liaison Bristol City Football Club Direct line: 0117 963 0683 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @dave_backwell 1. Stand Design and Materials The design of and materials used in the construction of the stands / roofs must be conducive to good acoustics and amplification of the crowd noise. The majority of us are concerned that if a “Bowl” type design is used, the noise generated by the crowd may just disappear into the walls, roof and into the air at the front. Our concerns were vividly highlighted at the recent match at the Cardiff City Stadium, where those present report that the noise of a 25,000 crowd was very poor. So design of the roof and materials used is of paramount importance to good acoustics and noise generation. Many modern stadia suffer from this problem and we very much want to retain throughout the rebuilt Ashton Gate, the crowd noise/atmosphere that is currently generated from the Wedlock stand. We consider that if this involves some not unreasonable extra cost, it would be recouped many times over in match points won for years to come. We propose that all of the roofs within the rebuilt stadium are included in this respect. Agreed, and this will be a key part of the stadium design 2. Safe Standing A significant majority want to have safe standing areas, especially behind the goals and request the club to include provision for this. We accept that this will only prove to be viable should current legislation be changed to allow a return to standing areas. We have publicly committed to providing safe standing, should legislation change, and are actively campaigning for this at Football league level. 3. Toilets & Refreshments The number of toilet and refreshment facilities to be increased from those currently provided in the Atyeo stand by 30- 50%. The provision of adequate toilet/refreshment facilities is a key part of the design. The objective is that every supporter can easily leave their seat at the start of half time, buy a drink and something to eat and visit the toilet, and be back in their seat for the start of the second half. 4. Wheelchair Positions Viewing positions for supporters who are confined to wheelchairs, must be sited at a much higher level than the current “worm’s eye view” together, of course, with easy access to the site level. We understand that this may involve dedicated spiral inclines as use of electrical lifts may not be permitted during emergency evacuation of the stadium. “Wheelchair sites” should be included in both Wedlock and Williams rebuilds and for away team supporters. We are already consulting with our disabled supporters association about wheelchair provision. There will be a substantial viewing area in any new Wedlock stand, and we are also looking at providing suitable accommodation for away fans in the Atyeo stand. 5. Underground parking Have the Club considered underground car parking? As there will be many tonnes of spoil to be removed especially from the Wedlock, it would seem to be sensible while the equipment is on site, to dig out the soil under ground level. Extra car-parking provides an additional source of revenue. Site under rebuilt Williams and Wedlock Stands? I am not sure that this would be practical or economically viable, but I will certainly pass this on. 6. Underground Sports Facility Sports facilities under stands or alternatively under ground level. The Bristol City Community Trust is now involving the Club in the community in a way that has previously not been done. We have always simply been a football club. But throughout Europe, many football clubs are in fact “Sports Clubs”. I live in Portugal and Sport Lisbon & Benfica, better known as Benfica, is a good example. They organise a staggering number of sports for the local community children and young adults of both genders; Athletics, Handball, Volleyball, Futsal, Basketball, Martial Arts, Boxing, Karting, Canoeing, Triathlon, Swimming, Table Tennis, Judo, Hockey, Rugby and Kickboxing. If Bristol City Community Trust were to do anything toward becoming this type of sporting club existing parallel to and in tandem with the Football Club yet without intruding on existing organisations for many of these sports, just imagine how many young people may well become lifelong Cityites if they actually played for Bristol City even if it’s a sport other than football. Many of the sports listed above would be more suited to off-stadium buildings and locations, but as a start and also a useful addition to the Football Club’s training facilities, what about a Futsal pitch underground or under a stand. Or if sufficient match day car parking went underground, could new buildings be established in the Winterstoke car-park? Community development has been cited as one of the 5 pillars for development of City over the coming years, and a re-developed AG would assist with that as much as possible. It may not be possible to provide more of the facilities which you are suggesting within the AG footprint, but we do recognise that provision of proper all-sport community facilities will be an important part of future growth. A copy of the original email to Amy Kington has been passed to the acting head of Community. 7. Renaming of Stands If there is any intention to rename the rebuilt stands, please canvas supporters before you do so. Whether he passes Atyeo’s appearances or not, will the Club consider naming a section after Louis Carey. In the same vein, we assume many will agree that Steve Lansdown should also be recognised in this way. Noted. 8. Exits/Toilets in Dolman Improved exits and toilet facilities in/from the Dolman, with special emphasis on those from the higher parts of the stand. The re-design of the Dolman will incorporate proper vomitories in the upper tier of the stand leading to a revamped concourse below. Vomitory = An opening in a large building by which the crowd is let in and out. 9. Filling the Gaps at each end of Atyeo Stand Instal seating to fill the gaps between Atyeo/Dolman and Atyeo/Williams. Initially this could be done without roof cover? No comment at this stage. I am impressed with the speed of reply by David Lloyd. The content of the replies is fairly predictable, some of us will find them disappointing while others will be content. As a personal comment, back in the 1990's I served on the "Football Council" a precursor to the current Fans Parliament, set up by the Board of the time. The big difference now is that the Club are actually making efforts to receive ideas and comments from City supporters, whereas in the 90's we rarely even had an answer to anything we raised and the thing fizzled out because we all realised that the Board did not have any intention of listening. So we may not get the stadium design that some want but maybe we should give them some credit for pre-empting our reservations by doing their own research / fact finding before we asked the questions. I, myself, have enough confidence in Steve Lansdown to do the best he can for Bristol City, even if some end up disagreeing with the end result. One can only please some of the people for some of the time as it is pretty nigh impossible to please all of the people all of the time.
and this will be a key part of the stadium design That was a politicians answer. Answer with little detail.
