Good-bye Clarence Park [No.1].

[JKiF]

York Road Residents Association?

 

whats that

[Zagreus]

10,000 seat stadium? It's not april 1st, is it?

[JKiF]

;-)

 

might be a typo, carried away with the zero's

[AFF]

Hi Zag.

 

No, it's not April 1st, although it may have been last week when the other local rag talked about 'some cross-party support' for the M10 roundabout site which had been 'ear-marked by the parties' [that's the club and the Council] as a potential site.

 

Hi JKIF. The York Road Residents Association? Well. York Road runs out of Clarence Road along the North side of t'Park. There are houses on the North side which face Clarence Park on the other. A 'Residents' Association is a, sometimes formal, sometimes informal.... No. Never mind.

 

A typo eh? I don't think that anyone could fit a 10,000 seat stadium on that roundabout, let alone 100,000, but what do I know?

 

Perhaps we could play the early rounds of the Herts Charity Cup against teams like Broxbourne at somewhere smaller like Vicarage Road? That's what the Big Clubs do, I believe.

[JKiF]

Hi AFF, can i join?

 

 

 

 

wembleys not that far....

[Rob_the_Saint]

There's a nice peice of land between the M25 eastbound and the A405, also next to a roundabout that could hold a stadium complex. It was going to be a golf course then it was used as an illegal tip before the council barricaded up the entrance.

 

Perhaps our noble Chairman meant this location not the M10? I know he hasn't been in the area long, so he may have got his motorways mixed up?

[JKiF]

the one just up from the Noke?

 

easy motorway access ( i beleive thats essential to any 'footie stadia' these days)

[Laz]

I know it well! Pre-match drinks in the Three Hammers, only a mile from the ground.

 

It's only two miles from Bricket Wood station too!

 

Hardly handy is it?

[JKiF]

BTW good 3 lions knowledge!

[Laz]

Indeed!

[AFF]

Hmmnnnn.

 

The issues relating to the siting of football stadia have changed siginifcantly over the past 10/15 years or so.

 

If a site very close to an existing motorway junction is selected, it should be considered likely that the Department of the Environment [or whatever it's called nowadays] will require the motorway to be widened to either side of that junction to cope with increased traffic on matchdays. This is likely to have very significant cost inmplications.

 

All professionals involved in the process of Stadium design are important, of course, but the most important is likely to be the Highways Engineer. Quite simply, the thinking 20 odd years ago was to build a fairly large carpark with a stadium somewhere on site. That is no longer the case as the 'Authorities' will wish to see how the applicant intends to get people to the ground other than by car. Hence, you will often see 'Park & Ride' facilities included within the complex. Taken to extremes, therefore, the Authorities' would prefer the thing to be in the middle of nowhere, with around 30 car parking spaces but with a comprehensive system in place to bus fans in.

 

'The middle of nowhere' around here will almost certainly be in the Green Belt which brings interesting planning issues of its own.

 

It's not exactly child's play. I can see why Hatfield might have its attractions.

[Laz]

It would certainly be handy for any one that lives in Hatfield.

 

Pre-match drinks in the Comet, anyone?

[JKiF]

plot up in the Gallleria?

[Iron Webbo]

Quote:

Laz EFM said:

Quote:

AFF said:
Gibbo is then quoted in the final part "We need a bigger stadium to get bigger crowds to get a bigger squad.

Clarence Park holds 4,500 doesn't it?

I'd say that was bigger than our current average attendance. In fact, bigger than every average attendance in the Conference National at present.

The ground would certainly accomodate 4,000 comfortably. We had more than that against the Spurs in 98 and close to that when we played Boston in the Trophy. I like Clarence Park - a proper ground with proper terracing.

[Davymac55]

First off.

As some of you have sais, we don't need a 10k+ stadium-5K would be fine until we reach the 2nd div( championship I believe they call it now) and even that would probably be optimistic in extreme looking at the average attendances in the divisions.

However, St Albans City is not Hatfield - it ain'teven close. We would in the end have a name change as no-one in their right mind living in Hatfield will come and support their local team 'Saint Abans City just down the road in Hatfield Rovers Dons' at the 'John Gibson Affordable Community Housing Stadium.'. And I dont think that the residents of Park Street or Bricket Wood or wherever will be best pleased either with the M10 proposal. So, where then? Theres a little stadium in place called Clarence Park...

[Zagreus]

Yep, Clarence Park all the way for me too.

[Laz]

Agreed!

[AFF]

As some have been made, a couple of observations from me.

 

Clarence Park has received the grading certificate thingy to allow us to play in the Conference Nationale, but is that a 'temporary' or 'permanent' one? In other words, does the ground comply or do we have to do more major [very major] works to play there at that level over the next few years. Presumably, but perhaps someone who knows will confirm, it doesn't qualify for the next level of the pyramid into the proper League?

 

I once held the view that a new stadium would be good to have as the limited nature of the facilities at Clarence Park - parking, clubhouse etc - prevent us from increasing revenue by means of social functions other than football matches. A complex like the OAs at Woollams on Harpenden Road would enable weddings & barmitzvahs, gym, social stuff during the week etc. But if we go to Park Street or wherever, would that actually happen? Is that actually 'The Plan'?

 

We would be in competition for that business with hotels in the area and I don't see several hundred people wanting to come to one of the Supporters' Club Quiz nights very often [great entertainment though they most certainly are].

 

A new stadium with appropriate facilities would be more attractive to commercial sponsors, presumably. The position in the pyramid limits the number of pitchboards that we can sell, I guess, but is it intended to go after matchday sponsorships of the more traditional kind at a new stadium? Sponsors were not falling over each other for the last three home games of this last season where, for two games the ball was sponsored, once by the Knock family, and once by Westview Couriers, but that was it. We had gates of 820, 860 and 960 or so for those matches and there was a momentary glimpse of the Championship title.

 

It should be said that the Commercial & Marketing Department of the club was not fully and completely operational last season, in fairness.

 

The Board have not really sought to 'sell' the idea of a relocation to existing fans so far as I have seen, and certainly, the press coverage locally over the past few weeks has done nothing to clarify these issues for me. Gibbo's comments that a bigger stadium will attract bigger crowds to fund a bigger squad are just quotes to a newspaper, of course, but if that is really 'The Plan', then I am uneasy that it wont 'work'.

 

Clarence Park costs an amount of money to keep open for the business of playing football for a season, and I wouldn't want to guess how much that is. I imagine that a new facility of 5 or 10,000 seats will cost considerably more. If that's the case, we will need to attract bigger crowds just to pay the running costs of the bigger stadium.

 

Someone tell me where I'm going wrong, here.

[JKiF]

its not gonna happen is it tho'

[AFF]

Weeeellll. It's not quite as simple as that, is it?

 

Firstly, the lack of maintainance at t'Park has been excused in view of the intention to relocate to a new stadium for several years now and that point was stressed by the two Officials from the club who, in their capacity as memebers of the Supporters Club, attended the Supporters Club AGM a few weeks ago. If it's not gonna happen, that view was not expressed then.

 

Secondly, a series of articles in the local press should be read with some caution, and Gibbo is unlikely to tell me his innermost thoughts, and I don't have a copy of the Big Book of Negotiating Super-Duper Deals, but the tone [relating to relocation] was very positive since we won promotion, but very negative in the Herts Advertiser article.

 

The impression I have gained is that the Board have the very reverse view of yours JKiF.