New Brentford Stadium

[jonny72]

Does it really?  Difficult to quantify or back that one up, I think.

The main benefit is land being cheaper and more of it available, making a larger development possible. You are very limited with what you can do with the County Ground, especially as the local residents are likely to oppose the development plans. By the time you've finished rebuilding the stands there isn't going to be much extra space to put anything extra in, unless they move the cricket ground and/or the playing field.

There is a big difference between putting a new ground in the middle of nowhere and putting it in the middle of a brand new development and doing it properly. Though I don't have much confidence in the Council to do it the right way.

I'm not a fan of out of town development but the ship has well and truly sailed on that one in Swindon.

[Abrahammer]

Just a couple of points.

Does it really?  Difficult to quantify or back that one up, I think.

It would be horrific!  You'd be 4 to 5 miles from the centre of town, miles from any decent pubs, miles from the train station.  (There is a railway line nearby, but the chances of a new station out there would be slim at best.)

Town planners in Swindon have consistently, over the course of decades, allowed just about everything to move out to the suburbs...leaving the centre to rot, basically.  I really hope that the football club does not follow the shops and the cinemas.

There is something special about a matchday in Swindon...and it's almost entirely down to where the ground is.

• The crowds getting off the train before a big match.
• The walk through the side streets on the way to the ground.
• The view you get of Old Town and Christchurch from the Arkells Stand.
• The dozens of pubs within a 15 minute walk of the ground full of pre-match banter.
• The folk who will stop you in the street shortly after a game and ask you how the Town got on.

You'd lose all of that if you moved out of town.  The experience of the matchday would change.  Sure, we would accept it and move forward.  But it would be a massive step backwards for me.  I think we can get the best of both worlds.

[Sorry if I'm sounding a bit preachy, by the way.  Pet subject of mine, as you may have noticed.

Bang on the money, anyone who has been to Colchester's new ground knows that an out of town stadium has the potential to be an absolute disaster.

[donkey]

There is something special about a matchday in Swindon...and it's almost entirely down to where the ground is.

• The crowds getting off the train before a big match.
• The walk through the side streets on the way to the ground.
• The view you get of Old Town and Christchurch from the Arkells Stand.
• The dozens of pubs within a 15 minute walk of the ground full of pre-match banter.
• The folk who will stop you in the street shortly after a game and ask you how the Town got on.

You'd lose all of that if you moved out of town.  The experience of the matchday would change.  Sure, we would accept it and move forward.  But it would be a massive step backwards for me.  I think we can get the best of both worlds.

[Sorry if I'm sounding a bit preachy, by the way.  Pet subject of mine, as you may have noticed.]

Welcome to Coventry.  Highfield Road was great, the whole match day infrastructure was there, from pubs, to chippys, shops, all walkable form the train station and the centre of the city.  Now you get a bus out to a ground (a nice ground in fact) with not much to do around it apart from get the bus back to the city.  Shame, and we need to avoid this...redevelop the CG, and press on to the Championship. (Or if things go well, the other way around!)

[leefer]

QPR is an ace ground for the away day crack and in ground atmosphere.

[Arriba]

QPR is an ace ground for the away day crack and in ground atmosphere.

and needs replacing for the sake of qpr going forward.

[Gnasher]

QPR is an ace ground for the away day crack and in ground atmosphere.

I thought that until our last visit. Especially after the game, thanks to the met police.

[THE FLASH]

I thought that until our last visit. Especially after the game, thanks to the met police.

Plod were pricks!

[Simon Pieman]

The difference with the county ground site is that it is plenty big enough

[ChalkyWhiteIsGod]

Effectively selling our souls if we move out of town, we'd be no better than the plastics down the road in the M4.

Football is a culture and a stadium and fans are a reflection on the character of the club. Reading is the perfect example of everything we do not want to become. Shite fans, souless bowl stadium in the arse end of nowhere with no decent pubs, train links, etc. close by.

Some may say they'd accept it if we were successful, but not me. I'd rather stay at the county ground in the bottom two divisions. Doing it doesn't guarantee success either, just look at Coventry.

[Arriba]

Effectively selling our souls if we move out of town, we'd be no better than the plastics down the road in the M4.

Football is a culture and a stadium and fans are a reflection on the character of the club. Reading is the perfect example of everything we do not want to become. Shite fans, souless bowl stadium in the arse end of nowhere with no decent pubs, train links, etc. close by.

Some may say they'd accept it if we were successful, but not me. I'd rather stay at the county ground in the bottom two divisions. Doing it doesn't guarantee success either, just look at Coventry.

A club which has been between the top flight and championship with great crowds since moving there. I'd take that. Wanting to stay in the bottom two divisions rather than do something similar to Reading I find sad.
That said as pointed out by Si pie,the county ground site is plenty big enough to develop.

[ChalkyWhiteIsGod]

I wouldn't trade the soul of the club for a bit of success, watching football in what looks like a big plastic concert arena every week with no pubs for miles and having to catch a bus to go to the game.

It would effectively end my home attendance at Swindon apart from the really big games. Not my idea of fun at all. I wouldn't trade Swindon for Reading any day of the week.

[Arriba]

Football grounds dont have souls. Its just concrete and steel surrounding a grass pitch. It's not like the county ground is a place of magic. It's seen its share of misery along with some success. I fail to see this fairytale rubbish some fans seem to dream about.
Why Reading gets the knocks it does I don't know also? They got it right and their ground imo is excellent.

I see no reason why the county ground cannot be developed in a sensible manner anyway. SBC have to do something right for the town after making a mess of it for so long. The tired ground and surrounding areas would be enhanced by updating.

[Peter Venkman]

Football grounds dont have souls. Its just concrete and steel surrounding a grass pitch. It's not like the county ground is a place of magic. It's seen its share of misery along with some success. I fail to see this fairytale rubbish some fans seem to dream about.
Why Reading gets the knocks it does I don't know also? They got it right and their ground imo is excellent.

I see no reason why the county ground cannot be developed in a sensible manner anyway. SBC have to do something right for the town after making a mess of it for so long. The tired ground and surrounding areas would be enhanced by updating.

The County Ground does have soul.......the soul of my father buried under the Town End goal

[Abrahammer]

Grounds like Reading's look good to the Sky Sports generation of fan as they are aesthetically pleasing to eye when sat at home.

The whole matchday experience at an out of town stadium is quite often lacking

[Coca Fola]

Effectively selling our souls if we move out of town, we'd be no better than the plastics down the road in the M4.

Football is a culture and a stadium and fans are a reflection on the character of the club. Reading is the perfect example of everything we do not want to become. Shite fans, souless bowl stadium in the arse end of nowhere with no decent pubs, train links, etc. close by.

Some may say they'd accept it if we were successful, but not me. I'd rather stay at the county ground in the bottom two divisions. Doing it doesn't guarantee success either, just look at Coventry.

Well said.