It goes it cycles.
Soon certain restrictions, such as terracing, will be relaxed and the club will be able to design and build the new generation of stadia. Suddenly those who couldn't afford flat pack all-seaters will look like pioneers.
A town like Swindon should have a sporting complex it can be proud of but 20 years of dicking about shows that he'll have the current CG for a good while longer.
Unfortunately, times change, SBC used to put Rate/Council Tax money into leisure facilities, when it was predominantly Labour controlled, with the odd Tory interlude, but at the time, they could largely see the benefit of a strong municipal tradition in this area.
So we got...the Oasis, the Link, Broome Manor golf course, the Athletics track at the CG ext, Lydiard Park, to add to already existing provision like Coate etc.
Culturally, Wyvern Theatre and the maintainance of the Art's Centre.....and the establishment of a noted collection of modern art.
This was the a kind of deal...you put up with sprawling new developments, but the upside being you can use monies raised to fund new facilities.
The Town even got the Arkells, at the time a very decent facility.
Now though we just get the sprawling developments, with next to no funds for any infrastructure let alone new facilities, just max the profits of multi-nationals...and fuck the citizens. So SBC's policy of selling off leisure facilities is very much in keeping with the prevailing thinking, that any local democracy mustn't be allowed to stand in the way of profit....
The worry, is that they can get away with this and they know it....the majority in the town, don't give a shit about the place, further than it impinges on their abilities to drive or consume..and when they do like in the campaigns against the Front Garden and Coate developments...it makes no difference. This leads to the general feel of decline,and lack of concern for the environment which can be seen all around, and the football club, is just a reflection of this.
The Tories, have recently claimed the reports that they were looking to flog Lydiard were untrue...we'll see.
We should be proud of our shitty little ground, and don't just blithely assume that it will survive the next 20 or so years, with the likely changes in the political landscape.
