Bristol Rovers New Ground

[Northern Red]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/4362246.stm

We're in danger of being left behind here....

Good idea though, building 116 student flats into the ground to help with costs.

Maybe someone should show this to our council - low cost flats as part of a new county ground build?
Fulfils the council's objectives to secure lost cost housing for local residents and gives us a new ground.
Flats could then be sold on leasehold, with the club or council retaining the freehold.

[le god cuervo]

quite a good idea i suppose. certainly different. £16m is very cheap for a brand new stadium as well.

sounds like the residents are gonna kick up about it though.

http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/bristol/content/images/2005/10/20/gal1_470x350.jpg

[fatbury]

Hope Troll gets the job too!

[mattboyslim]

Interesting, thats definately a more sustainable source of secondary income than grand ideas about casino's and leisure facilities which are more speculative.  It's lower risk as the income would be guaranteed although whether the income generated would be enough to draw in investment is a different question, intelligent solution nonetheless.

[Rich Pullen]

On paper it's a good idea but the residents will emerge and get it halted no doubt.

Shame Swindon can't pitch an idea like that.

I remember someone coming into Wiltshire College suggesting a University may open in Swindon... Nothing ever came out of that.

Wasted 45 minutes.

[Dazzza]

I don't think I have ever seen architect plans look quite as horrific as that Stadium.

The place looks like it’s held up by 8 cloned Nelson Mandela Towers.

Not really sure how the club will benefit either.  Purpose built student housing has a limited life span and isn’t exactly the greatest of big earners.

At least our stadium development has the pretence of additional income.

[Northern Red]

Not really sure how the club will benefit either.  Purpose built student housing has a limited life span and isn’t exactly the greatest of big earners.

Bristol University has been there a while and isn't exactly going to go away - I'd have said its got a really long lifespan, students will alway need somewhere to live and never worry about facilities, only low rent.
£50 per week for 116 rooms is still = £23,200 per week in income.

Assuming 40 weeks (as mine was) that's £800k-£900k per year in income, before summer special etc.
That'd easily offset Swindon losing 750k per season.

[Asher]

minus management fees, cost, electric although is still very profitable.

To be honest this could work very well, just needs the right type of people to get behind it

[Kinky Tom]

...and a student community. :|

[cannabiz]

Having student accomodation so close to a football ground encourages students to go to the games.

Wolverhamptons halls are as far away from the Molineux as the CGH is from the CG. They do lots of student schemes to get people from other areas into the ground and it works really well.

Probably one of the few grounds left where you can still buy student tickets on the gate!

Although it's gunna be a lot harder enticing students to go watch league 2 stugglers shite.

[Dazzza]

Not really sure how the club will benefit either.  Purpose built student housing has a limited life span and isn’t exactly the greatest of big earners.

Bristol University has been there a while and isn't exactly going to go away - I'd have said its got a really long lifespan, students will alway need somewhere to live and never worry about facilities, only low rent.
£50 per week for 116 rooms is still = £23,200 per week in income.

Assuming 40 weeks (as mine was) that's £800k-£900k per year in income, before summer special etc.
That'd easily offset Swindon losing 750k per season.

The reason most private companies build student accommodation over private commercial development is because it’s cheap as chips to put up and as a result it’s usually ready to come back down again after a few years.

Plus unless you’re a slum landlord student accommodation is an absolute mugs game.  Like you say it’s empty for large parts of the year and the maintenance and upkeep because of the high turnover of tenants on top of the piss poor rental income means you don’t make much dough come the end of the day.

You compare the income even with the first time buyer’s apartments and it’s weak in comparison.

Plus if you look at the figures, 114 student flats to fund a £16 million development?  

Is Sandy Gray on loan?

[Iffy's Onion Bhaji]

i dont care about them anyway. although i have to say the chances of it happening before ours does are highly likely

[Asher]

Its too high anyway, the north stand at swindon would get about 4 floors of housing this one has six, thw drawing is stupid.

[blinkpip]

I quite like Bristol Rovers. I used to watch them at Twerton Park years ago.
Good for them that they get their stadium.

[Reg Smeeton]

The general tone of the area around the CG has been going down since the 70's.....accommodating a mass of unwashed tax dodgers in little better than glorified shoe boxes, would be the final nail in the coffin.