Adver News: SWINDON TOWN: Club present their vision to businesses and sponsors

[Power to people]

Positive from last night, I went not knowing what to expect and came away pleasently surprised and feeling more confident that they do have a plan and are not just winging it, some interesting ideas and as said Steve was willing to talk and give answers.

[Batch]

Got to be better value than the likes of Atiku, whom I recall never played in a competitive match and we undoubtedly had to pay off to release from his 2 year contract.

Yes! Kim Hieselberger was good value compared to Atiku.  I don't think he's a bad player (Byrne).

[dagrumpymunki]

Nobody seems to have picked up on why we may have paid a fee for Byrne.

Remember what happened with Collins and Archibald-Henville? At least this fixes the price.

My guess is we dropped a bollock on that one. His contract was up and we made it public that we wanted him, so Spurs signed him up to make sure they, rather than a transfer tribunal got to decide the fee.

[Flashheart]

My guess is we dropped a bollock on that one. His contract was up and we made it public that we wanted him, so Spurs signed him up to make sure they, rather than a transfer tribunal got to decide the fee.

..... or that Spurs wanted something tangible in exchange for some of their best young talent and the Byrne transfer money facilitated that.

[Matt71]

The roof over stratton bank is a good idea IMO as it can be used to house away fans which means we can have the north stand back.Also gives the ground a better appearance and will increase atmosphere .the terracing which the seats are bolted too is in good condition as it was rebuilt around the same time as the DR stand as the old Bank was crumbling ,just needs some new toilets and the area behind the stand needs clearing of debri and weeds etc.however the cost of 150000 the club said it would cost seems very low! You can just about build a family  home for that!

[Reg Smeeton]

The roof over stratton bank is a good idea IMO as it can be used to house away fans which means we can have the north stand back.Also gives the ground a better appearance and will increase atmosphere .the terracing which the seats are bolted too is in good condition as it was rebuilt around the same time as the DR stand as the old Bank was crumbling ,just needs some new toilets and the area behind the stand needs clearing of debri and weeds etc.however the cost of 150000 the club said it would cost seems very low! You can just about build a family  home for that!

It is a good idea, but very much of the seeing is believing type. I remember when the bogs and the back of the Bank was last upgraded about 50 years ago....don't think it's been touched since...the corrugated fencing is now starting to rust away.

[Peter Venkman]

I was thinking that too that £150k seems very low for a temporary/permanent roof structure, I personally would have thought nearer the £300k to 400k might be more realistic.

[ronnie21]

I was thinking that too that £150k seems very low for a temporary/permanent roof structure, I personally would have thought nearer the £300k to 400k might be more realistic.

That was the price quoted, I think it was just for a roof and nothing else.  They are also seeking sponsorship for it - perhaps that's where the new board member will come to the fore.  When not going to be used for away fans they are looking to do special offers for schools, armed forces etc. to keep it in use and create a better atmosphere.

[Ardiles]

The roof over stratton bank is a good idea IMO as it can be used to house away fans which means we can have the north stand back.Also gives the ground a better appearance and will increase atmosphere .the terracing which the seats are bolted too is in good condition as it was rebuilt around the same time as the DR stand as the old Bank was crumbling ,just needs some new toilets and the area behind the stand needs clearing of debri and weeds etc.however the cost of 150000 the club said it would cost seems very low! You can just about build a family  home for that!

Quite agree.  For all the stick we give Oxford about having a three sided ground, we have effectively had the same for a long time now.  The Stratton Bank is where I first stood when I started coming to football and where I had my season ticket during the Premier League season.  When the Bank was packed, the feel of the ground changed.  It must be 15 years or so since it's been used week in, week out.

If we are going down the piecemeal redevelopment route, it's clearly the two ends that need sorting first.  Not ideal, but if we can do a decent job at both ends the feel of the ground will change for the better...no doubt about it.

[Ardiles]

One other thing.  (Probably a question for Reg or one of the other old 'uns.)  How long has the Stratton Bank been known as that?  And why is it called the Stratton Bank anyway when Stratton is a good couple of miles away?

[Peter Venkman]

That was the price quoted, I think it was just for a roof and nothing else.  They are also seeking sponsorship for it - perhaps that's where the new board member will come to the fore.  When not going to be used for away fans they are looking to do special offers for schools, armed forces etc. to keep it in use and create a better atmosphere.

I would imagine it will be of a similar structure to Inverness Cally South Stand roof.

Basic and does the bare minimum but it does tidy that end of the ground up and at the CG would also allow for the away fans to be seated there for every game rather than in the Arkells corner allowing for that to be freed up to Town fans again and also a reduced need for segregation thereby freeing stewards/police to be deployed elsewhere in the ground.


The Arena group put that one up.

[4D]

Perhaps they could put the concert stage up a bit higher and kill two birds with one stone.

[Honkytonk]

Quite agree.  For all the stick we give Oxford about having a three sided ground, we have effectively had the same for a long time now.  The Stratton Bank is where I first stood when I started coming to football and where I had my season ticket during the Premier League season.  When the Bank was packed, the feel of the ground changed.  It must be 15 years or so since it's been used week in, week out.

If we are going down the piecemeal redevelopment route, it's clearly the two ends that need sorting first.  Not ideal, but if we can do a decent job at both ends the feel of the ground will change for the better...no doubt about it.

I'm young enough that I don't remember the Stratton Bank being used to any great extent. I think the only two instances of it being full that I remember are the Reading Friendly before the 2010/11 season, the Wigan cup match the same season, and when they had that Excalibur sponsorship drive thing towards the tail end of last season. I don't get along as much as I'd like to mind, so I could have missed some (but I doubt it).

Sticking a roof on it is a very sound idea for all sorts of reasons. It frees up the Arkells/North Stand for home fans, means there's not as much as a problem with security for that reason (not saying that there was in the first place...), gives the board room to expand in terms of average attendance, and makes the place look a bit more high-end. It'll improve the atmosphere no end as well, with the noise being bounced off the roof and back towards the spectators just like in the town end. £150,000 does sound a little cheap mind. I'd rather they overestimated the cost. Then again, perhaps they've had the surveyors in already with a quote, or Jed's going to stick a conservatory up.

I personally think there's nothing wrong with piecemeal improvements. Surely it's more financially sound taking small steps you can afford by yourself than big ones where you may have to get other parties involved- we've all seen what's happened to Coventry with regards to that. If JedCo go around the ground, improving on what we've already got, putting in better facilities (*cough new Town End, cough*) and keeping the place up to date, then we'll retain the history of the ground and our financial security. Okay, we may not have a brand-spanking new, state of the art bowl of a ground with a cinema next to it and four casinos built in, but we'll have a modernised CG, and I do think a lot of fans would prefer that.

Perhaps they could put the concert stage up a bit higher and kill two birds with one stone.

If they're fiddling about with the Stratton Bank anyway, and they want to have regular concerts, perhaps they could also do some work to have some kind of structure built in to facilitate a stage going up on the Stratton Bank itself? I'm no expert mind, but perhaps a 'base' for them to erect the stage off of quickly would be a sensible addition.

[fuzzy]

I personally think there's nothing wrong with piecemeal improvements. Surely it's more financially sound taking small steps you can afford by yourself than big ones where you may have to get other parties involved- we've all seen what's happened to Coventry with regards to that. If JedCo go around the ground, improving on what we've already got, putting in better facilities (*cough new Town End, cough*) and keeping the place up to date, then we'll retain the history of the ground and our financial security. Okay, we may not have a brand-spanking new, state of the art bowl of a ground with a cinema next to it and four casinos built in, but we'll have a modernised CG, and I do think a lot of fans would prefer that.

What Honkytonk said. Redeveloping the CG will retain an element of character.

New fangled, flat pack stadiums like Franchises place or Wembley etc. have no soul.

[derbystfc]

I Imagine, the work needed on the Stratton Bank will be quite minimal in terms of erecting a roof, there is a height issue with the houses behind, and something about blocking the sun, I beleive (although I could be wrong) that this idea was looked into by Mark Devlin when he was Chief Exect.

If its going to be a temporay structure, then the roof can be easily removed to make room for the staging for the summer concerts. This is why it will prob be so cheap to do. I dont think we will get a semi permanent structure there for that price.