A return to VP

Imagine a Corn Dolly beer tent in the car park. It would be like the old days. Out of the Belle Vue at five to three!

 

@Rogered Tart hinted at it in this thread but the bulls match day events were second to none, I was still a kid at the time but match days had me completely hooked. If City can replicate a tiny bit of that atmosphere it's a win.

 

As I posted he's had Richmond and Mark to do that in the past, during his last 18 months not at the clu as temporary CEO I'm not sure a written statement would have been a great idea you only have to read some of the posts on here with regards "the club are talking bollocks".

 

With Big Bob in tow

 

I doubt he can write, seeing as he doesnt have the ability to speak

 

The last 3 times at Wembley was pre match in the green man car park complete with marquee. The beer was crap but the atmosphere was electric, something similar but with better beer /decent food would get people buzzing before the game

 

What did they do to occupy fans for say 2-3 hours before k/o?

 

Not sure it was that long before KO but there was an area for some meet and greet with players, kids areas with the mascots. SImple things that we don't really see at City.

 

There were numerous things the club did, all from the marketing genius that was the late Peter Deakin. I think Rugby had the advantage that generally it is has more of a family feel to the supporter side, something that is changing in football. The switch to summer rugby was also a factor, i used to watch Northern through winter and you wouldn't get me there early for no one in that weather. Add the fact that the marekting change to something modern and a winning side and you had the ingredients to make it work. At the beginning most clubs struggled to embrace the concept. Entetainment wise it was the usual bouncy castles, acts and musicians on the pitch, marquees and beer tents etc, perfect for when the sun is shining.
The trick is making people believe they want to be there for a couple of hours before kick off, in Europe this is the norm, i've been to games in Poland and Germany where fans get there very early, its part of the infrastructure of their game. In the UK it isn't, even when we're playing really well theres still a sizeable section of the crowd only make their way into the ground with 5 to 10 minutes before kick off. Rugby is generally now very good with the match day experience both in league and union, Sparks with his rugby league background understands this one of the few avenues you have to raise club turnover, and with season tickets stupidly cheap there is expendable income amongst the fans to be had.

 

Yes thanks for that...very interesting. One large issue we cannot meet , no matter what ...Weather. Summer rugby, what is stopping us having summer football?

I certainly wouldn’t be turning up at a football ground in winter trying to keep, say me and the kids (when they were young) warm before K/o. A fast track to not taking them most certainly.

 

Football has already shown that if you put enough money on the table anything is possible, ala the Qatar world cup. But the hsitory of football dictates that we will never see a change in the football seasons., certainly not in my lifetime. Fanzones seem to be the order of the day as the landscape of football evolves, and that needs to cater for various groups within our diverse City culture.

 

As I mentioned before American football have their 'tailgate' parties all season long and they're usually held in much colder climates than we have.
Whilst we don't have the summer, we do have areas beneath the stands that could be made more welcoming.

 

Realistically there is only room under the main stand, the kop and midland road have little in the way of useable space although the bantams bar is crima'inally underused and more of an afterthought. The space under the main stand could be used , although how you would allow fans from other areas through the turnstiles to use i have no idea. Ideally the car park behind the main stand is the best space available as you don't have the above problem. A bit of ingenuity and you could have that area packed. But you'd lose the parking spaces.

 

Absolutely true. I’m sure SKY would put the mockers on it too. Too many summer sports already to add to the mix.

 

Turn Midland Rd into a no traffic zone ie blocked at either end.11.00 -1800.(Saturday example) Tented stalls along the Holywell Ash Lane to Queens Road route. Getting to and from the ground on this major route to the stadium would make it 100% safer than it is now. It’s a no brainer and creates the available space without impacting on ground parking.

 

At £300+ per parking place all bottom line profit, for no outlay.

 

You're spot on, with a ground like Valley Parade with parking at a premium, there is no way any spaces would be given up for any other use than there original intention. As Kev says looks like the only available space is on Midland Road.

 

And closing Midland Road of aint gonna happen.