Staying at RH and ditching Fossets

[Ex-SouthendUnitedEmployee]

I have just read that Barnsley have had to close their west stand due to structural problems. Unfortunately these old stands require maintenance.

Birmingham had to close two stands recently as well for a similar issue. Unfortunately some grounds are getting older and more expensive to repair or not commercially viable to 7 day a week revenue these clubs now need.

Everton are moving from Goodinson in the next few seasons, so I’m sure a few more clubs will be looking if it’s more cost effective to move grounds or redevelop

 

[Barry.C]

Thanks RHB, I've read that before, a great read. I do like my local history.... Going slightly off topic, the battle of Benfleet fascinates me.

Did we win one nil?

 

[onceknownasrab]

Trouble is that that part of Victoria Avenue (Blue Boar down to The Golden Lion) are one of the oldest parts of Southend/Prittlewell and the Church of St Mary is Grade I , and the Grade II listed buildings include 255 & 271-275 Victoria Avenue.

View attachment 17013

Church of St. Mary (Grade I)

View attachment 17014
255, Victoria Avenue (Grade II)

View attachment 17015
271-275 Victoria Avenue (Grade II)​

Good post and good points. The church, being on the opposite side of the road, is slightly different issue. The other, few, properties can still be conserved and hopefully brought back to original splendour, and incorporated in a new project. There are many examples of the old and new being alongside one another.

As sure as eggs are eggs, doing nothing at that end of the town is detrimental in terms of aesthetics, a towns aspirations and image.

 

[blueblueblue]

Did we win one nil?

Hahaha, well, the Saxon's beat the Vikings and East Anglia remand a Saxon Kingdom, that's all I know :)

 

[RHB]

Hahaha, well, the Saxon's beat the Vikings and East Anglia remand a Saxon Kingdom, that's all I know :)

The Battle of Benfleet

The Local perspective

www.benfleethistory.org.uk

 

[blueblueblue]

Good post and good points. The church, being on the opposite side of the road, is slightly different issue. The other, few, properties can still be conserved and hopefully brought back to original splendour, and incorporated in a new project. There are many examples of the old and new being alongside one another.

As sure as eggs are eggs, doing nothing at that end of the town is detrimental in terms of aesthetics, a towns aspirations and image.

Over the years, Southend has tried to claim City Status and St Mary's has always been the forfront as being the Cathedral of the town.

 

[danbowen]

You currently watch football in a half filled stadium if you go to roots hall

Yeah fair dos, I just can't image much worse than watching a game in a half full stadium (and that's a best case scenario). MK Dons, while a lovely stadium, was depressing seeing far more empty seats that full ones.
In my view a 21K stadium is for Championship football...I hope we are never going to make that ambitious mistake again!

 

[Yer Blues]

Did we win one nil?

Nah. Too many over 30s on the battlefield

 

[wiggy]

The thought of enduring these last 4 years and NOT ending up with a new stadium to show for it is too much to bear for me.

Roots Hall is beyond redemption IMO - I still love it of course, but I'm ready for a new stadium and all that hopefully goes with it (better views, seats, facilities etc...). What sort of new stadium we actually get remains to be seen of course (if indeed we get one at all).

You won’t find a better view than Roots Hall I’m afraid…..these new places are not much better than Ifollow……..have not been many places better than ours for view and atmosphere and got a funny feeling this new place is gonna be just the opposite!

 

[Lemon Lyman]

I had a dream once that Roots Hall was redeveloped with a nice new stadium!

Then I woke up.

View attachment 17012

Nice to see the market is still happening in the car park

 

[Reefs]

You won’t find a better view than Roots Hall I’m afraid…..these new places are not much better than Ifollow……..have not been many places better than ours for view and atmosphere and got a funny feeling this new place is gonna be just the opposite!

I'm afraid that just isn't true. What you may be referring to is the perceived views, because the stands are that much closer to the pitch at traditional stadia.
All new build grandstands and stadia have to meet strict criteria for sightline values to a given point on the pitch - that is to say, all spectators must have unobstructed clear views of all areas of the pitch from wherever they are sitting.
Restricted views owing to supporting stanchions aside, the fact that the West and North stands comprise seats bolted on to old standing terraces is the biggest issue - the riser heights are too shallow to afford anybody an acceptable sightline against current regulations. Furthermore, the inconsistent terrace levels, tread depths and step arrangements on the gangways, combined with the insufficient access/egress arrangements are probably what is giving the Safety Advisory Group the biggest headache each season when it comes to making a call on permissible capacity for the safety certificate.

 

[Whispering Bob]

Thanks RHB, I've read that before, a great read. I do like my local history.... Going slightly off topic, the battle of Benfleet fascinates me.

Was it at Sam Lords?

 

[GDM]

I guess we're now all on board with ditching RH for FF now that FF will make us 3 to 5 million a year from outside football? Maybe it's me but that is a shockingly large figure...we can certainly afford to have 5K in a 22K stadium now!!!

 

[kentblues]

I guess we're now all on board with ditching RH for FF now that FF will make us 3 to 5 million a year from outside football? Maybe it's me but that is a shockingly large figure...we can certainly afford to have 5K in a 22K stadium now!!!

The number came from Tom as an estimate based on his previous experience. Lesser facilities at Gillingham have allowed them to run at break even in L1. So it wasn't plucked out of the air.

 

[Strykr]

I guess we're now all on board with ditching RH for FF now that FF will make us 3 to 5 million a year from outside football? Maybe it's me but that is a shockingly large figure...we can certainly afford to have 5K in a 22K stadium now!!!

Why the hell they didnt hint at something like this as soon as the commercial/shop side of it was scrapped i'll never know. customer relations of our club is the worst i think of any company in the world!

The break even at league one figure would be the answer to a lot of our worries thats for sure.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

The number came from Tom as an estimate based on his previous experience. Lesser facilities at Gillingham have allowed them to run at break even in L1. So it wasn't plucked out of the air.

it's not a guaranteed income though, is it ? It could quite easily be £nil if the service we offer is poor or other venues are better value. I'd rather we had something more concrete

 

[Strykr]

it's not a guaranteed income though, is it ? It could quite easily be £nil if the service we offer is poor or other venues are better value. I'd rather we had something more concrete

Maybe we can nick the Gills hospitality manager as well

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

Maybe we can nick the Gills hospitality manager as well

hmm...now there's a thought ! Tell him / her there's a ferry from the Island of Sheppey to Southend Pier that has Duty Free ?

 

[southendkid]

it's not a guaranteed income though, is it ? It could quite easily be £nil if the service we offer is poor or other venues are better value. I'd rather we had something more concrete

You could say the same about any business venture, you can't get a concrete figure until you've actually started selling the service. Until then it's just speculation based on data from similar businesses.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

You could say the same about any business venture, you can't get a concrete figure until you've actually started selling the service. Until then it's just speculation based on data from similar businesses.

I agree. I'd be a lot more confident with income from some of the properties he's building, though !