Roots Hall

[Sherif H]

Personally if Ronald walked away tomorrow a redevelopment of roots hall would be preferable if possible.

Watching Bristol city on the box they have done a great job there.

Easily doable given the sheer amount of space behind the East Stand, although the whole development would need to be very carefully planned, as it would involve extensive groundworks to excavate down to the current level of the pitch, as well as wholesale movement of the pitch (rather like you can see at Carlisle...).

 

[Smiffy]

Easily doable given the sheer amount of space behind the East Stand, although the whole development would need to be very carefully planned, as it would involve extensive groundworks to excavate down to the current level of the pitch, as well as wholesale movement of the pitch (rather like you can see at Carlisle...).

I have always wondered why a 2 tier East & North (similar to Bradford) has never been considered, and just a general tidy up of the South and West. Surely it is do-able especially if we shifted the whole site back towards Fairfax Drive and Vic Ave?.....would that cost as much as a whole new stadium?...surely not which says to me Ron want's to coin it in from the retail/housing side at FF. I would be more than happy with a RH re-development, there is still no firm confirmation from Ron on how the club would benefit from an attached retail park at FF, so other than for his own gain what is the point of said retail annex?

IIRC there were mutterings years ago that the area behind the North (old Prospects car park) had some serious issues with the ground which would make it difficult to develop on?....must be bollocks though as Lidl were considering building a store there.

 

[Mick]

I am surprised that more parts of the stadium have not been condemned yet.

I am sure the Directors' Lounge has been maintained in a good state of repair !

 

[RHB]

Surely though, from Ron's perspective the current ground represents a huge amount of cash to repay his generosity over the seasons past and provides some more money to build a new ground and retail complex, thereby providing even more income for him. Redeveloping Roots Hall has never been on his agenda I'm afraid.

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

Let's be honest, it is a complete hole. Yes it is our hole, but sentiment aside if we weren't so loyal to the club none of us would pay £350+ a year to use the god awful "facilities"

Even the basic facilities are a disgrace (toilets/running water/food etc) they wouldn't look out of place in the grottiest northern boozer you could find.

Didn't part of the East blacks/greens floor collapse earlier this season?....worrying considering that is probably one of the more recent upgrades the place has had. That's not even touching on the state of the pot holed car park, seating, crumbling walls, roofing or the bird **** infested South Upper tea bar that was closed years ago etc.

I am surprised that more parts of the stadium have not been condemned yet. I think it is only a matter of time, so Ron better get his skates on as I can see the old place having a reduced usage in the coming seasons if H&S get involved.

Spot on - Roots Hall is awful - I love the pitch but coming back to the her after the summer break makes you realise what a state the facility is.

And it's not as if this situation is new. Does anyone else remember the awful Boxing Day weather against Bolton back in the early 1990s? Water was spilling out of the broken guttering and on to the fans then and that was about 25 years ago!

Just a quick word to say that I've never thought of Roots Hall or Boothferry Park as "stadiums" - they will always be football grounds to me that reflect the place they are situated and the history that they hold. Let's wait until we get to a new ground before going all "new labour prawn sandwich Sky Sports prancified middle class" eh?

As to the economics - it is as Sherif H says. Look at the cost of doing the minimum versus the income loss of doing nothing. But there will surely come a time when parts of the ground will be shut off if Ron continues along the current path.

 

[leeblue]

How about that new stadium...wooooooo
Time to realise that FF is not going to happen people. SUFC just being used to prop up Ron's lifestyle. Why have we not put planning application in???? anyone???.

 

[Fairport]

Interesting thread here, I have often wondered how we manage to pass safety checks etc. Presume the Fire Service and other bodies do checks each year. So much is crumbling and there is asbestos around. We are desperate for a new stadium, planning application was to go in to the Council in December, here we are in March! I do think an application will be going in sometime soon once a few adjustments are made to the original plan, I hope so!

 

[londonblue]

I love Roots Hall , its like your favourite old jumper that you know maybe doesnt look great but just feels nice when you put it on . The one that when you wear it your missus tells you to take it off coz its got holes in and doesnt hang right, but you wear it anyway.

But i have to admit whenever the ball gets booted onto the corragated roof above me in the west stand , i always fear that one of these days a big chunk of the rusting old roofing will get knocked off and come crashing down on our heads.

Still , my SUFC bobble hat is pretty tough so i feel safe enough :winking:

Not for me it's not. For me it's the embarrassingly old fashioned itchy woolen top your parents forced you to wear when you were a kid and you couldn't wait to grow out of, and get shot of.

 

[jaffa1]

Question, if somebody is badly injured (or worse) from things falling from the roof (and I've seen people struck in the East Stand on two occasions) who would actually be liable?......remember, where there's pain there's a claim.

 

[hamiltonblue]

I took a box for Saturday's game to host some customers, TBH it was embarrassing, wall paper hanging off the walls, similarly the coving, exposed wires hanging from the ceiling, 14" CRT TV with barely a viewable picture.

The poor lad serving us was working his nuts off, we asked for tomato sauce to go with the chips served, he came back to say there was none in the whole ground.

I'm in the midst of writing to the an e-mail to the club expressing my disappointment.

My company has a box at Stevenage Borough, of which I used for the league and play-off matches last season, they absolutely put us to shame in terms of the condition and presentation of the box, and the service.

 

[Rob1920]

Have they re-attached that dodgy looking cable yet that's come adrift from the roof & hangs right across your view when sitting in the south upper right hand side (as you look at the pitch)? If that's got a current running through it that alone could kill someone if it came away from whatever it's taking power to..

 

[Farmer Fossett]

I thought the club looked into redeveloping Roots Hall but considered it not a financially viable option.
I think our only option is to unfortunately move to FF the ground is looking tired and possibly unsafe.

 

[Uncle Leo]

It's the lack of a proper jumbotron that really gets my goat.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

It was Bloomfield Road rather than Boothferry Park than I remember being mainly condemned, although Boothferry wasn't exactly great.

But then I've also been to Darlington's state of the art new ground and their old one and new grounds aren't always the answer.

Roots Hall has certainly suffered with a move being imminent for so long now there just hasn't been the investment into the stadium that there otherwise would have been.

 

[mrsblue]

Sooooooooo !

RH is one big dirty mess,food is downright shocking,loo's look like their from the third world and so on.

Around 120,000 customers use the Hall every year,Why would Ron splash the cash when us Mugs continue to pay out.

 

[Sherif H]

I have always wondered why a 2 tier East & North (similar to Bradford) has never been considered, and just a general tidy up of the South and West. Surely it is do-able especially if we shifted the whole site back towards Fairfax Drive and Vic Ave?.....would that cost as much as a whole new stadium?...surely not which says to me Ron want's to coin it in from the retail/housing side at FF. I would be more than happy with a RH re-development, there is still no firm confirmation from Ron on how the club would benefit from an attached retail park at FF, so other than for his own gain what is the point of said retail annex?

IIRC there were mutterings years ago that the area behind the North (old Prospects car park) had some serious issues with the ground which would make it difficult to develop on?....must be bollocks though as Lidl were considering building a store there.

As far as I know, the stadium was originally built on landfill, but I am not sure how far that extends. Not necessarily an issue, as if the soil is stable enough, the only thing you are looking for is the geophysical nature of the material, which essentially means issues with release of methane/radon etc...

It may not have been an issue to Lidl, as they would have only been putting up a portal frame shed which is fairly uncomplicated - anything a bit more demanding in terms of foundations may be a bit riskier.

Re. redevelopment generally, I'd favour knocking down the East Stand and redeveloping a significant main stand in it's place, maybe moving the pitch some 20m easterly, so that you can at least continue on through the season with a reasonable reduced capacity of circa. 8,000. Then on to the North bank, and ultimately the West.

 

[Sherif H]

I thought the club looked into redeveloping Roots Hall but considered it not a financially viable option.
I think our only option is to unfortunately move to FF the ground is looking tired and possibly unsafe.

It would be unviable due to the need to generate cash for a new development - Roots Hall, and our deal with Sainsbury was our route to making the FF business case make sense, but that is obviously riddled with holes now.

 

[AndyT]

I am sure the Directors' Lounge has been maintained in a good state of repair !

Trust me, It Isn't*





*I've said too much! :blush:

 

[AndyT]

Question, if somebody is badly injured (or worse) from things falling from the roof (and I've seen people struck in the East Stand on two occasions) who would actually be liable?......remember, where there's pain there's a claim.

Is it Cian Bolger?


#40yardpass

 

[Sherif H]

Is it Cian Bolger?


#40yardpass

The Club - they should have public liability insurance in place to cover such claims.