squeezebox-son Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 (edited) Will be interesting to see how it goes if we got relegated? Or god forbid back to back relegations. Imagine how stupid that would look. As exciting as they try to make it all sound, it is a very big gamble, especially in today's economic climate. Businesses are failing all the time and if we are trying to run a gym, restaurant, hotel (had to read that one twice!!), conferencing halls (something which we have at our place more or less) etc... then I reckon we would be taking a huge risk and as Moonster said, we would be far less financially secure. EDT: I've not even begun to go into the increased capacity in this post... silly! Edited September 16, 2014 by squeezebox-son 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Pete Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Fucking madness. Killie's grand plan to build a hotel to prop up the business streams of the football club worked out really well... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bring Back Paddy Flannery Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Do you think if we had 4000 seats, Saturday's crowd would still have been 1700 odd? Shite location - agreed. Perhaps not but taking this one off season out of the picture do you think our average of 700-1000 justifies a 4k capacity? I certainly don't. Lets not kid ourselves on that we're highly unlikely to face the likes of Hearts and Rangers on league duty again. Who wants to stay in a hotel on the Renton Road? How many residents of Dumbarton are in a financial position to be enjoying all these shiny new facilities? How many big businesses will travel to Dumbarton to use our conference facilities (something we already have)? Where is the funding for all of this coming from? Will this be a council owned stadium? Can't we expand on what we already have? Lots of questions that need answered for me, but I fail to see to what huge benefits this will bring us. I'd be more in favour of installing a plastic pitch on our current site which could be rented out midweek and double up as training facilities for our own team. Do we really need hotels, restaraunts and gyms? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nowhereman Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I'm only stating that I'm wary of these plans, especially when they've detailed stuff like a gym/hotel/restaurant - how many part-time teams do you know with that stuff? If this really does turn out to be a dream come true then I'll be the first on here to admit I was wrong, I suspect it'll be pie in the sky ideas in order to give our owners their exit strategy though. Wary, yes I'd agree. But if we can get a better stadium without excessive debt I'd be happy to look at the possibilities. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pachyderm I Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 (edited) and yer right under The Rock. Sons of the Rock… and announcing this during a season, which is still very young i know, in which we look to be relegated… that doesn't sell tickets… smacks of monorail to me. Edited September 16, 2014 by Pachyderm I 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Moonster Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 If there was no gym facilities in Dumbarton, I could understand the gym. There's a gym in Dumbarton well used by plenty of people so we'd need to be cheaper/better than that. Plenty of restaurants with a good reputation (plenty is maybe a bit much but there's certainly enough in the town, not to mention out in Balloch) so we'll be competing with them. Hotel, correct me if I'm wrong but did a Premier Inn not just open up round the corner from this proposed site? We'll have a hard time competing with their prices I'd reckon, plus you have the Abbotsford and the Dumbuck to compete with. Office space? Who knows, that could get rented out but I haven't a clue if there is a demand for it. Wary, yes I'd agree. But if we can get a better stadium without excessive debt I'd be happy to look at the possibilities. Without excessive debt? Why should we put ourselves in any debt? I just don't understand why we NEED to do this. We have a perfect stadium, in the perfect place and it's suited our needs perfectly for only just over a decade. Absolutely bonkers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Pete Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I'm really glad the club are actively trying to look for alternatives to the appalling situation we find ourselves in whereby our ground is totally unsuitable for the league we find ourselves in, leading to ticket issues and road closures. Thank goodness we have such a responsible board in charge to take care of these problems for us. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Pete Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I just don't understand why we NEED to do this. We have a perfect stadium, in the perfect place and it's suited our needs perfectly for only just over a decade. Absolutely bonkers. This is the crux of the issue. We won't be in this league forever, nor will the unusually big teams who have popped down for a spell by the seaside. We will never be an established top flight team as there is not the support there to base that upon, same with turning full-time, so there are no justifiable reasons for this move. Someone further up on the thread said they'd be happy enough with this if it resulted in us getting a better stadium. What possible complaint could you have about our current home? Spacious, easily accessible, great view, ample commercial and hospitality facilities, club offices and shop within. There really could not be a "better" stadium for us. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pachyderm I Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I hope to one day get over there and I want to go this stadium. not the new one. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Moonster Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 And let's bear in mind that currently, our club gets external parties to run the bar facilities/pie stalls and we only get a cut of the hospitality. What's the reasoning for this? Because it would cost the club too much in overheads. Add a gym, cinema and restaurant to that and I'm sure it'll be much more viable. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Pete Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Bigger ground won't mean bigger support, but bigger ground does mean bigger running costs. Feckless decision making. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the snudge Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 At first I thought,why? But anything that brings jobs and revenue outside of football has to be a good thing. I like the idea of the capacity an ongoing project. I'm assuming it won't be 4000 right away. Community facilities and training facilities for future generations of sons player can only be a good thing. I'm weighing up the pros and cons and on the face of it is more pros. The maon worry for me is if it goes tits up and we're left homeless and bust. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Pete Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 At first I thought,why? But anything that brings jobs and revenue outside of football has to be a good thing. I like the idea of the capacity an ongoing project. I'm assuming it won't be 4000 right away. Community facilities and training facilities for future generations of sons player can only be a good thing. I'm weighing up the pros and cons and on the face of it is more pros. The maon worry for me is if it goes tits up and we're left homeless and bust. Let's be honest, Dumbarton is a shithole and no-one wants to live there. The vast majority of residents don't work in the town itself and the vast majority of football fans in the town support clubs other than DFC. This development isn't going to bring much in the way of jobs or revenue because there aren't that many people who'll use it. There are already restaurants, bars, gyms, football pitches, sports complexes and offices in and around the town, putting more in will not generate income. Look at the Artizan centre in the town centre, simply building the facility does not guarantee that businesses and customers will use it, especially in an economically depressed town which already has all of the facilities being suggested. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Moonster Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I quite like Dumbarton as a town, I like living there. I agree with everything else you've said though, Pete. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the snudge Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Maybe if we get a yes vote and west coast oil is there it'll be worth it 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Pete Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I quite like Dumbarton as a town, I like living there. I agree with everything else you've said though, Pete. It was said tongue in cheek, of course. Maybe if we get a yes vote and west coast oil is there it'll be worth it That's a bit pie in the sky then isn't it? We won't get very far if we base our future as a stable club on "maybe". 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionel wickson Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 It's taken only 45 years for Robert A. Robertson's "vision thing" to almost reach a conclusion! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BallochSonsFan Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 http://www.dumbartonfootballclub.com/news/?mode=view&id=1514 What in the name of f**k do we need a gym, restaurant, shop and offices for? Saturday is the first time we've sold out our ground of 2,000 seats, I can fully understand why we're looking at building a bigger stadium. Nice that we've found a "spokesman" to tell us about it. I guess our owners still don't want us knowing who they are. Hopefully they go to the exhibition, I look forward to laughing in their faces. I can see the point in having a gym. We don't have a private gym firm within Alexandria, Dumbarton or Helensburgh so it makes commercial sense to get the likes of Bannatynes, Greens or LA Fitness in to offer competition to the council's extortionate prices. But what about the rest of the facilities? We don't really need hotel accomodation. Dumbarton already has 2 hotels and there's a cut price option between Dumbarton and Alexandria. Helensburgh has a hotel. Balloch has a hotel. Where's the need for more hotel rooms? Conference facilities? I don't see it. Larger conferences will stick to Glasgow. Smaller ones can be accomodated in the hotel facilites that alread exist. Retail? We've already got 2 supermarkets in Dumbarton with an Aldi in Alexandria. We also have a retail park. Wheres the need for more retail outlets in Dunbartonshire? And lastly - the ground itself. I'd expect 2 of the big 3 sides to escape the Championship at the end of this season. Where will we ever need a 4000 capacity ground? Even if we build a single stand and increase as needs arise, I doubt we'll ever see the need to build stands 2, 3 and 4 because it's going to take a long time for Dumbarton to grow the fanbase to a significant number. Hell, Braehead Clan have been on the go for 4 and a bit years now and have started selling out Braehead. The Clan regularly get 2800-3200 fans now. Our attendance figures have been static for as long as I've been going to games (which admittedly isnt as long as many) and they don't look like increasing any time soon. It's a terrible location away from the town that's poorly served by public transport and isn't good for road access. Imagine the stream of several hundred cars trying to turn onto the bypass at the edge of the Tontine football pitches? That junction will need serious upgrading to avoid saturday afternoon traffic chaos. I hope this doesnt disadvantage the club. Anything that moves the club to the outskirts of town has the potential to cause disruption for fans. I'd also be concerned at being left with an expensive white elephant facility that we can't afford and can't fill. If it's done properly then theres no reason why it wont be at worst financially neutral for the club but I have genuine concerns that it'll be done in such a way that it'll still create an overall drain on the club. The devil will be in the detail. The sooner it's published then the sooner we can all give it proper scruitiny. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Moonster Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 (edited) Who owns this land at the proposed site just now? Edited September 16, 2014 by The Moonster 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boghead ranter Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I reckon this should only be ok'd if they agree to relocate the castle along with the ground. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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