Mowgli Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 Smashing ground but until they put in the missing seats it will never have a decent atmosphere. There will be no problems with planning. There are no real grounds for refusal having granted permission for the use in the first place (if they do refuse they will in on appeal). Thought the concourse was much nicer than SMS and the food drink was especially good. A choice of Sussex ale or Forty Niner. Really pleased for Brighton as they have potential of a really big club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COMEONYOUREDS Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 There is a very high chance the expansion to the Amex won't be given planning permission and therefore not happen. Until significant improvements are made to the transport links the council would be crazy to authorise this. You already have to queue for an hour to get to / from the match by train and locals have taken to stopping on the busy A27 dual carriageway to alight passengers. This is extremely dangerous and someone will get killed if it carries on much longer. If the council do authorise an extra 8k seats they will make the club pay for these improvements first, which could possibly exceed the cost of building the stadium! Didn't go yesterday but must admit their ground is a bit odd. I like the idea of it, just not sure it really works. The stand on the other side of the pitch from the main one reminds me of Brisbane Road! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holepuncture Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 Smashing ground but until they put in the missing seats it will never have a decent atmosphere. There will be no problems with planning. There are no real grounds for refusal having granted permission for the use in the first place (if they do refuse they will in on appeal). Thought the concourse was much nicer than SMS and the food drink was especially good. A choice of Sussex ale or Forty Niner. Really pleased for Brighton as they have potential of a really big club. The real ale idea is very interesting, bringing in local ale for visiting supporters is superb. Compared to most grounds this is the footballing equivilent to being at a beer festival! We have our weak (3.8%) and feable Saints Ale which I tried once and will not try again, I would go for a recognised ale or recognised brewery such as Ringwood or Sussex any day of the week. Aside from the 3.8% issue, Saints Ale is served in a flimsy plastic cup. I often wonder how much cash the St.Marys concourse loses out on each game from their sheer inability to serve the masses... always loads of staff but no management looking after the operation - leaving a half time window for serving beer and food to a bunch of 18 y.o temps/students will not work! Personally, I rarely bother as it is far too much hassle - make it easy and I will hand over more cash to SMS every game! There is a very high chance the expansion to the Amex won't be given planning permission and therefore not happen. Until significant improvements are made to the transport links the council would be crazy to authorise this. You already have to queue for an hour to get to / from the match by train and locals have taken to stopping on the busy A27 dual carriageway to alight passengers. This is extremely dangerous and someone will get killed if it carries on much longer. If the council do authorise an extra 8k seats they will make the club pay for these improvements first, which could possibly exceed the cost of building the stadium! Didn't go yesterday but must admit their ground is a bit odd. I like the idea of it, just not sure it really works. The stand on the other side of the pitch from the main one reminds me of Brisbane Road! Transport - this is what will eventually kill the growth of that club... look at all the out of town clubs, they all lose momentum and enthusiasm to put up with hassly transport eventually... hour long queues out of Falmer/AMEX on tuesday night, no thanks/not enough time to get home/work in the AM... £93m should have got them a proper city based stadium really... incredible they have people alighting on the A27, as you say that will get someone killed one day... honestly, £93m for a average sized NPC stadium in the middle of knowhere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BHA Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 The Amex is a magnificent piece of architecture in an area of outstanding beauty, yours is a tinpot lego ground on a ****y industrial estate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 The Amex is a magnificent piece of architecture in an area of outstanding beauty, yours is a tinpot lego ground on a ****y industrial estate. industrial estate..? chris, if you are going to make shyt up...please try harder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Diamond Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 The Amex is a magnificent piece of architecture in an area of outstanding beauty, yours is a tinpot lego ground on a ****y industrial estate. Typical Brighton fan - they win and come out the woodwork! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 Typical Brighton fan - they win and come out the woodwork! its almost like the last 2 wins we have had against them never actually happened... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 The Amex is a magnificent piece of architecture in an area of outstanding beauty, yours is a tinpot lego ground on a ****y industrial estate. Do you honestly believe that? I doubt you do. Fair play, great for you to have a proper ground of your own after all the problems since the Goldstone, but let's not pretend what you've got at teh Amex (s***ty corporate name as well), is anything special, it's not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BHA Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 Do you honestly believe that? I doubt you do. Fair play, great for you to have a proper ground of your own after all the problems since the Goldstone, but let's not pretend what you've got at teh Amex (s***ty corporate name as well), is anything special, it's not. St marys is hardly anything special is it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 St marys is hardly anything special is it. Er, no-one is saying it is are they? Just think the Amex was a disappointment yesterday after all the hype. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 St marys is hardly anything special is it. No, not really, we all thought it was magnificent when we first moved there but soon realised it's nothing special. I'm sure you'll do the same once the novelty has worn off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 St marys is hardly anything special is it. no one is saying it is...the only good thing going for it is that it is in the city, a stones throw (literally) from where the club was founded and holds 32k people... we all know that it is another flat-pack stadium........ next...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Seagull Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 Without wanting to get embroiled in a my dad's bigger than your dad argument, I'll have a go at answering some of your points. There reason it's built like it is, is all down to getting planning permission and the amout of local opposition from the local green lobby, NIMBYS in the neighbouring village and the Lib Dem council of the neighbouring Lewis district council where the coach park is built on. Bearing in mind the planning application first went in in 2001 you can see how close we were to the place not being built. To get round some of this opposition they had to design it to sink into the land and the hill which it sits on, hence the lopsided look. They also had to limit it to 22,000 seats, part of the opposition argument was that we didn't need a stadium that size given our attendences at withdean and gillingham. The club management and architects actually pulled off a masterstroke when they left the gaps in the corners and opposite the main stand, nobody realised at the time that they'd actually built a 30,000 seat stadium and filled it with 22,500 seats. Thre are no brownfield sites in Brighton at all, it really was this or nothing. It looks wierd inside, but better to look wierd now with ability for the club to grow in the future. The cost of £90 mill includes everything from legal costs to money spent on local infastructure. It also cost alot to excavate the millions of tonnes of chalk from what used to be the hill where the stadium sits now. Apparently just the stadium part was more like £60 mill. None of the money is from bank loans, it was supposed to be but all the banks were going bust when they were finding money, hence the whole lot coming from Tony Bloom's back pocket. Transport isn't as bad as people are making out. I normally stay for a pint after the game and then walk straight onto a train, but when I have left on the whistle the most I've queued for was 40 minutes after the Liverpool game which admittedly was a shambles. It is getting better. Some of the comments comparing it to Colchester or MK Dons are laughable. Had you smashed us 0-3 like you were supposed to I'm sure you wouldn't be quite as harsh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Diamond Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 Had you smashed us 0-3 like you were supposed to I'm sure you wouldn't be quite as harsh. And had your lot not beaten us, you wouldn't be here, your fans wouldn't be acting so Billy Big B*llcks... It goes on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 Some of the comments comparing it to Colchester or MK Dons are laughable. Had you smashed us 0-3 like you were supposed to I'm sure you wouldn't be quite as harsh. If they get round to finishing it, MK Dons ground will prob be the best out of the more recently built new grounds. No-one is saying the Amex is a bad ground, of course it's not, just doesn't live up to the hype it has received. I can't see how the current transport infrastructure would be able to cope if you do ever end up with 30k crowds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Clarke Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 The Amex is a magnificent piece of architecture in an area of outstanding beauty, yours is a tinpot lego ground on a ****y industrial estate. You wait till you see our plans. We have a theme park, a petting zoo and a marina all in development in the surrounding area, ready for 2050. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianoneils slidingtackle Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 Is the petting zoo and marina so the pompey fans will feel at home petting fish ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyer Posted 3 January, 2012 Share Posted 3 January, 2012 Out of the new grounds out there, what do you consider decent? They're all s**te in my eyes. I went to the Emirates this week, while it looks great and has great facilities, it was the quietest 60k Ive ever seen. Very corporate and sterile. Give me this type of stadium any day and either fill in the corners or paint them the club colours. Its got the on top of the players vibe that Loftus Road and the Dell had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
100%Red&White Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 For me, it’ll be a nice stadium when it’s finished. They only need to extend the steelwork forwards for a top tier on the side stand that was on our right but it looks like they’ll always be stuck with low ‘ends’. But the location lets it down, middle of nowhere, surrounded by farmers fields, one country pub nearby but off-limits to away fans and a farm shop! Falmer? They should have named it Farmer. Nice main stand, the roof design provides great acoustics with an impressive resonance all round, it was certainly that stand that got the other 2 going. Their ‘end’ was mainly quiet and mostly all sat other than the top half of the block behind the goal. End of the day St Mary’s is a flat pack stadium but there’s not a bad view in the place, it’s ideally situated and it can be improved. It also only cost £32m, the Amex has cost £90m so far for 22k seats and will cost another £14m or so to get it up to 2k less seats than SMS currently has. It will also be a nightmare to get away from. The Amex? Nice little stadium imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
for_heaven's_Saint Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 It looked great from the outside, ridiculous on the inside. The stand opposite us was the most ridiculous stand I've ever seen in a stadium. It literally looked like they'd taken the away end from the Withdean and moved it in front of a Dam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALWAYS_SFC Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 (edited) The Amex is a magnificent piece of architecture in an area of outstanding beauty, yours is a tinpot lego ground on a ****y industrial estate. The "best" comment (lol) was made by bloke on the so called big screen stating that they will be increasing the capacity by 8000 more seats,maybe they should reconsider as lots were empty at the game... Why do you want 30000 when you cannot fill it for a game against a team you consider to be your rivals (A Brighton fan prospective not ours) The stand opposite ours was a joke,got to be the smallest i have seen for ages at this level. Edited 4 January, 2012 by ALWAYS_SFC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattio Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 The "best" comment (lol) was made by bloke on the so called big screen stating that they will be increasing the capacity by 8000 more seats,maybe they should reconsider as lots were empty at the game... Why do you want 30000 when you cannot fill it for a game against a team you consider to be your rivals (A Brighton fan prospective not ours) The stand opposite ours was a joke,got to be the smallest i have seen for ages at this level.A bigger joke than this?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 Give it 10 years when the novelty of getting coaches or waiting an hour for a train will wear off and they will be lucky to get 10,000 crowds. The American Express (Pathetic excuse of name) stadium, built in the middle of nowhere is as bad as going to Coventry. However at least Coventry has parking though! St Marys may be similar to other stadiums however, its in a part of town which makes it easily accessible for people driving and going by train. 15 minute walk from the city centre meaning you can have a good drink or wonder round town rather than wait for a packed bus to take you to the middle of nowhere. Brighton have clearly overlooked these things, and like Coventry, Colchester etc I think they will see their crowds dwindle when the novelty of a new stadium has worn off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bourne Valley Saint Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 Compared to a lot of grounds that we have visited in the past two seasons, I thought it very pleasant and accessible. Compared to the shower of sh*te that we visited a couple of weeks ago, it was positively luxurious. Unlike P**tsm**th who spawned all their borrowed money on foreign mercenaries, huge wages and agent's fees, Brighton have at least got something tangible from their expenditure/borrowings. I don't understand some on here who ridicule them for trying to improve facilities for all fans -both home and away. Last season you were taking the p**s out of them for playing in an athletics stadium. Remember when were at the Dell and how it restricted our income and expectations (ok - I know where we've been since we moved). I was delighted to move to the new stadium and instantly double our crowds and potential. The views at St Mary's are excellent and the facilities good. Brighton have done the same as us. It's cost them a lot more and it was a brave move to make when they are in the lower leagues. They have good support from a huge catchment area such as we do and will probably keep their gates over 18000. Yes, it is out of town but so what, it's right next to a railway station and is on a main route (albeit potentially dangerous for pedestrians). On Monday, we caught the train to Lewes, sampled the local Harvey's beer and then caught the train to Falmer - piece of cake. Inside the ground they had decent real ale - much better than the beer served at SMS. Having said all that, if I had to watch a team coached by that tw*t Poyet whereby gamesmanship is a priority, no matter how good the stadium, I wouldn't bother going!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miltonaggro Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 I went to the England v USA match during the RWC in France, which was staged at Lens stadium, Stade Felix Bollaert. 42,000 seated four sided concrete monstrosity with an incline like Beachy head, but a real rough diamond of a ground. Rather like the Dell's ugly muscle bound big brother. Full the atmosphere is very intense and you are right on top of the players. If SMS is ever expanded in the Prem a raised 'Kop' might be an idea behind the goal to provide a focal point for noisy support. Brighton's Tampax stadium on the other hand seems more National Express stop than football ground. The only thing going for it is that you can get yourself clean, you can have a good meal, you can do whatever you feel! Apparently... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericofarabia Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 I went to the England v USA match during the RWC in France, which was staged at Lens stadium, Stade Felix Bollaert. 42,000 seated four sided concrete monstrosity with an incline like Beachy head, but a real rough diamond of a ground. Rather like the Dell's ugly muscle bound big brother. Full the atmosphere is very intense and you are right on top of the players. If SMS is ever expanded in the Prem a raised 'Kop' might be an idea behind the goal to provide a focal point for noisy support. Brighton's Tampax stadium on the other hand seems more National Express stop than football ground. The only thing going for it is that you can get yourself clean, you can have a good meal, you can do whatever you feel! Apparently... You utter barsteward .... I found myself singing those words to myself as I was reading them .... now i can't get the frigging song out of my head. I'll be having nightmares about policeman, builders and Red Indians tonight now!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miltonaggro Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 You utter barsteward .... I found myself singing those words to myself as I was reading them .... now i can't get the frigging song out of my head. I'll be having nightmares about policeman, builders and Red Indians tonight now!! My advice is to imagine Gus the racists head on each one of the characters. This is how he motivates them before home games: "Young man, there's no need to feel down. I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground. I said, young man, 'cause you're in a new town There's no need to be unhappy. Young man, there's a place you can go. I said, young man, when you're short on your dough. You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find Many ways to have a good time. It's fun to play at the A-M-E-X. It's fun to play at the A-M-E-X. They have everything that you need to enjoy, You can hang out with all the boys." Hope that helps, Eric... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alehouseboys Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 My advice is to imagine Gus the racists head on each one of the characters. This is how he motivates them before home games: "Young man, there's no need to feel down. I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground. I said, young man, 'cause you're in a new town There's no need to be unhappy. Young man, there's a place you can go. I said, young man, when you're short on your dough. You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find Many ways to have a good time. It's fun to play at the A-M-E-X. It's fun to play at the A-M-E-X. They have everything that you need to enjoy, You can hang out with all the boys." Hope that helps, Eric... They'll all be doing it tomorrow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miltonaggro Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 They'll all be doing it tomorrow... That's a ringer for Gus. Remember where you heard it first... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mao Cap Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 A number of nice touches - the ale, the leather seats (even though I only sat in mine at half time of course) - made it a decent enough place to go. For me stuff like that more than makes up for the slightly odd half-finished appearance of the interior. Even the steward frisking me asked me how the trip down was - was at a loss for a reply tbh, never been asked that once in 16 years of going to away games! Despite all the mouthing off and that last season I'm chuffed for Brighton - as a Maidstone supporter (another club that'll be home soon after years in the wilderness) I can certainly relate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagull Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 The "best" comment (lol) was made by bloke on the so called big screen stating that they will be increasing the capacity by 8000 more seats,maybe they should reconsider as lots were empty at the game... Why do you want 30000 when you cannot fill it for a game against a team you consider to be your rivals (A Brighton fan prospective not ours) The stand opposite ours was a joke,got to be the smallest i have seen for ages at this level. I know there were a few empty seats but the home end sold out a long, long time ago (before the away tickets went on sale). I'm pretty sure every home league game so far has been sold out for home fans. Any empty seats are people with a ticket, who are not using it. There are a few more of these than you would expect, I can only guess at a few reasons why. 1, we have 3,500 corporate seats that are sold out for the season. Presumably, some weeks, those that are bought by a company etc are not always used. 2, we've had a massive surge in season ticket sales obviously, I think some people bought one to ensure they could get tickets for the big games, the opening game, Palace, West Ham, Liverpool in cup etc but can't make it every week. 3, the stand to your right (East Stand) is where all club/player comp tickets are, sometimes they wont all be used. Increasing the capacity won't stop these people from not turning up in the future, but it will mean there are more tickets on sale for those who wouldn't be able to buy one this season! The stand opposite you holds 2688 people. The away end at Withdean held 900. That's pretty much 3 times the size of it. The same size as the Rainham End at Gillingham which doesn't look all that small (http://www.groundhopping.se/res/Gillingham/rainhamend.jpg). So it's not actually that small, I think it just looks so small because its dwarfed by the massive West Stand. Give it 10 years when the novelty of getting coaches or waiting an hour for a train will wear off and they will be lucky to get 10,000 crowds. The American Express (Pathetic excuse of name) stadium, built in the middle of nowhere is as bad as going to Coventry. However at least Coventry has parking though! St Marys may be similar to other stadiums however, its in a part of town which makes it easily accessible for people driving and going by train. 15 minute walk from the city centre meaning you can have a good drink or wonder round town rather than wait for a packed bus to take you to the middle of nowhere. Brighton have clearly overlooked these things, and like Coventry, Colchester etc I think they will see their crowds dwindle when the novelty of a new stadium has worn off. The transport really isn't that bad. I've been to every game this season, I haven't left early once, and I've never had to wait 1 hour. The longest I think I've waited is about 20 minutes, which really wasn't too much of a problem. Additionally the TVs in the concourses and Dicks Bar have details on when the next trains are arriving, so if you can't be bothered to wait outside, you can have a pint, watch Sky Sports News or the evening live match and nip to the station a little latter, and pretty much walk straight onto a train. I would fully agree that a stadium in the city centre would be better. No arguments. However that wasnt an oversight. It just wasnt possible. There was no location in town that would have been suitable. Hence we had to have two public enquiarys to get planning permission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the colonel Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 The Amex is a magnificent piece of architecture in an area of outstanding beauty, yours is a tinpot lego ground on a ****y industrial estate. In what way is it a 'magnificent piece of architecture'? It looks ok? But it will hardly go down in the annuals of architectural history. How does it stand out from many other modern stadia? What is original that hasn't been done before? You're the one mouthing off how great it is, now put some substance behind what you are claiming. And before you say 'Maginficent architecture is in the eye of the beholder' it is not. I agree compared with what you had it is magnificent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotonjoe Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 End of the day St Mary’s is a flat pack stadium but there’s not a bad view in the place, it’s ideally situated and it can be improved. It also only cost £32m, the Amex has cost £90m so far for 22k seats and will cost another £14m or so to get it up to 2k less seats than SMS currently has. It will also be a nightmare to get away from. This is part of it. I'm not interested in paying £90m for a piece of 'art'. I want a stadium I can walk to from town, one that feels like it's at the heart of a city. I want a stadium that can pack a decent crowd in and with reasonable sized concourses. I want my stadium to look like a modern football stadium, not a crumbling monstrosity or some garish monstrosity either. I want symmetry as far as practicalities allow, a reasonably steep pitch to the stands and no pillars to obstruct views. St Marys fits the bill down to a tee whether or note other stadia share similar blueprints. Even though inflation is what it is, that £30m looks good value to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horley CTFC Saint Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 I've always liked Braga http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Est%C3%A1dio_Municipal_de_Braga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 4 January, 2012 Share Posted 4 January, 2012 Amex reminds of a poor mans, spatially challenged Stade de la Beaujoire (Nantes ground). Saw PSG there when Nantes were decent. Eventful night on and off the pitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamster Posted 5 January, 2012 Share Posted 5 January, 2012 He has a point, st Mary's IS ****. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 5 January, 2012 Share Posted 5 January, 2012 He has a point, st Mary's IS ****. It really isn't. It's a fairly bland design that has been used for quite a few stadiums, but it's not sh*t in the slightest. Every seat in the stadium offers a good view. It is close to the city centre. It seats 32K with the potential to raise that to 48K if it was ever required. I personally quite like the symmetry of the bowl. And when full it creates a decent atmosphere. I'd take our ground, however bland and unoriginal it is, over any of the unique out of town designs there are (Amex, Reading, Bolton etc etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Lindford Posted 5 January, 2012 Share Posted 5 January, 2012 There is a very high chance the expansion to the Amex won't be given planning permission and therefore not happen. Until significant improvements are made to the transport links the council would be crazy to authorise this. You already have to queue for an hour to get to / from the match by train and locals have taken to stopping on the busy A27 dual carriageway to alight passengers. This is extremely dangerous and someone will get killed if it carries on much longer. If the council do authorise an extra 8k seats they will make the club pay for these improvements first, which could possibly exceed the cost of building the stadium! Didn't go yesterday but must admit their ground is a bit odd. I like the idea of it, just not sure it really works. The stand on the other side of the pitch from the main one reminds me of Brisbane Road! You did not go so how can you make a statement like that. We got on the train at Lewes at 1407, we were in the councourse at 1425. We had a beer in the ground after the game and got a train at about 1800. Total time waiting for trains, oh about 15 mins. Don't knock something until you have actually tried it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 5 January, 2012 Share Posted 5 January, 2012 You did not go so how can you make a statement like that. We got on the train at Lewes at 1407, we were in the councourse at 1425. We had a beer in the ground after the game and got a train at about 1800. Total time waiting for trains, oh about 15 mins. Don't knock something until you have actually tried it. How many people are realistically going to want to or are able to stop in the ground for a pint after the game? It just about worked with a 20k crowd on Monday, increasing that by 50% I think will give them problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itchen_block4 Posted 5 January, 2012 Share Posted 5 January, 2012 It looks good from the outside and should look good inside when the gaps have seats in them. Facilities in the ground are good, Stewards are helpful and friendly, food is good. Atmosphere isn't great, but it would be better with the gaps filled in. My biggest complaint has to be the location. Going by train for me would mean changing twice a fighting through crowds, which I couldn't be arsed with, so we drove. You have to book a parking space, if not at the ground, in the university. Leave it too late to book a space and you end up with a space a long way from the ground. A lot of people get held up in the roads around Brighton and pull over on the busy A27 so that they can drop passengers off for them to avoid missing kickofff. For the expansion to be viable, they'd need another seriously large car park. Although St Mary's has its faults, the location is great. It doesn't really matter that they didn't build the station on the side of the stadium because you can combine football with a day out in Southampton. Maybe I'm biased, but I wouldn't want to go to the Amex regualarly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COMEONYOUREDS Posted 5 January, 2012 Share Posted 5 January, 2012 The Amex is a magnificent piece of architecture in an area of outstanding beauty, yours is a tinpot lego ground on a ****y industrial estate. Chump.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itchen_block4 Posted 5 January, 2012 Share Posted 5 January, 2012 I went to the Emirates this week, while it looks great and has great facilities, it was the quietest 60k Ive ever seen. Very corporate and sterile. Give me this type of stadium any day and either fill in the corners or paint them the club colours. Its got the on top of the players vibe that Loftus Road and the Dell had. Who's stadium is that? Would be immense with corners presuming the stands you don't see in the picture are just as imposing. The Valley looks good when you don't put that awful away end in the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COMEONYOUREDS Posted 5 January, 2012 Share Posted 5 January, 2012 (edited) You did not go so how can you make a statement like that. We got on the train at Lewes at 1407, we were in the councourse at 1425. We had a beer in the ground after the game and got a train at about 1800. Total time waiting for trains, oh about 15 mins. Don't knock something until you have actually tried it. Jesus christ, do I really need to explain this? I got it from some Brighton fans. You got the train from Lewes, thats why it didn't take an hour. I was referring to travelling to/from Brighton like most people do, the opposite direction to which you travelled. Christ on a bike there is a thread on northstandchat that basically backs up my post.. engage your brain before talking **** next time Edited 5 January, 2012 by COMEONYOUREDS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Tone Posted 5 January, 2012 Share Posted 5 January, 2012 Surely since the reason that the ground was restricted to just over 20k in the first place was to do with transport, local environment and infrastructure, nothing will be different now? It is unlikely they'll get permisson to extend without a hell of a fight. I'm actually pleased for Brighton fans they've finally got a ground -- and someone prepared to spend £90 milion of his own money for such a small one! After all the years of moving from place to place since the Goldstone ground closed they deserve a break, especially those who watched through those years. It's not as if they're our big rivals or anything after all. Of course for that nice man Poyet's sake I hope they lose every game from now on till he's sacked, but that's a different matter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyer Posted 5 January, 2012 Share Posted 5 January, 2012 Who's stadium is that? Would be immense with corners presuming the stands you don't see in the picture are just as imposing. The Valley looks good when you don't put that awful away end in the picture. Thats boavista and its only 28k. Id imagine it would be near St Marys size with the corners filled in. If QPR are getting a 45k ground, Id pop a chubby if we got a 3 tiered version of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 5 January, 2012 Share Posted 5 January, 2012 (edited) If QPR are getting a 45k ground, Id pop a chubby if we got a 3 tiered version of that. QPR with a 45k seater stadium. You are averaging 17,025 in the Premier League at the moment and often don't sell out. Yes, I know tickets are expensive, but even so that doesn't suggest 45k is likely to be achievable. If you think QPR need a 45k stadium, how big do you think Saints could extend St Mary's who are currently averaging over 26,097 in the 2nd tier at the moment? Edited 5 January, 2012 by Matthew Le God Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 5 January, 2012 Share Posted 5 January, 2012 Thats boavista and its only 28k. Id imagine it would be near St Marys size with the corners filled in. If QPR are getting a 45k ground, Id pop a chubby if we got a 3 tiered version of that. That's the best laugh I've had in ages. Thanks for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyer Posted 6 January, 2012 Share Posted 6 January, 2012 QPR with a 45k seater stadium. You are averaging 17,025 in the Premier League at the moment and often don't sell out. Yes, I know tickets are expensive, but even so that doesn't suggest 45k is likely to be achievable. If you think QPR need a 45k stadium, how big do you think Saints could extend St Mary's who are currently averaging over 26,097 in the 2nd tier at the moment? Its an 18k capacity and the home end is sold out even with about 1k views that have pillars blocking the goals, theres nothing we can do if the away team doesnt fill their end. The owner says we need a 45k stadium, not me. Saints wouldnt need a bigger stadium unless they were sold out consistently for several years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 6 January, 2012 Share Posted 6 January, 2012 Its an 18k capacity and the home end is sold out even with about 1k views that have pillars blocking the goals, theres nothing we can do if the away team doesnt fill their end. The owner says we need a 45k stadium, not me. Saints wouldnt need a bigger stadium unless they were sold out consistently for several years. Like they were for all four seasons at St Mary's in the Premier League? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfc4prem Posted 6 January, 2012 Share Posted 6 January, 2012 Its an 18k capacity and the home end is sold out even with about 1k views that have pillars blocking the goals, theres nothing we can do if the away team doesnt fill their end. The owner says we need a 45k stadium, not me. Saints wouldnt need a bigger stadium unless they were sold out consistently for several years. QPR will never/should never expand to 45k. Simply don't have a consistent/big enough fanbase for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now