St James' Park

[Yorkie]

I'm not a huge fan of brutalism generally but I've always liked that a whole side of the stadium is clearly identifiable as a type of architecture, and enjoy the dramatic contrast in styles when compared to the Georgian finery literally across the road. 

 

Knock it the fuck down. 

[manorpark]

12 hours ago, Cookie1892 said:

Shut up man ya owld bastard

 

  Hide contents

Dont mean it really :-)

 

I know you don't mean it . . . Bar Steward !!!!

[r0cafella]

Really stretching that early 2025 timeline aren't we. 

[jonny1403]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/apr/11/a-parasitical-business-model-football-ticket-resellers-squeeze-out-loyal-supporters

 

Interesting article on how we aren't likely to get many more season tickets even with a new stadium. Sign of the times.

 

Quote

The problem with long-term fans, the indefatigable old-timers who turn up week in and week out for year after year, is that they tend not to see the ground as a theme park, or to buy many caps and shirts. “To a certain extent season-ticket holders have outlived their usefulness,” says Kieran Maguire, an associate professor in football finance at the University of Liverpool and co-host of the Price of Football podcast. “If I’m a Championship club and I’m trying to get my ground three-quarters full I need my season-ticket holders there. For smaller clubs, the benefit of season-ticket holders is clear. But Manchester United could easily sell 80,000 tickets to 80,000 different people every home fixture. For the elite clubs, season-ticket holders are bed-blockers to a certain extent. They tend to be older and if they buy merchandise they buy it once a season. Tourists are more likely to empty their wallets on overpriced tat in the club shop.”

 

Liverpool gave a clear indication of their attitude to long-term fans last year, when the opening of a redeveloped Anfield Road Stand boosted the stadium’s capacity by 7,000. Their season-ticket waiting list runs very comfortably into five figures, and is so unwieldy it has been closed since 2017; some people have been on it for more than a quarter of a century, patiently waiting their turn. For most, this was not it: they got only 1,000 of the new tickets, the rest earmarked for occasional or one-off visitors. Manchester City’s plans for their North Stand, currently being redeveloped, include “new premium, seated areas”, with the club hoping to entrench their position as “a world-class entertainment destination for fans and global visitors alike”.

 

 

 

[Nucasol]

1 minute ago, jonny1403 said:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/apr/11/a-parasitical-business-model-football-ticket-resellers-squeeze-out-loyal-supporters

 

Interesting article on how we aren't likely to get many more season tickets even with a new stadium. Sign of the times.

 

 

 

 

Vomit inducing some of the corporate spiel in that.

[Wallsendmag]

1 hour ago, Nucasol said:

Vomit inducing some of the corporate spiel in that.

 

Depressing really. I can genuinely see myself drifting away from the professional game in the coming years.

[duo]

and those with seats tickets will be paying a lot more

[christ]

3 hours ago, jonny1403 said:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/apr/11/a-parasitical-business-model-football-ticket-resellers-squeeze-out-loyal-supporters

 

Interesting article on how we aren't likely to get many more season tickets even with a new stadium. Sign of the times.

 

 

 

 

This is largely driven by the Yanks, and why I think American money is much greater existential threat than Gulf cash.

 

[NG32]

31 minutes ago, christ said:

This is largely driven by the Yanks, and why I think American money is much greater existential threat than Gulf cash.

 

The Yanks want to turn the Prem into an NFL style league, drive up ticket prices and flog merch to day trippers. 

[Stifler]

So far they haven’t had their fingers burnt though.

I’m sorry to say it, but we are not going to get the level of tourists as other clubs have, even with success.

We are not based in London or Manchester. Our airport has no real direct connections to many destinations that are not European city breaks, or package holiday destinations. If you want to travel here for a football match, you likely have to go via London, or Manchester, and no one is really going via these places and not taking in say either of the Manchester clubs, Liverpool, or teams like Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, or even West Ham.

Our economy will just see a level of local tourists, then they will fall away once it’s not new to them.

We have a good fanbase though, and we could sell out a 70k-80k seater stadium that is priced so local fans can come in.

That is more than what most Premier League clubs could offer.

 

Outside of the top 6, and say the likes of us, Villa, and West Ham, you are not going to be getting fans into mega stadiums. The Americans will get their fingers burnt.

Their NFL teams are able to price their tickets high because they largely are followed by the whole state, if not multiple states. The wealth disparity over there means that people are largely either well off, or very poor. They are able to sell high priced tickets to the well off people, and have the less well off pay as and when they are able to save up for it.

Other sports like the NHL, and NBA have smaller arenas, meaning tickets are more in demand.

This is why sports coverage over there is a big thing. The vast majority of fans can’t afford the thousands of dollars it requires for a season ticket, and they can’t afford the hundreds it costs for a single ticket frequently. They therefore have to resort to watching it on the TV. The problem is compounded when it’s not unusual to follow multiple sports over there.

 

Here in the U.K. the demographics are different, and the way of following a team is different. We have the blackout on Saturdays that makes most professional football unwatchable unless you attend. Following multiple sports is fairly unusual over here, and with football being the number 1 sport, it means that sports channels and things like sports bars and the culture of watching matches on the TV can’t take off.

 

Can we fill a 70k-80k capacity stadium? Yeah, but don’t expect day trippers to be a large part of that in the long term, and don’t expect to be able to house stupid levels of corporate. The same applies for the likes of Villa, Everton, and to a lesser extent West Ham, and Leeds if they take off. Outside of that, I’m sorry but the likes of Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Burnley, Sheffield United, Wolves etc are never going to be getting those crowd levels and that type of following. Even if we close the Premier League, it would take decades for the smaller clubs like those I mentioned to be getting those kinds crowds, with enough people locked out to enable the selling of tickets to tourists who come for 1 game every year or so.

I firmly believe though that the Americans will destroy our sport figuring this out and attempt to force it.

[Doctor Zaius]

20 hours ago, Nucasol said:

Vomit inducing some of the corporate spiel in that.

 

Stolen by the rich, I'm afraid. 

 

Football as well knew it is dead.

 

[Whitley mag]

The best limbs ever seen at SJP and I’d argue anywhere in this country, only Kelly v Portsmouth comes close.