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[rorysgrandad]

There's been nothing from the club so far to suggest anything other than a re-development of ML . I believe that to be their only option tbh. The 'new stadium' looks great doesn't it , however unless someone comes in and sprinkles gold dust it's one for the dreamers.  Agree entirely that the pop side , Golf Road and chequers all need an overhaul , new stands at the first two with the popside either part or fully seated with the Golf and Chequers staying terraced , with the latter extended near to the corner .  The main stand side is problematical isn't it with the club offices etc , CSH and the sponsers lounge . Good luck with that ! at least that side of the ground doesn't look an eyesore like the rest . More immedietely how about some more bloody toilets ffs.

No smoke without fire...

I know i keep on about this Hashtag , but for us seated fans it's no joke especially quite a number with mobility issues and there is room between the two stands for a facility

Perhaps we could install commode chairs in the main stand.

Could I book one of those (near the club if possible) 😉

We could put seats on top of the CSH but the roof slopes the wrong way. Nice view of the chippy though.

[MarpleAlty]

If we were to relocate, I can only assume it would be on Broadheath Retail Park - although I hope we'd pick an existing plot at the front (e.g. the Homebase plot if they finally went bust / sold up) and not the back.

A few boozers to choose from, and a 20-minute walk from the station which is do-able for most (even shorter if you hop on the tram to Navvy Road).

[cheshire cat]

That's a bit of a curved ball. Highly unlikely I would have thought. There's some kind of development taking place on Homebase carpark at the moment which includes a new exit. Might be another takeaway or perhaps just electric charging points. If it's the latter they're in a strange place.

[Sarf London Alty]

If we were to relocate, I can only assume it would be on Broadheath Retail Park - although I hope we'd pick an existing plot at the front (e.g. the Homebase plot if they finally went bust / sold up) and not the back.

A few boozers to choose from, and a 20-minute walk from the station which is do-able for most (even shorter if you hop on the tram to Navvy Road).

Agreed. Trams & trains from Navvy Road, loads of buses to/from Alty & town, at least 3 pubs & Stubborn Mule taproom in close proximity. The only plausible wider location in the town if we ever had to leave our current home for whatever reason is that Broadheath Retail Park area.

[Bob]

That's a bit of a curved ball. Highly unlikely I would have thought. There's some kind of development taking place on Homebase carpark at the moment which includes a new exit. Might be another takeaway or perhaps just electric charging points. If it's the latter they're in a strange place.

They are redeveloping half the Homebase and turning it into a Lidl. Incidentally Trafford rejected the first planning application and it only got through on appeal after amendments were made.

To be honest I'd be amazed if a football ground got planning permission for anywhere near there given the roads and traffic on a Saturday afternoon as it is...

[andrewflynn]

Of course any work extending or even modernising the ground would get complaints from the sort of locals who buy a house near a football ground then complain there is a football ground nearby!!!

You know the sort: who buy a house by a church and complain about the bells or a house in the country and complain about farmyard noises!

Sorry but I don't agree. There's a difference between complaining about an existing chip shop and complaining about the chip shop wanting to become a drive in diner.

The development at Accrington doesn't look good to me. It only holds a 1000. We'd need at least double that to have a decent sized stadium. Yorks capacity is 8500 and it didn't look big. Stockport's capacity is 10500 and they are looking to expand.

Sorry to come back to this so many days later, and it's a fair point, but would it not be more that chip shop just wants a face lift?

Take the Golf Road End as an example - we would hardy be after building the Stretford End in replacement, just a tidier stand with an opportunity for smart cladding on the outside that's aesthetically pleasing, as opposed to the dull, grey wall that's currently there. You're going to be living opposite it regardless, it might as well look nice.

And I think that sums up what my stance would be on this, if a move ever came to fruition. I don't want an AJ Bell or an LNER Community Stadium. I don't think we need one, we just need a tidier Moss Lane after years of neglect. A move away to a new build would feel very overkill for a club that still has to push for 1,000 home fans on a cold Tuesday when the Champions League is on - but I appreciate we're fantasy debating here.

Interesting thread for sure.

[cheshire cat]

Played around a bit with google maps and some tracing paper and the moss lane footprint is bigger than Homebase and car park.


Regarding smartening the place up I think most people were hoping to increase the capacity at the same time. I've got to agree with a new wall on the Golf Road to smarten things up but if we wanted to put a roof on the score board end I wonder how high that would have to be and the effect it would have on the apartments.

Currently average gate in league 2 is 5500. Without a benefactor we need to get to that kind of level to have a reasonable player budget.

[HashtagAlty]

Played around a bit with google maps and some tracing paper and the moss lane footprint is bigger than Homebase and car park.


Regarding smartening the place up I think most people were hoping to increase the capacity at the same time. I've got to agree with a new wall on the Golf Road to smarten things up but if we wanted to put a roof on the score board end I wonder how high that would have to be and the effect it would have on the apartments.

Currently average gate in league 2 is 5500. Without a benefactor we need to get to that kind of level to have a reasonable player budget.

But you don't get to League 2 without being promoted; which means a swell (either due to being in a title race, or a PO final), which could probably added 1500 on to our average.

Throw in plenty of locals sides (Crewe, Salford, Rochdale*, Stockport) for a few sell out 1800 away ends, and we wouldnt be far off a 4k minimum attendance.

Then add in publicity of regular EFL highlights, surge of a League cup tie.

Sutton have gone from below 1k to 3k average.

[Timperley The Best]

Rob Esteva stated on Radio Alty that if we had an average crowd of 2500 the playing budget would be exciting

[Hale Alty]

Back when Mark Harris was chairman they were exploring the possibility of building a new ground in Sale between the petrol station and the M60 junction on the left close to where the TGI Friday's used to be. I don't recall why that plan came to nothing but it wouldn't exactly be Alty FC would it, having said that the AJ Bell isn't exactly Sale.

Around the time the pop side was remodelled (so it could potentially take seating) I asked some at the club what the possibilty of enlarging the Golf Road would be and was told there'd be planning problems making it higher as it would restrict light to the Golf Road houses. Don't know if that would still apply would it wouldn't surprise me.

[Sarf London Alty]

I think the average gate point is an interesting one too.

Whilst us long term fans are all buzzing at an average gate just over 2k, the fact is that’s not
impressive in the National League these days & puts us 14/24 in the average attendance table-20 years ago we’d have been proper big boys with an average like that in the Conference but times have moved on. To push on towards the play offs we probably need 2500ish towards 3k. Those numbers though it’s chicken & egg because we need much better spectating facilities but without the larger support and more revenue it will be harder to get those better facilities.

It’s why a week Saturday is so important, for the buzz, interest & longer term benefits for the club (e.g. a Wembley appearance has to be worth at least 150-200 extra ST holders next season surely) to galvanise more of the town to come on down & get behind us.

[cheshire cat]

But you don't get to League 2 without being promoted; which means a swell (either due to being in a title race, or a PO final), which could probably added 1500 on to our average.

Throw in plenty of locals sides (Crewe, Salford, Rochdale*, Stockport) for a few sell out 1800 away ends, and we wouldnt be far off a 4k minimum attendance.

Then add in publicity of regular EFL highlights, surge of a League cup tie.

Sutton have gone from below 1k to 3k average.

Except Crewe Salford and Rochdale have all got below average attendances in L2 https://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/league-two/attendances and the away end shouldn't be holding 1800 with the inadequate facilities we currently have. We thought they were poor at York and there was only 800 of us.

If you want the bigger attendances you need to expand the scoreboard end for the teams that do have a strong away following. Otherwise we aren't going to survive.

[Hugh]

We could put seats on top of the CSH but the roof slopes the wrong way. Nice view of the chippy though.

I never thought of that but a good idea. Workington had  a similar arrangement before their main stand burnt down.

[Hugh]

This thread is one of the most interesting I have read in ages.  There aren't any easy answers here, but I think where we have potential to development the most is the Pop side, where we have far more walkway space at the front than we need, more space at the back, no problem with overlooking housing, and therefore the potential is there to build a new, higher stand with seats at the back and smaller terrace at the front, with enough space underneath for proper catering and toilet facilities - which brings in extra revenue.  That will all cost a fortune though, with limited increases in income opportunities.

Golf Road redevelopment is entirely dependent on how high we can build a new terrace and roof without having to get planning permission - I suspect that will be the sticking point-  but a decent, steeper terrace would generate more capacity than the current GRE.

I actually think developing chequers end as a decent away end with proper catering, bar and toilet facilities and updated turhstiles is also a priority.  The space at the unused gate at the end could be used for a kind of away fans fan zone like the one at Stockport-  which brings in more revenue.  We need to find ways to provide a seating area for away fans away from family stand - drunken football fans and families and sponsors sat next to each other divided by makeshift barriers is not a tenable longer term solution, so perhaps giving a small area of pop side over to additional terracing and seating would ensure that we can accommodate larger away followings without giving them half the pop side. Build a roof too, gives them one less thing to moan about.

Main stand needs tearing down and replacing, but the trouble is that all of this costs alot of money, is only worth doing if we tear down the family stand and the CSH as well, and at the moment we cannot afford moves like this, so the emphasis has to be on what we can do in the shorter term which has a return on investment, and for me that is the away end - this is where we can spend less to make it more suitable, and generate more income most easily, in my view.  People will say it is favouring away fans over home fans etc etc but if we can make an additional £100K annually on catering and perhaps slightly higher ticket pricing at away end, for example, then it is probably the best spend in the shorter term, and will help generate funds for other developments.

Blimey, surely we're not planning a stand higher than those trees they used to have behind the GRE stand? See here for example in 2019, about 1 min 50 in:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esOco8gRkdk&list=PLA0y6Ba34-YlJRa4VVJb801KTOeMRhvxO&index=20

If that was ok, by definition a slightly higher roof must surely be ok!

I agree about developing the Chequers End. I still say we should do something with the terracing between the Pop side and the Chequers end. The drive behind it appears redundant and, although I haven't measured it, would surely give space for some extra terracing similar to the Pop side, or some facilities for away supporters (as long as you could still get emergency access in the vicinity).