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Redeveolped Moss Lane even if it takes a while

37 (78.7%)

New Ground within the Altrincham Area

7 (14.9%)

New Ground even if its outside the Altrincham Area

3 (6.4%)

Total Members Voted: 47

[Bob]

We aren't moving anywhere (even though it's entertaining to discuss it).
We just need to redevelop the pop side into mostly seats and a place for the singers at the chequers end, then tart up the away end with partial cover and a couple of hundred seats, decent toilets and an away limit of about 1200 and Bob's your uncle. That's all we'll need up to and including league one. I just can't see us averaging more than 5k so that would be absolutely fine.
Steeper terracing in the Golf Road would be the icing on the cake.

Building a mostly seated stand on the popular side where you have it terraced at one end so people can move to it from a different part of the ground for 45 minutes sounds like a logistical and safety nightmare to be honest. We need to get in the culture of staying in the same part of the ground for 90 minutes as is the norm at this level and higher.

As for moving, I genuinely cannot think of anywhere that's not out of town which wouldn't cost an absolute fortune to just buy the land, have few planning restrictions on it or no local opposition. Best to make the most of where we are and enjoy it's many benefits

[TheGolfRoadView]

Do we actually need additional seating in the Popular Side? After visiting AFC Fylde for the first time in our recent league game, I think their ground is the ideal template for the size of club Alty can ever realistically be. Personally the main focus for me would be redeveloping the Main Stand and the hospitality/away stand. Knock them both down and rebuild from scratch. Redo the terracing at the Golf Road End, add a partial roof to the away end and maybe put on a new roof on the Popular Side, so it's all one level for possibly the first time this century! All of this ofcourse would cost alot of money, but its certainly needed as has been said before, Moss Lane is certainly showing its age. As for moving, the very limited spaces available  for a new ground near the town centre, and the fact, even if the club was in League 1 or 2, its difficult to see average crowds of much more than 4000, I wouldn't see that as being necessary.

[Bob]

Do we actually need additional seating in the Popular Side? After visiting AFC Fylde for the first time in our recent league game, I think their ground is the ideal template for the size of club Alty can ever realistically be. Personally the main focus for me would be redeveloping the Main Stand and the hospitality/away stand. Knock them both down and rebuild from scratch. Redo the terracing at the Golf Road End, add a partial roof to the away end and maybe put on a new roof on the Popular Side, so it's all one level for possibly the first time this century! All of this ofcourse would cost alot of money, but its certainly needed as has been said before, Moss Lane is certainly showing its age. As for moving, the very limited spaces available  for a new ground near the town centre, and the fact, even if the club was in League 1 or 2, its difficult to see average crowds of much more than 4000, I wouldn't see that as being necessary.

I guess the issue is that it's a lot cheaper and simpler to build the single stand in one go without the need for any dressing rooms, hospitality, offices etc. The other issue is probably grading where you need capability for an extra 1000 seats in the football league and I don't know where else you do that without major knock on effects.

[MarpleAlty]

If we could get the allotment land and turn 90 degrees, it would literally solve every issue; 2 sides of the ground could remain largely unchanged in the short term (the current main stand and family terrace could become a quirky end), and just extend the paving of the Chequers End further down that side.

Being down the narrower end of the pitch would give the room to build a brilliant main stand on Golf Road with modest hospitality facilities at the top, changing rooms/club offices inside one half and probably incorporate the Mark Maddox Fan Zone inside the other half (with Mad Dog's bar inside!)

Community Hall still open in the corner and inside the ground's footprint, but no longer in eye view of the pitch. Give away fans exclusive use of the family stand (plus the facilities inside), build a proper toilet block where the current food/toilet huts are, leave the power station exactly where it is.

Proper big terraced John King Home End right on the allotments, probably more like one of the ends at the AJ Bell Stadium I'd say - rather than Fylde for example.

Here's dreaming!

[Saughall Robin]

Some great ideas on this thread.
Fingers crossed for the Euromillions eh? 🤞

[distancetraveller]

I think the allotments would be very difficult to procure, and I’m not sure whether or not they have some sort of protection order over them as to what can the land actually be used for. I expect the people who work the allotments would put up a fight if they thought their allotments were under threat.. plus the land wouldn’t come cheap if it was possible to get them,. I think a redeveloped Moss lane ground in its current footprint with the car park to the rear of the popular side would suffice, I can’t see the need to relocate any time soon unless we progressed up the EFL pyramid somewhat. Whatever the progress of our club, the attendance will always be stifled by our two neighbours up the road,

[Ukrainian Alty]

My strongest proposal would be to start negotiations at some or other level with Trafford MBC sooner rather than later and sound them out on a number of the options put forward here to see what is possibly doable and what is not before opportunities that may be available now soon disappear.

My suggestion is to redevelop the current site of the ground as a multi-use sports stadium and Community Leisure Centre in Partnership with Trafford MBC.

I think I am right about Trafford MBC owning all the land involved and so it would make sense for them, as an existing stakeholder to get onboard a plan for a redeveloped Stadium incorporating a new leisure centre.  Some of the allotment holders would have to say goodbye to their plots in order for development to go ahead but if offered the the right compensation and given that the development would benefit many more Trafford residents than the the allotments have ever done (or are ever likely to) I think that it could well be worth looking into.

My plan would be for Trafford BC to sell the prime Town Centre land to a developer (where the Leisure Centre once stood) and to invest the money along with investment money raised by the Football Club to redevelop Moss Lane but with the inclusion of a new Combined Swimming Pool and leisure centre with a Sports Hall, all weather pitch, gym, etc. that could also used by the Club.  If this was thought out well enough could it not negate the need for having to pay Egerton to use their facilities? 

[altrincham]

I like the sound of the above, surely there could be a deal to re locate some allotments into the golf course land?

[Mick]

I think the allotments would be very difficult to procure, and I’m not sure whether or not they have some sort of protection order over them as to what can the land actually be used for. I expect the people who work the allotments would put up a fight if they thought their allotments were under threat.. plus the land wouldn’t come cheap if it was possible to get them,. I think a redeveloped Moss lane ground in its current footprint with the car park to the rear of the popular side would suffice, I can’t see the need to relocate any time soon unless we progressed up the EFL pyramid somewhat. Whatever the progress of our club, the attendance will always be stifled by our two neighbours up the road,

A redeveloped Moss Lane is probably the only realistic and cost effective option. See the above. Unless we were to progress to the Championship (!) then nothing bigger would be needed....see Burton Albion who 'only' have two mediocre clubs (in PL terms) nearby.

Still nice to dream though.

Forget any idea of Trafford coming up trumps. The so called Altair on the car park site must have been stuck in the mud now for 20 years. A pub got demolished to make way for a state of the art ice rink and we got a corrugated shed with blockwork walls..supposedly temporary, but now permanent after some dodgy retrospective planing consent pushed through. Add an apartment complex site that has remained an eyesore now for years and a decision to refurbish a 70s leisure centre instead of a re- build. They do not fill me with confidence in becoming a club redevelopment partner.

The ground does need a lot of work, but to really grow, the first thing we need is a winning team. This is what will initially draw in fans and investment. We can worry about fan experience (imo) and look to have a 21st century stadium once we are heading for L1

[Saughall Robin]

This has certainly been one of the most entertaining threads on here in quite a while. 👍🇦🇹🏟️

[Bob]

Trafford are already spending £20m plus on doing up the leisure centre so the notion of them then doing a massive new complex elsewhere would be dead in the water to be honest.

It's a nice idea in theory but you'd have the massive costs, politics and protests of paying off allotment holders, having to build new roads (Golf Road would be totally unsuitable in its current form), unhappy neighbours, green belt activists etc.

[Mick]

Spot on Bob

[Amsterdam Alty]

The levels of positivity in here despite the completely contrasting views on staying or going is great.

The points above about Trafford are sadly bang on. Altrincham has developed as a town in spite of the council, not because of them.

Their responses to bringing the biggest Rugby team in the north back to the borough were rejected on several occasions. The reason they left was resident objections to expansion of Heywood Road.

It's a shame really, because there would be a huge boost to the borough if we had a growing football league club to go with the best rugby & for the sake of this argument the biggest football club in the world here as well.

Imagine we were in a better timeline for a second if you will...

Carrington is a dump compared to modern training facilities, if Trafford pulled their finger out we could build an ethiad style campus with two world class stadiums (big one for UTD, 15,000 or so one for us, Utd ladies, Sale Sharks maybe.).

Include a community sports complex that is also home to a training ground with world class facilities. You could even look to fold in the England Hockey Academy that is based at Timperley. A world class golf training facility would also be nice, and since qualifying for the north west regional squad is held at Dunham Forrest there is a base for that nearby as well.

Anyway dreaming over, back to reality...

[salealty]

Imagine we could have a ground that look like this in 7 years time https://definearchitects.co.uk/projects/altrincham-football-club

[Saughall Robin]

Imagine we could have a ground that look like this in 7 years time https://definearchitects.co.uk/projects/altrincham-football-club

Just in time for my 80th birthday celebrations! 😉