Originally Posted by Muttley76:
“Must admit, i've always found it surprising that given what happened they didn't make more dramatic changes to the area. Obviously there is a financial cost to the club, but there's also something about making a statement rather than doing what they had to to comply, and it would have been investment.”
It doesn't seem to me the clubs commit much by way of cost to improving facilities. Maybe it's time to reign in footballers stratospheric salaries and start improving grounds, but i suspect that will never happen!
Originally Posted by LakieLady:
“When Brighton & Hove Albion finally got their new ground, it was built in open countryside a few miles away from the city centre. It was hugely controversial, even though this was before the South Downs became a national park.
The development was opposed by by neighbouring councils and the board of the South Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, there was an expensive planning enquiry and legal challenges and the consent was ultimately given by John Prescott, who was the relevant minister at the time.
I suspect that proposals for any out-of-town stadium would meet with similar opposition, unless it was on a brownfield site with good transport links. The Amex causes awful traffic problems on match days, despite being adjacent to a major dual carriageway and next to a rail station.
To this day, many believe it was the wrong site. My own view is that the site of an old cement works outside Shoreham would have been preferable, and to this day I hate the sight of the stadium, even though the design is pretty good.
ETA: I must declare a bias here, I used to live near Selhurst Park, all through the years they were groundsharing, and vowed never to live near a football ground again. Then they went and built one less than 5 miles from my house!”
Is this the club site?
http://oi63.tinypic.com/293ajhw.jpg
That's the sort of location i believe should be standard for all clubs though looking closer at it there appears to be small blocks which appear to be residential flats at the bottom right of image. If those were built
after the stadium then that's pretty stupid and defeats the purpose, but if already there then the stadium is in the wrong place.
I would have moved it a couple of miles further N/E where there is nothing for miles yet still easily accessible as the A27 runs the length of that open land.