Meadow Lane

[Feral Fox]

I often think that 'the house that Derek built' is a slight problem for us. 

don't get me wrong. I think Derek Pavis has been the best thing that happened to the club in my lifetime chairman wise. ( Sorry Ray, Dunnett and dont forget JAH and his jumpers) Put the bad issues with him taking money out of the club etc...against the stadium and team and finances during his tenure then even through rose tinted specs it looked good.

Meadow Lane needed rebuilding, no doubt, but looking at Joes Photos and the comment about RU's new ground got me to thinking seriously about the Lane.

Yes I love going there. It's history pure and simple. Would going to another ground be the same? No.

Would that be a big problem? Initially yes, after time I dont think so.

 

Leaving a stand virtually empty is a tragedy. I loved standing in the JS stand in my youthful days, at the back singing etc...

Now it gives a very poor impression as the camera is always mounted on top of the DP stand and the JS is, well, empty!

 

The pitch is poor at ML. Getting worse, not better this year and with 3 teams including the egg chuckers, its only going to get worse.

 

Location next to the reds has always been a slight issue.

Parking is a big issue.

Atmosphere on a week in week out basis is not great.

 

so...

Do we build a camera point on the JS to eliminate that issue?

relay the pitch for the ???th time?

Move?

 

Obviously money is the issue with moving, but if the land at ML was sold, surely we could build a 10/15000 stadium somewhere else in Notts that is easy to get to?

 

Really should have submitted this as a blog i suppose, not a message!

 

 

[Chris]

If the safe standing is approved, I would consider doing a small section in the kop and using the remaining space inside the JS.

I love Meadow Lane, however it saddens me when hearing stories of fans who enjoyed the JS. Problem is, we don't have enough fans regularly going to make it workable really. I'd focus on picking the attendances up and worry less about the stands, get the match day experience spot on.

[Feral Fox]

I don't disagree (remember mad said we cant do that on here!!!) but even with the best matchday experience we will never fill ML. That will only ever happen with away fans doing it for us!

The dirth of identikit grounds seemed to have stopped now so I wouldn't be adverse to the club looking into it more seriously.

[Chris]

I don't disagree (remember mad said we cant do that on here!!!) but even with the best matchday experience we will never fill ML. That will only ever happen with away fans doing it for us!

The dirth of identikit grounds seemed to have stopped now so I wouldn't be adverse to the club looking into it more seriously.

Yes, we could get decent crowds in the Championship if we did reasonably well.

That would see the away end almost packed for every game, I think even week day games would attract good crowds but can we get there? It starts with surviving the drop or at least rebuilding in the correct way.

Hopefully we can try to even things out.

[liampie]

i would not move, we are quite lucky with having meadow lane as our home. its a really nice ground and if pavis had not have rebuilt the stands, that would have limited. sadly football being all about the prem, we are always going to struggle but families and support from the club make a huge difference.

keep reconnecting with the fan base.

[weymouthPIE]

Wouldn't ever want us to leave Meadow Lane. I'm sick and tired of seeing good clubs leave their old grounds which were full of history and character, and moving instead to these awful, souless concrete bowls often in the middle of nowhere. Stadium MK and the Ricoh cases in point. They're awful!

 

In an ideal world the excecutive boxes would be at the back of the DP as oppose to the family stand, and away fans could be given that stand. However, the stand is too small to accomodate some followings - particularly followings from the likes of Sheffield, Huddersfield, Coventry, and others.

 

As recently as 2010-11 we still opened half the JS to home supporters but you wouldn't have known it when you watched highlights on the TV, because barely a couple of hundred home fans went in there. And therefore it didn't make it financially viable to employ stewards and people to work the tea bars and turnstiles just to accomodate the very few people who did go in there.

 

Sadly, you can do as much community work and ticket offers as you want. You'll never attract another 15,000 people that way to fill ML. The only times we've done that in recent times have been for the big cup ties, and when we won the league. People will turn up to watch a successfull team, it dosen't matter what level you play at. That's the only way you'll get more people through the gates.

 

But who wants glory hunting fans who just bugger off as soon as the club stops winning things? Or who just show up for big games.

 

We had 17k against Man City the other year. The following Tuesday we played Walsall at home and got less than 4k. Ridiculous!

[super_ram]

Wouldn't ever want us to leave Meadow Lane. I'm sick and tired of seeing good clubs leave their old grounds which were full of history and character, and moving instead to these awful, souless concrete bowls often in the middle of nowhere. Stadium MK and the Ricoh cases in point. They're awful!

 

In an ideal world the excecutive boxes would be at the back of the DP as oppose to the family stand, and away fans could be given that stand. However, the stand is too small to accomodate some followings - particularly followings from the likes of Sheffield, Huddersfield, Coventry, and others.

 

As recently as 2010-11 we still opened half the JS to home supporters but you wouldn't have known it when you watched highlights on the TV, because barely a couple of hundred home fans went in there. And therefore it didn't make it financially viable to employ stewards and people to work the tea bars and turnstiles just to accomodate the very few people who did go in there.

 

Sadly, you can do as much community work and ticket offers as you want. You'll never attract another 15,000 people that way to fill ML. The only times we've done that in recent times have been for the big cup ties, and when we won the league. People will turn up to watch a successfull team, it dosen't matter what level you play at. That's the only way you'll get more people through the gates.

 

But who wants glory hunting fans who just bugger off as soon as the club stops winning things? Or who just show up for big games.

 

We had 17k against Man City the other year. The following Tuesday we played Walsall at home and got less than 4k. Ridiculous!

I'm with @weymouth regarding moving.As for attendances,well it's up to SD and  co to assemble a  winning side that plays exciting,attractive,entertaining football .

[Feral Fox]

Wouldn't ever want us to leave Meadow Lane. I'm sick and tired of seeing good clubs leave their old grounds which were full of history and character, and moving instead to these awful, souless concrete bowls often in the middle of nowhere. Stadium MK and the Ricoh cases in point. They're awful!

 

In an ideal world the excecutive boxes would be at the back of the DP as oppose to the family stand, and away fans could be given that stand. However, the stand is too small to accomodate some followings - particularly followings from the likes of Sheffield, Huddersfield, Coventry, and others.

 

As recently as 2010-11 we still opened half the JS to home supporters but you wouldn't have known it when you watched highlights on the TV, because barely a couple of hundred home fans went in there. And therefore it didn't make it financially viable to employ stewards and people to work the tea bars and turnstiles just to accomodate the very few people who did go in there.

 

Sadly, you can do as much community work and ticket offers as you want. You'll never attract another 15,000 people that way to fill ML. The only times we've done that in recent times have been for the big cup ties, and when we won the league. People will turn up to watch a successfull team, it dosen't matter what level you play at. That's the only way you'll get more people through the gates.

 

But who wants glory hunting fans who just bugger off as soon as the club stops winning things? Or who just show up for big games.

 

We had 17k against Man City the other year. The following Tuesday we played Walsall at home and got less than 4k. Ridiculous!

 

Surely this is a reason to think of the future of the ground more seriously then?

Dont get me wrong, I love ML and always have done, originally and now, but I know the land is worth millions, even after building a smaller stadium.

 

TBH I was surprised Ray didn't buy Arnold Town when they were struggling for money as that was ideal either as a long term development plan for a stadium or a base for the other teams related to Notts to play, keeping the ML turf for us only.

[Fan of Big Tone]

I'm undecided on this one, I lived on Meadow Lane within spitting distance if the ground during my childhood so it is very dear to my heart and part of me would hate to see us move.

On the other hand I can see the sense if selling the land and moving to a new smaller ground more in keeping with our attendances.

So I'll probably get splinters in my bum but I'm sitting on the fence.