The Globe move, pointless?

[mrpotatohead]

The move to the globe arena was supposed to be important to help the club progress as a league team, providing revenue streams 7 days a week from other sources rather than just relying on gate reciepts, however, year after year the club loses more and more money, the squad isn't a well paid expensively assembled one, so is it fair to say that the move, and the subsequent operation of the new facilities outside matchdays are a flop?

I am not looking for more complaints about the difference on matchdays between the globe and Christie park, just opinions on weather there was any point moving, and if the running of the wright and lord facilities etc. are being managed to anywhere near their full potential?

[Gnasher]

It wasn't just a move, there was a change of attitude at the same time and that's what hasn't been dealt with well.

[mrpotatohead]

I understand what you are saying, but I assume by that you mean attitude towards fans, I am meaning more
along the lines of, is the non matchday revenue facility failing to provide the potential revenue to help take the club forward, because if it isn't and never will do, was the move pointless, we have plenty of posts about the matchday experience already.

[Keith]

I am not looking for more complaints about the difference on matchdays between the globe and Christie park...

I don't think you can separate the two. If any good can come from this debacle, it's that the management of the club (as opposed to 'the team') may work more positively with the fans and as a knock on, the fans with the club.

Remaining at Christie Park wasn't really a long term option if we were to progress, but with hindsight, 'progress' at what cost?

[mrpotatohead]

Again, my point is about progress, but have we made any, if we annually lose money and are strugging to stay solvent then the answer is a clear no, because the globe arena or the managers of it ,have not delivered
on the promise of a better future, rather like the pigs at home farm!

[Gnasher]

I understand what you are saying, but I assume by that you mean attitude towards fans, I am meaning more
along the lines of, is the non matchday revenue facility failing to provide the potential revenue to help take the club forward, because if it isn't and never will do, was the move pointless, we have plenty of posts about the matchday experience already.

Attitude towards the fans, attitude (& ambitions) of the board and attitude towards the club/board from the fans. The whole ethos of the club changed. The club can't survive without support and by that I mean everyone & everything Globe related including the non-matchday facilities. Whenever I've been to discuss a private function there's always been other things going on so from my point of view, it would appear to be being used and it does have a number of staff attached to it, more than seems attached to looking after football supporters on a non-matchday.

Is it failing on non-matchdays?

[mrpotatohead]

Attendances, although poor, are no worse than our attendances at christie when we were a successful conference team, we now get money off TV and the EFL, and obviously more matchday hospitality money, so apart from that lot, what money, in cash, per annum, does Morecambe football club gain from it's non matchday facilities?

Any?

[KenH]

What about the costs of the community section and academy? Presumably they're another cost which adds to the losses?

[Seasider9601]

I still maintain more could, and should, have been done with the (failed) gym

[mrpotatohead]

The facilties are first class, and should be a major source of revenue for the club, if they aren't, why aren't they, after all, thats why we moved isn't it?

[Wild Bill]

Staying at CP would have involved work on all four sides of the ground and potentially bills of several million. It was business decision to move, but mistakes were made in difficult financial times, hence the stadium we eventually got had some flaws, albeit on the whole pretty functional.

No point looking back now anyway, we need to work with what we have got and lots of other clubs our size have far more inferior facilities than ours.

Is it just me, or does the Globe and its facilities still have a lot more potential with the right management team on board?

[Christies Child]

Staying at CP would have involved work on all four sides of the ground and potentially bills of several million. It was business decision to move, but mistakes were made in difficult financial times, hence the stadium we eventually got had some flaws, albeit on the whole pretty functional.

No point looking back now anyway, we need to work with what we have got and lots of other clubs our size have far more inferior facilities than ours.

Is it just me, or does the Globe and its facilities still have a lot more potential with the right management team on board?

Exactly

The Globe is far from perfect but it is what it is and we have to make the best of it. I get sick and tired of the whingers going on about its shortcomings. He'll no stadium at our level is perfect.

To stay at CP would have cost millions to bring the ground up to the commercial requirements of the league. Too much demolition of existing stands due to asbestos in order to create a new away support terracing and new structure and of course a main stand for commercial use. The existing main stand was in need of major repair and therefore expense to give it even a short continued life span. And all that would have cost guess who even more millions.

For me we need a new target driven commercial manager with new ides of how to bring in new revenue streams. Whilst the prospect of investment from Qatar is hopefully on the table we need to look at the whole commercial side of our club with a clean sheet of paper and start afresh so that we can with fresh ideas reduce the financial burden on the Directors.

[mrpotatohead]

The root of the problem is the fact that having made the move, the club now has a facility capable of financially helping to support a lower league football club, but the potential has never been realised.

If the globe site is not a successful, well run business, the football club, which will always run at a loss, will ultimately fail.

[Christies Child]

The root of the problem is the fact that having made the move, the club now has a facility capable of financially helping to support a lower league football club, but the potential has never been realised.

If the globe site is not a successful, well run business, the football club, which will always run at a loss, will ultimately fail.

For once Lee we appear to agree.

As I've suggested we need a newcommercial approach to the future. This is not a dig at the existing structure but if a business needs to prosper it sometimes needs new blood to drive the revenue streams in different directions.

As a side issue, when was the last time the club had a Sportsman's Dinner which for me where hugely successful in generating money and goodwill within the all important business community.

[RedRedWine]

As a side issue, when was the last time the club had a Sportsman's Dinner which for me where hugely successful in generating money and goodwill within the all important business community.

Gary Neville evening was on about 6 weeks ago?

[Christies Child]

As a side issue, when was the last time the club had a Sportsman's Dinner which for me where hugely successful in generating money and goodwill within the all important business community.

Gary Neville evening was on about 6 weeks ago?

Must admit that I'd forgotten about that but that was probably the first evening do that was aimed at the business community for well over a year. There used to be two Sportsman's bashes per year at one time.

I'd like to think that when the new housing next to The Globe gets its first residents that the club make an effort to get them to use the bar on a regular basis assuming that it is open during the week.

[mrpotatohead]

A highly motivated and innovative Stadium manager is essential to transform the PMG buildings potential into a successful venue, he or she must be given a free reign to do whatever he feels will work, and must be paid a results based salary.

[Posh]

The root of the problem is the fact that having made the move, the club now has a facility capable of financially helping to support a lower league football club, but the potential has never been realised.

If the globe site is not a successful, well run business, the football club, which will always run at a loss, will ultimately fail.

It wasn't the principle of the move that was a problem it was the choices made and the timing. The economy had just fallen on its arse after the global financial crisis. However, we steamed on regardless and made some pretty awful decisions.

The revenue sources were the gym, the pitches, the bar and the function facilities, all of which we thought 'we' could run ourselves. In retrospect, we should have got partners for developments around the ground on which we could have collected rent. The pitches came at a time when new pitches were also approved at Heysham High, Lancaster & Morecambe College and Mossgate, as a result revenue were never going to be high. The bar was a disaster and pitched completely wrongly. The biggest success has been the Wright & Lord Suite, yet even then it wasn't managed well. We built the Globe Arena website and it received over 400 enquiries for bookings prior to opening, which to my knowledge none were contacted.

Admittedly in better times, AFC Fylde have built a range of facilities that they'll get rental income from as well as some of their own manager facilities. http://www.afcfylde.co.uk/facilities/.

It is easy to say in hindsight but we moved at the wrong time and didn't plan it well enough with the right partners.

[mrpotatohead]

I agree with your assessment Posh, but rather than trotting out excuses plus blaming the towns apathy towards the team, instead of taking positive steps and learning from past mistakes is the sensible thing to do, a new broom is definately required, and if PMG does return lets hope he can see that.

[seasonsinthesun]

The root of the problem is the fact that having made the move, the club now has a facility capable of financially helping to support a lower league football club, but the potential has never been realised.

If the globe site is not a successful, well run business, the football club, which will always run at a loss, will ultimately fail.

It wasn't the principle of the move that was a problem it was the choices made and the timing. The economy had just fallen on its arse after the global financial crisis. However, we steamed on regardless and made some pretty awful decisions.

The revenue sources were the gym, the pitches, the bar and the function facilities, all of which we thought 'we' could run ourselves. In retrospect, we should have got partners for developments around the ground on which we could have collected rent. The pitches came at a time when new pitches were also approved at Heysham High, Lancaster & Morecambe College and Mossgate, as a result revenue were never going to be high. The bar was a disaster and pitched completely wrongly. The biggest success has been the Wright & Lord Suite, yet even then it wasn't managed well. We built the Globe Arena website and it received over 400 enquiries for bookings prior to opening, which to my knowledge none were contacted.

Admittedly in better times, AFC Fylde have built a range of facilities that they'll get rental income from as well as some of their own manager facilities. http://www.afcfylde.co.uk/facilities/.

It is easy to say in hindsight but we moved at the wrong time and didn't plan it well enough with the right partners.

Probably the best post ever on SVs by Posh on the subject of the issues in moving to the Globe.
Agree with every word.

[John L]

Also, to develop the club's home needed so much investment that the only option would have been to build a new stadium funded by sale of the old land, as has happened.

[mrpotatohead]

not true, massive grants were available at the time to fund the modernisation of existing old stadiums, which was an argument for staying put, in fact highly detailed plans and pictures of a redeveloped christie park were knocking around just before we moved, I remember the auction of memoribilia at christie and some of these items were sold on the day, I wonder who bought them, the main stand image on lancaster road with a function suite was impressive, and at the time a price tag of 1.2 million was estimated.

[marky No.1]

We certainly have been quite pointless for many games at the Globe

[Little Shrimp]

I am getting tired of moaning about the Globe. Admittedly, at that first Coventry match I was little disappointed by it. Some parts weren't very tidy and seemed a bit rushed (I have gathered from here that that was due to PMG making overestimations on what he could build?) and the home end was a bit underwhelming. However, rather than making do and carrying on, trying to claim the ground and give it more of an atmosphere, people just bloody moaned. I remember people whinging about us not bringing over the North Stand and ridiculous things like that and to me, that pointless crappy moaning killing any atmosphere before it started combined with some evidently poor management of the '7 day a week' services/income streams has been what's killed the Globe.

[Gnasher]

detailed plans and pictures of a redeveloped christie park were knocking around just before we moved

Certainly were, a new stand along 2/3rd of the car wash side butting up as close as it could to the car wash. IIRC, it would replace the old main stand with changing rooms, offices, etc leaving the main stand free to be developed.