BoD's and DA to comment on developments?

[redrobo]

The Hurley have prime position and will be very difficult to compete with their facilities.
I know the Club needed money, but to sell that plot will cost us forever

Not sure what alternative there was as the club didn't and hasn't the finances to develop it itself.

Same applies to the piece of land that they have just got back.

Would like to hear how others on this forum would have and will approach the subject of development themselves.

A short term fix ( and that in my opinion a pop is simply that) isn't the solution. The club need a substantial amount of external money in whatever shape or terms from a developer in my view.

[Keith]

I don't think the club should ever have sold any land, that was purchased as part of the Christie Trust. If the ground was built using that money, then the buildings should also belong to the Christie Trust. To me, it looks like the Trust's value has diminished in real terms, from what was raised from the sale of Christie Park?

[marky No.1]

Yes, all the land it started with would be worth a fortune now, although not many seemed to be aware of how much was actually owned by PMG.

The Club were at that time skint so relied on selling assets to stay afloat which is very much a short term fix

[KenH]

Yes, mistakes were made with the Sainsbury money. It should have been a golden legacy but with ground planning mistakes (i.e. late changes to incorporate boxes), poor decisions, i.e. the gym, artificial pitches, bar, etc which never brought in the promised/expected revenue, poor marketing generally across the club, and the overspends on the stadium, due partly to steel price rises, etc., we ended up back in debt virtually straight away.

Then with losses of £250/£500k/£750k per year, that money had to be financed from somewhere, which is why the peripheral land plots were sold off and why we had to take on more debts/loans. The community block and artificial pitches were siphoned off into a different company so that loans could be obtained secured against them, which the club didn't pay the repayments, hence why we lost them.

It all comes back to bad decisions/bad management when the ground was built unfortunately which led to the club having to sell off whatever assets it could, just to pay wages/loan repayments, etc.

We're lucky we still have a club really.

[redrobo]

Yes, mistakes were made with the Sainsbury money. It should have been a golden legacy but with ground planning mistakes (i.e. late changes to incorporate boxes), poor decisions, i.e. the gym, artificial pitches, bar, etc which never brought in the promised/expected revenue, poor marketing generally across the club, and the overspends on the stadium, due partly to steel price rises, etc., we ended up back in debt virtually straight away.

Then with losses of £250/£500k/£750k per year, that money had to be financed from somewhere, which is why the peripheral land plots were sold off and why we had to take on more debts/loans. The community block and artificial pitches were siphoned off into a different company so that loans could be obtained secured against them, which the club didn't pay the repayments, hence why we lost them.

It all comes back to bad decisions/bad management when the ground was built unfortunately which led to the club having to sell off whatever assets it could, just to pay wages/loan repayments, etc.

We're lucky we still have a club really.

Can't argue with that....

However as in life hindsight is a wonderful thing and I doubt many at the time even considered we'd be in the position we now find ourselves in.

So many wrong decisions about the stadium but for me the positioning of the community block and gym was ridiculous with very little thought given i would wager at the time about future development along that side (now the Berlin Wall) that would hinder viewing by spectators in a stand that could have been built sometime in the future.

At the time the majority looked at the Mazuma and felt good about watching football in a purpose built stadium BUT years on we now see it's limitations in view of future development and the lack of design by it's architects at the time.

A real mixed bag of designs with little if any thought gone into its overall appearance in terms of consistency in its visual approach. It's as if each stand was designed by seperate individuals and brought together in a hotch pot of thinking.

However many clubs would take what we have and be grateful.....

[Wild Bill]

I don't think most home end fans were impressed with the Globe design from the off. Sadly PMG prioritised the main stand and created a hierarchy of fans and facilities. Those on the terraces basically got an inferior matchday experience.

[CityShrimp]

Yes, many fans complained bitterly about the stadium when it first opened, for all sorts of reasons. I think it’s fair to say that mistakes were made with its development and it took a good few years for the fanbase to more or less accept the new surroundings.

Also, remember how bad our home form was when we first moved there - we used to talk about the ‘curse of the Globe Arena’.

[Gone_Shrimping]

I still don't know why we engaged Globe for the stadium.

We should have just asked Burton Albion for the details of their architect and stadium constructor and done a decent ground cheaper than the 3 sided mess we ended up with.

They could have moved the new North Stand from Christie Park but obviously Globe wanted to do their own which is vastly inferior in every way.

[redrobo]

I still don't know why we engaged Globe for the stadium.

We should have just asked Burton Albion for the details of their architect and stadium constructor and done a decent ground cheaper than the 3 sided mess we ended up with.

They could have moved the new North Stand from Christie Park but obviously Globe wanted to do their own which is vastly inferior in every way.

PMcG was not one for asking advice or taking on board recommendations. However he left a lot of the details to a fellow Director at the time who ultimately resigned....

[Keith]

They could have moved the new North Stand from Christie Park...

That was never an option. The way it was constructed, it couldn't be taken down. It wasn't like the stand at Northwich Victoria that was moved.

[Hodgie1978]

They could have moved the new North Stand from Christie Park...

That was never an option. The way it was constructed, it couldn't be taken down. It wasn't like the stand at Northwich Victoria that was moved.

That's not true Keith.
It was an option but they wouldn't listen to Rod.

[Keith]

They could have moved the new North Stand from Christie Park...

That was never an option. The way it was constructed, it couldn't be taken down. It wasn't like the stand at Northwich Victoria that was moved.

That's not true Keith.
It was an option but they wouldn't listen to Rod.

I was told on good authority, the company that constructed the North Stand said it couldn't be dismantled because of the way the concrete was poured. It wasn't a modular construction.

[Wild Bill]

I am sure it could have been moved, or at least some parts of it. However it would have cost more than building the shed that replaced it. PMG prioritised the boxes over anything for the home end.

[Hodgie1978]

Unfortunately that certain people at the club connected with the build wouldn't entertain the moving of the North Stand.
Rod is quite open about it now. Imagine how good the Mazuma would have looked with that terrace?

[redrobo]

Unfortunately that certain people at the club connected with the build wouldn't entertain the moving of the North Stand.
Rod is quite open about it now. Imagine how good the Mazuma would have looked with that terrace?

Maybe one day in the future we will need to increase the ground capacity and the Berlin Wall would probably be the easier option to develop despite the limited view that would be offered next to the former Community Block.

In hindsight and under the current BoD I suspect had they had influence at the time that the stadium as we now know it would have been more along the lines of Burton Albion as an example.

PMcG prioritized the main stand as he saw it as a revenue earner other than on match days and to some extent it has proved a success so he had the future finances available to the club as a priority which it has provided.

The home end could be extended by building over the walk way at the rear and the North Stand design or something similar would have been excellent. For me the current stand is too dark and dismal even on match days compared with the excellence of what the North Stand offered.

[mrpotatohead]

Why put a pub there , theres an empty pub sat doing nothing most days of 4ge year in the downstairs of the stadium.

[Wild Bill]

Yes, there's definitely some potential to improve JB's. Expand at the front with a fans zone, outdoor seating, maybe a gazebo for cover. Need to get fans away from the hurley flyer. Maybe discounts for trust members to make prices on par etc.

[Old Man Kensey]

PMG got so many things wrong with the stadium and the land.
Letting someone build a pub right in front of the ground, to eat away at your match day takings, was just ridiculous.

The more that comes to light the more it seems that PMG has gone from Morecambe hero to the main villain in the story.

[skeletor]

No point going on about the past,concentrate on the future now.Without PMG the club would never have reached the EFL!

[BerlinWaller]

PMG got so many things wrong with the stadium and the land.
Letting someone build a pub right in front of the ground, to eat away at your match day takings, was just ridiculous.

The more that comes to light the more it seems that PMG has gone from Morecambe hero to the main villain in the story.

Pretty sure that PMG didn't own the land that was sold to Marstons. Wasn't it owned by two former Directors? PMG owned the land now owned by Mr Fury. He had to remortgage it to raise funds to complete the ground. The whole thing was a shit show from start to finish.

[Wild Bill]

No point going on about the past,concentrate on the future now.Without PMG the club would never have reached the EFL!

I have to agree with this. A bit like Sammy Mc, unfairly remembered. Partly due to the mistakes made whilst trying to move ground and sell the club, but also I guess because neither were particularly good at engaging with the fanbase. Without both though, we'd probably have never made it to the football league.

[marky No.1]

I will never forget a Director at the time saying the Hurley wont be in competition with us
It is now a far better place than JBs imo, choice of food, decent beer and proper tvs with tables and chairs

[BerlinWaller]

No point going on about the past,concentrate on the future now.Without PMG the club would never have reached the EFL!

I have to agree with this. A bit like Sammy Mc, unfairly remembered. Partly due to the mistakes made whilst trying to move ground and sell the club, but also I guess because neither were particularly good at engaging with the fanbase. Without both though, we'd probably have never made it to the football league.

Good post this. It did go a bit wrong for Sammy in his last season when he chucked a lot of money at a lot of players not quite up to it but his time at the club should be held in higher regard. The same with PMG, we would be still in NPL without his backing.

[Wild Bill]

No point going on about the past,concentrate on the future now.Without PMG the club would never have reached the EFL!

I have to agree with this. A bit like Sammy Mc, unfairly remembered. Partly due to the mistakes made whilst trying to move ground and sell the club, but also I guess because neither were particularly good at engaging with the fanbase. Without both though, we'd probably have never made it to the football league.

Good post this. It did go a bit wrong for Sammy in his last season when he chucked a lot of money at a lot of players not quite up to it but his time at the club should be held in higher regard. The same with PMG, we would be still in NPL without his backing.

Totally. I also think to be fair to Sammy Mc, the whole season was a bit screwed as we didn't have a ground or pitch until the day of the Coventry game, so pre-season was a wash out. It was a poor season, not helped with the new surroundings and we lost a huge advantage of CP with its primitive facilities for away teams. We did enough to stay up though but Sammy walked after the budget was reigned in. One of only three MFC managers to ever achieve a promotion.