The board looking at a new stadium to replace Turf Moor

cricketfieldclarets · Post by **cricketfieldclarets** » Wed May 10, 2017 1:06 am

On another post, it went off topic suggesting that a new stadium if we stayed up this season would be on the agenda for the board.

I am all for increasing our commercial revenues and improving on and off the field.

But investing in a new stadium would be the worse thing that could happen to our club. I would even be averse to replacing the CFS and Bob Lord until we legally had to.

We should look to improve the club wherever we can. The training complex is now a 21st century, state of the art facility. And I can understand why that would need such investment. Its the place the players primarily work. They probably spend 70 percent of their 'working' time there. Maybe more. Its a huge and appealing complex for future players and youth development.

But the stadium is the core identity of the club and the home of the fans. Its the heart of the community and the fact that its been there for 135 years is a good thing not a bad one!

We will never compete with the huge teams on our doorstep commercially, will never have the same level of global appeal and will never have the delusions of grandeur that our nearest rivals did by thinking United, Liverpool etc are our new rivals. But we can compete in our own way. Our stadium is like a 12th man. And when you look at commercial interests and football tourism we need to be different not the same. Make the most of our heritage. Our culture. Our location. Our difference. Make coming to Burnley different than going to Leicester, Middlesboro, Coventry, Derby, Swansea, Reading and their same ground, same 'experience' different colour seats.

If we go down a new stadium route it will rip the heart of the community from the town. A new, identikit stadium on the outskirts of town with park and ride schemes is not what this club has ever been about or should be about. If we were to build a new souleless, characterless stadium and then lose our place at the top, who is going to travel out of town to watch? Moving out of town makes it a different team for me in all but name.

We still pine for the longside. But imagine being relocated from where we are and where we always have been. It doesnt bare thinking about travelling to network 65 to the Bet365 in association with Oak Furnitureland, M65 Arena.

I hope the club continues to progress. I hope we continue to develop on and off the field. But I hope we never forget our roots or change our identity.

I love the fact that its old. That its tired. That its in the middle of terraced housing. That its next to old pubs and chippies. That it joins onto a cricket ground. That you can see it from the hills above town. That its closer to the canal than the bus and train station. That its near schools and workplaces. That away fans and teams hate it.

If the board are considering such a move, I hope they engage with the fans and the community and reconsider. Save the money. Invest it in the team and redeveloping the essentials at Turf Moor. Dont lose our identity. Its what makes the club special.

Its Burnley. Not Barcelona.

ClaretAndJew · Post by **ClaretAndJew** » Wed May 10, 2017 1:09 am

We'll never get a new stadium regardless of what league we're in.

cricketfieldclarets · Post by **cricketfieldclarets** » Wed May 10, 2017 1:13 am

I hope you are right.

Clarets4me · Post by **Clarets4me** » Wed May 10, 2017 1:17 am

Redevelop and improve ? Yes...

Move ... No, Nay, Never !!!

COYC73 · Post by **COYC73** » Wed May 10, 2017 1:41 am

I'm all for redevelopment of the Bob Lord and CFS....but no way would I want us to move away from Turf Moor!!!
NNN

The Enclosure · Post by **The Enclosure** » Wed May 10, 2017 1:47 am

Well written piece Cricketfield.Totally agree, we should never lose our identity.The Turf IS our home , improve yes,move away never.

Dazzler · Post by **Dazzler** » Wed May 10, 2017 2:21 am

Why the pic of Leyland Road ?

NRC · Post by **NRC** » Wed May 10, 2017 4:07 am

Will never happen

Colburn_Claret · Post by **Colburn_Claret** » Wed May 10, 2017 6:18 am

It'll never happen. Somebody on a fishing trip.

Burnleyareback2 · Post by **Burnleyareback2** » Wed May 10, 2017 6:20 am

If it really came to a new stadium then I don't see the necessity to move.

Surely we could come to an appropriate deal with the cricket club and begin building on their current site.

The only disruption to match day would be when we need to drop the cricket field (hopefully for a safe standing KOP)

Regardless though, I don't see a new stadium coming.

Claretmatt4 · Post by **Claretmatt4** » Wed May 10, 2017 6:48 am

Not a fan if the clickbait style, false headline CFC, but your post is 100% spot on. We need to make Burnley unique if we're to survive and develop in a global market - doing that needs to take us closer to the towns history not assimilating to others.

Well put

mikeS · Post by **mikeS** » Wed May 10, 2017 7:22 am

No, nay, no need for a new stadium whatsoever.
Would cost an absolute bomb and we would end up paying for it for decades.
We have a fine stadium as it is. It's got character, charm, history and has been adapted down the years to meet whatever new criteria the football authorities have asked us to do. Burnley FC, Turf Moor, Harry Potts Way. Were known throughout the world why would we change it for a prefabricated, soulless concrete box?

RalphCoatesComb · Post by **RalphCoatesComb** » Wed May 10, 2017 7:36 am

Fans of other Clubs either "love" or "hate" coming to t'Turf.

Love it because it's what real football was and should be about.

Hate it because they can't get their prawn sandwiches at half-time !

Move? No, Nay, Never !

Bordeauxclaret · Post by **Bordeauxclaret** » Wed May 10, 2017 7:47 am

Who's up for starting a "The board looking at replacing Sean Dyche" thread?

evensteadiereddie · Post by **evensteadiereddie** » Wed May 10, 2017 7:49 am

May as well, it looks as if the silly season is underway.

DCWat · Post by **DCWat** » Wed May 10, 2017 8:02 am

How much life the two older stands have left in them, I don't know. It would be neglecting their duty if The Board wasn't considering both a new location and redevelopment, whilst we have more funds available to us than in our history.

I certainly wouldn't want us to relocate but the idea shouldn't be dismissed from the outset. The pros and cons of each must surely need to be considered. I'm only assuming but perhaps sponsorship of a new ground at a new location would be easier and therefore the cost is much less and the non football revenue opportunities greater.

Longside4evr · Post by **Longside4evr** » Wed May 10, 2017 8:09 am

Board Looking At A New Stadium
Everybody and his dog knows this will never happen and probably wouldn't if the bailiffs served the board with an eviction order
Utter tosh and a see how meany replies I can get thread
Any way we be well stuck for songs if we did
Running down the enterprise Rd to see the Burnley Aces O me lads

Blackrod · Post by **Blackrod** » Wed May 10, 2017 8:10 am

If had to go to a soulless shoebox Horwich type statement I wouldn't bother going. Our ground and location is steeped in history. I like walking through terraced streets to get to the ground. It helps make the experience. I do think the Bob Lord could do with an upgrade / increase in capacity.

Rosehill Claret · Post by **Rosehill Claret** » Wed May 10, 2017 8:12 am

Very good post, but misleading subject title.

Walt · Post by **Walt** » Wed May 10, 2017 8:14 am

I don't a see a new stadium happening. There was a recent thread with talk of a 2nd tier over the Bob Lord and this would be the way forward for me.

There's plenty of space behind to construct most of this with minimal matchday disruption. You could then look at the CFS after that.

Whilst the design of the newer stands leaves a lot to be desired there's still plenty of life in them especially once the above redevelopment is complete and we'd have improved corporate facilities/fan experience.

I do think a time will come when safe standing is widespread and as many have said before I would definitely hold off the CFS until we can build that in its place.

Lancasterclaret · Post by **Lancasterclaret** » Wed May 10, 2017 8:16 am

All you have to do is look at the White Elephants down the M65 and the M61.

I'd love to think we have thousands more fans just waiting for a chance to watch us, but we haven't.

For a club our size, with our fan base, our stadium is about right.

Fill in the corner, yeah, but absolutely not a priority at the moment.

arise_sir_charge · Post by **arise_sir_charge** » Wed May 10, 2017 8:18 am

Stupid thread title.

Juan Tanamera · Post by **Juan Tanamera** » Wed May 10, 2017 8:19 am

Bordeauxclaret wrote:Who's up for starting a "The board looking at replacing Sean Dyche" thread?

Also a thread for 'The Board think Defour will leave in the summer and relocate to the suberbs of Padiham'

CaptJohn · Post by **CaptJohn** » Wed May 10, 2017 8:21 am

I personally would love them to fill in the corner between JH and Jimmy Mac and have new changing rooms in there so that the teams come out surrounded by Clarets.

dpinsussex · Post by **dpinsussex** » Wed May 10, 2017 8:25 am

Has to be financially viable. That will revolve around real estate prices in the area. If a developer wanted to build on the site you would need to consider what property prices are like in burnley. Not that attractive from memory

KRBFC · Post by **KRBFC** » Wed May 10, 2017 8:28 am

''The training complex is now a 21st century, state of the art facility.''

And the ground looks hideous, it looks like a stadium where funding was cut half way through building so the BL and CF were just stuck there.

Blackrod · Post by **Blackrod** » Wed May 10, 2017 8:39 am

No it looks just fine with lots of character. Absolute horsesh*t and probably what you are used to down at Deadwood.

FulledgeClaret · Post by **FulledgeClaret** » Wed May 10, 2017 8:39 am

If it was too happen would we be against doing a Spurs eg move to another ground for a year while the current site is fully redeveloped. only problem we may have is finding a 20-30,000 seater stadium not too far away that doesn't get used much owned by a club who could do with the cash.

KRBFC · Post by **KRBFC** » Wed May 10, 2017 8:45 am

Blackrod wrote:No it looks just fine with lots of character. Absolute horsesh*t and probably what you are used to down at Deadwood.

The character and atmosphere has progressively got worse as the years have gone on IMO.

Lord Beamish · Post by **Lord Beamish** » Wed May 10, 2017 9:00 am

DCWat wrote:How much life the two older stands have left in them, I don't know. It would be neglecting their duty if The Board wasn't considering both a new location and redevelopment, whilst we have more funds available to us than in our history.

I certainly wouldn't want us to relocate but the idea shouldn't be dismissed from the outset. The pros and cons of each must surely need to be considered. I'm only assuming but perhaps sponsorship of a new ground at a new location would be easier and therefore the cost is much less and the non football revenue opportunities greater.

This.

claptrappers_union · Post by **claptrappers_union** » Wed May 10, 2017 9:05 am

I'm not one for soulless bowls and I actually like the wooden seats at Turf Moor, but if you want to compete at the highest level - tradition and emotions have go out the window.

Do Burnley Football Club need a new stadium? No. Does it need improvement - Yes, immediately. Commercial, media, corporate and disabled facility's need improving, right now. Even to compete in The Championship.

I don't know if there is land in the Burnley area that could hold a football stadium but it might be worth building something new and made to measure, rather than faffing around with closing major parts of the ground for redevelopment.

Burnley need a handful of seasons in the top flight before considering this though.

SirAlec · Post by **SirAlec** » Wed May 10, 2017 9:07 am

i think the chances of us moving away from turf more in our life times are pretty remote never mind the next couple of years. You've based this thread on what you heard on another, I think you may of wasted your time typing the opening post.

The only thing we should do to the turf is convert the cricket field stand to a standing section, it would probably increase the capacity and be cheaper to maintain in the long run.

NottsClaret · Post by **NottsClaret** » Wed May 10, 2017 9:11 am

The ground is big enough for what we need, easily. It's town centre location is perfect and obviously has history and nostalgia by the bucket load. Plus there's that view from the Longside Upper.

What do we get from yet another 'bowl' next to a motorway? A couple of thousand more empty seats and a Radio One roadshow in the summer maybe.

TonbridgeClaret · Post by **TonbridgeClaret** » Wed May 10, 2017 9:31 am

I fully agree that we don't need to move to a new stadium but the BL and CFS certainly need attention in the very near future.

Woodleyclaret · Post by **Woodleyclaret** » Wed May 10, 2017 9:41 am

Spot on Cricketfields .I remember when we sold players built a stand the Bob Lord aka Martin Dobson stand.
The then board spend nothing on the team and we ended up with gates of 2000 .playing Rochdale in Div4
The only change I would make is to switch away fans to the lower jhu and have all the cfs as a home end.I am sure creating the way in for away fans is not too difficult.We would have to locate Jean with her golden gamble tickets though.
The away fans would access via the road along side the cricket pitch.fairly easy to police

AndrewJB · Post by **AndrewJB** » Wed May 10, 2017 9:45 am

Having a town-centre ground adds to the match experience.

martin_p · Post by **martin_p** » Wed May 10, 2017 9:48 am

As the beating heart of Burnley the club also has a responsibility to consider the impact a move would have on the businesses local to Turf Moor that would almost certainly go bust.

RocketLawnChair · Post by **RocketLawnChair** » Wed May 10, 2017 9:53 am

This might not cost as much as you think. In a couple of years time their will be a stadium available about 12 miles down the road. Lick of paint change the colour of the seats get a statue collected by Alf Kime and hey presto move in. About 30k if the Indian owner accepts cash.

cricketfieldclarets · Post by **cricketfieldclarets** » Wed May 10, 2017 10:00 am

Some good posts. Hopefully the majority of the board hold the same view. Redevelop Turf Moor if improvement is needed.

The topic is on the back of a suggestion by Roboy who it seems is very close to a lot of matters like this. So no reason to doubt it.

lakesclaret · Post by **lakesclaret** » Wed May 10, 2017 10:05 am

Naturally the BL needs ripping down (pronto imo) it's an antiquated far far too small stand that also looks like it belongs in a pub league.

As for knocking down the ground,utter ********,the thread title is hysterical as it is misleading.(good post though)

Quicknick · Post by **Quicknick** » Wed May 10, 2017 10:14 am

On a good day, the atmosphere at Turf Moor is intimidating. Everything about Burnley is, as Arsene Wenger put it, 'old school'. We must maintain our unique identity by staying put. Terraces in the CFS end would be perfect. The place should then revert to being called the Cricketfield End. Just like the 60s.

Great article by CFC.

HelloHiGoodbye · Post by **HelloHiGoodbye** » Wed May 10, 2017 10:21 am

I think I might struggle to support Burnley the same way if they moved from Turf Moor to the Oddies Megadome.

bob-the-scutter · Post by **bob-the-scutter** » Wed May 10, 2017 10:21 am

Punctuation son!!........all your thread title was bereft of was a ? Think on lad!

I know, while our new stadium is being built we can play our home games at Wembley!

Juan Tanamera · Post by **Juan Tanamera** » Wed May 10, 2017 10:21 am

If they do build new stands I hope there will be facilities for us to tie up our whippets and hang our flat caps.
God forbid that anything is done to modernise to the ground.

Lancasterclaret · Post by **Lancasterclaret** » Wed May 10, 2017 10:24 am

I still miss the Longside toilets now you mention it.

HelloHiGoodbye · Post by **HelloHiGoodbye** » Wed May 10, 2017 10:25 am

Juan Tanamera wrote:If they do build new stands I hope there will be facilities for us to tie up our whippets and hang our flat caps.
God forbid that anything is done to modernise to the ground.

Is that sarcastic? No-one on the planet is saying Turf Moor shouldn't be modernised. It definitely should be, needs to be. There's a difference though between that and moving sticks to a venue next to a motorway with a Frankie and Benny's in the carpark.

Juan Tanamera · Post by **Juan Tanamera** » Wed May 10, 2017 10:27 am

HelloHiGoodbye wrote:Is that sarcastic? No-one on the planet is saying Turf Moor shouldn't be modernised. It definitely should be, needs to be. There's a difference though between that and moving sticks to a venue next to a motorway with a Frankie and Benny's in the carpark.

Yes it was meant to be sarcastic.
Well spotted.

HelloHiGoodbye · Post by **HelloHiGoodbye** » Wed May 10, 2017 10:29 am

Juan Tanamera wrote:Yes it was meant to be sarcastic.
Well spotted.

Thanks.

Braindead · Post by **Braindead** » Wed May 10, 2017 10:37 am

KRBFC wrote:And the ground looks hideous

Hideous,

midlander63 · Post by **midlander63** » Wed May 10, 2017 10:38 am

Agree with pretty much everything said in the original post apart from the bit about away fans hating it.
If I was an away fan (or football tourist) I'd enjoy visiting Turf Moor just to see and experience something different.
Grounds like Leicester, Middlesboro, Southampton, Doncaster, etc. all look the same to me - I understand why those clubs made the move but you can hardly tell them apart.