Death to the Rah Rah's

great idea by the club, hopefully they will keep on repeating it over and over throughout the season so the amateur clubs maybe get 2 or 3 visits as guests. It's a great way to get kids into the habit of dragging their parents to matches for the other games. Out of interest, I wonder what percentage Barrow's crowds have increased this season with offering free admission to all kids?

Yes! Anyway, that's me done on this thread, I'll be posting now't else on the subject of stadiums

I AM NOT ANTI-STADIUM ! As a rate payer I'm asking for reassurance on how its going to be funded and sustained moving forward without bankrupting both Town and Reds and saddling the rate payers with a huge bill for years to come! But once again, it's likely ok to have an opinion as long as its the same as yours eh!

Totally agree with you, the area needs it, both clubs need it and while I don't think either club would fold as a result of not having the stadium, it would certainly hinder their development for good without a modern sporting facility

No I'm not - don't confuse pessimism with realism! I'm absolutely 100% for the building of a modern stadium in Allerdale, but not at any cost! The project needs to be sustainable and affordable, and you would hope this project has been properly costed and budgeted for, but the fact they are now considering going down the road PFI route says otherwise. My main concerns has been about the capacity of the stadium as I still don't think there's any need for an 8,000 capacity in West Cumbria. I would rather have seen a 5,000 capacity stadium with a realistic average crowd of 1200-1500 at games than an 8,000 empty bowl. IF, and its a big if, crowds were nudging towards an average of 5,000 for a couple of seasons, then you could argue the need to add to the capacity. But hey, that's just my view on things, but on this forum some people take exception to you expressing your own opinion if it isn't the same as there's.

Is nobody else worried about this? Everyone agrees (including the aforementioned councilors) that modern sporting facilities are required in Allerdale, but I get the impression from the various stories in the paper, on Facebook etc. that the council are trying to forcibly justify the outlay by rushing everything through without properly costing it all up - and at any cost. Don't get sucked in by the various statements saying 'this won't add anything to council tax bills', because if for any reason this goes #### up, then its the local authority (ie: us, the local tax payers) who will foot the bill and pay any shortfall, as these investors will want their full pound of flesh ! I'm surprised the Council are even considering a 'leaseback' as it recognised nationwide as the most expensive way of borrowing, with particularly aggressive terms and conditions attached. If its a 40 or 50 year lease, I would be amazed if the NHS or Sellafield would even be allowed to commit for such a long period, as surely they would insist on a release clause of some description, after all, who can predict what be happen in 5 years, never mind 40 or 50 years. So if they sign up for 10 -15 years and decide not to renew their lease because somebody has built cheaper office space over the road, then what then?

they can't do that in Parliament never mind at local level - in the words of Private Frazer ...'We're doomed, doomed i tell ye!'

It'll happen as its already been agreed and voted on to borrow £25 million over the next two years. Whether it gets built on time is another matter, as it has planning, tender process and god knows what other hurdles to clear first

I don't doubt for one minute that there isn't some form of political gesturing taking place, but in fairness, most of the questions being raise are valid ones and require answers. Also this is being driven by the Labour Party so surely its the duty of the opposition to ask questions, otherwise what's the point in having different political parties? I am 100% behind the scheme to build a modern facility in West Cumbria, but if the figures don't stack up then I would hope they have a plan B for a scaled down stadium that is affordable. As much as I want to see the stadium built, I don't want to see a daily reminder of a debt mountain if this is rushed through with being properly costed.

Nobody would know for sure, but one thing is for certain, the games exposure and sponsors has dropped considerably since 2014, whether that's directly or indirectly linked to the lack of a team in the capital is debatable

I'm guessing the stadium will be completed in phases ie: phase 1 - having the stadium open with hospitality within the 16 month timescale phase 2: Fitting out the NHS office areas phase 3: Fitting out the Sellafield office areas It doesn't seem to take long to get steel work in place for the seating and standing areas of the stadium, seems to be the fitting out that takes up all the time and expense ....just ask Spurs about it !!

well onwards and upwards - looks like all systems go for the stadium front, so nothing left for us all to do except get behind the project and hope that they don't find anything untoward once the start the groundworks, as its a very very tight timescale to plan and build a stadium from scratch !! I suppose there's nothing to stop them clearing the site immediately and they could start on the grandstand furtherst away from Borough Park and knock the old stadium down as soon as the season finishes

Hopefully that's the case pal, but on a 30 year mortgage, that equates to £1 million per year to be paid back. if the office rental covers it which in turn reduces the financial commitment from the council and more importantly Town and Reds matchday rental fees then its a win win situation for everyone

no mate, I'm actually 100% for the building of a moderns stadium it as it will be an asset to West Cumbria and show the rest of the UK that we are able to host high level sports events. BUT this only works if proper due diligence has been undertaken when costing the project out, otherwise this could easily be a millstone that increases the Council Tax for the next 30 years! You maybe interpret my pessimism as being negative, but I do have a good understanding of business, and if the numbers don't stack up, then somewhere down the line there's going to be a problem as the Council can only subsidise loss making projects by either increasing council tax or reducing services. The Wave Centre and Sports Centre in Workington already have to be subsidised so any stadium subsidies for more than the projected timescales on the business plan would put a severe strain on the Council's finances, and lets not forget, these councillors are elected officials, so if they F##k up, we can vote them out, but the mess they leave behind doesn't go with them Like every other supporter I hope this project comes off, but equally I expect our elected councillors haven't been blinded by the glare of gold from the World Cup Trophy ! No doubt it will all become clearer in the next few weeks, as they will need to crack with clearing the site in the next couple of months to meet the building deadline

I hope your right …..it will be an unbelievably tight schedule considering they haven't even agreed to build it as yet!