A J Bell Stadium

[Red Willow]

£31million debt? that is quite something

[Mr Plow]

15 minutes ago, Red Willow said:

£31million debt? that is quite something

It cost £26 million to build according to Wikipedia so it’s not that much of a shock. 

[TheLegendOfTexEvans]

15 minutes ago, Red Willow said:

£31million debt? that is quite something

It would have been better bulldozering it years ago, selling the land and building a sensibly costed stadium on land somewhere else more akin to Broadhurst Park.

 

 

[TheLegendOfTexEvans]

2 minutes ago, Mr Plow said:

It cost £26 million to build according to Wikipedia so it’s not that much of a shock. 

That's not value for money.

 

[Mr Plow]

2 minutes ago, TheLegendOfTexEvans said:

That's not value for money.

 

No it’s not, what did people think at the time of it being built though? To say it’s only just started breaking even after 8 or so years is concerning

[Mr Frisky]

2 minutes ago, Mr Plow said:

No it’s not, what did people think at the time of it being built though? To say it’s only just started breaking even after 8 or so years is concerning

At least its breaking even though.

[TheLegendOfTexEvans]

Just now, Mr Plow said:

No it’s not, what did people think at the time of it being built though? To say it’s only just started breaking even after 8 or so years is concerning

Its not even a good venue its unnaturally cold, soulless, hassle to reach and pay in, over aggressive security staff, sky high costs for snacks and refreshments, bad views of the pitch in a lot of areas.  No at all family friendly, geared up for a drinking culture.

 

 

 

[Moove]

Who is the £31m owed to?

[Mr Frisky]

1 minute ago, TheLegendOfTexEvans said:

Its not even a good venue its unnaturally cold, soulless, hassle to reach and pay in, over aggressive security staff, sky high costs for snacks and refreshments, bad views of the pitch in a lot of areas.  No at all family friendly, geared up for a drinking culture.

 

 

 

Do you work for Salfords commercial department?

[gandalf]

Unbelievable if true. Yet more tax payer money to support this white elephant. Good job Sale play there or goodness knows how much more money would need to be pumped in.

[Eddie]

Who owns it?

[TboneFromTO]

15 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Who owns it?

"City of Salford community stadium ltd"

 

Good news for Salford though! In 2018 it was valued at 6.5 million by independent evaluators - so if the council decides to sell it they won't be paying the 31!

[The British Lion]

2 hours ago, TheLegendOfTexEvans said:

Its not even a good venue its unnaturally cold, soulless, hassle to reach and pay in, over aggressive security staff, sky high costs for snacks and refreshments, bad views of the pitch in a lot of areas.  No at all family friendly, geared up for a drinking culture

Sadly, I have to agree. Ive been in the 3 concrete smaller stands (not the large all seater yet) for both RL and RU....

Traffic is mental trying to come off the M60, parked behind a church. Walked 10 mins - obviously thats fine.

Sadly, no atmosphere inside the ground. Perhaps because any noise escapes outside the disjointed sides.

It was freeeeeezing last week when I went to my first RU game (free ticket btw and possibly the worst game of Rugby Ive ever seen).

Just an observation - perhaps they made the large all seater stand too large, and should have made the whole ground more in ratio to each other.

[Sports Prophet]

We’ll have it in Cronulla if Salford doesn’t want it

[Sir Kevin Sinfield]

The biggest mistake with the AJ Bell Stadium is the seating/standing layout.

The Main Stand is fine but that’s more than enough seating, the rest of the stadium should have been made standing.

[gandalf]

If as a previous poster says the stadium is only valued at 6.5m then why are Salford Council further increasing the debt to the taxpayer?

If the council wants the stadium to succeed why not buy it at the valuation price. Cheaper in the long run 

I'm not a SRD fan , in fact I loathe them but even they must see the foolishness of this bottomless money pit 

[gandalf]

The willows should never have been sold, just upgraded 

[Sir Kevin Sinfield]

4 minutes ago, gandalf said:

If as a previous poster says the stadium is only valued at 6.5m then why are Salford Council further increasing the debt to the taxpayer?

If the council wants the stadium to succeed why not buy it at the valuation price. Cheaper in the long run 

I'm not a SRD fan , in fact I loathe them but even they must see the foolishness of this bottomless money pit 

I believe the council are part owners of the company that own the stadium. You can see why Wakefield Council aren’t keen to build a stadium for Wakey or Cas, if it’s poorly planned and executed it’s a costly business.

From Wikipedia 

Salford City Council formed a joint venture company with Peel Group^[1] to develop and deliver the £16 million stadium,^[3] which is part of the a £26 million development

[Sir Kevin Sinfield]

5 minutes ago, gandalf said:

The willows should never have been sold, just upgraded 

It’s not a cheaper option, redevelopment at Headingley Stadium has cost £44 million 

[Sports Prophet]

1 hour ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

It’s not a cheaper option, redevelopment at Headingley Stadium has cost £44 million 

When he said upgraded, he meant three extra portable toilets and an extra fish n chip merchant.

[Wollo Wollo Wayoo]

1 hour ago, gandalf said:

The willows should never have been sold, just upgraded 

Wasn't the money needed by someone to pay someone else off?

[Mr Plow]

12 hours ago, The British Lion said:

Just an observation - perhaps they made the large all seater stand too large, and should have made the whole ground more in ratio to each other.

Yeah I think they got the layout badly wrong. Problem is all the hospitality is in the main stand which is why it’s so big. The location is a problem but there’s not much they could do about that. I mean where else could they have realistically built it? 

[Just Browny]

15 hours ago, TheLegendOfTexEvans said:

Its not even a good venue its unnaturally cold, soulless, hassle to reach and pay in, over aggressive security staff, sky high costs for snacks and refreshments, bad views of the pitch in a lot of areas.  No at all family friendly, geared up for a drinking culture.

 

 

 

8,500 turned up for Sale's last home game on 3rd January. Are they a bit tougher than RL fans then? Maybe they turn the heating on for the union.

[Davo5]

2 hours ago, gandalf said:

The willows should never have been sold, just upgraded 

There’s cheap plans going in Wakefield & Castleford with free artist impressions.

[Damien]

3 hours ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

It’s not a cheaper option, redevelopment at Headingley Stadium has cost £44 million 

That's Headingley, which has completely different and unique circumstances.