Developing Y Cae Ras

[NottinghamRed]

Originally Posted by redavid

Move !!!! NEVER , the oldest international football stadium worldwide ! on my doorstep to , we could fill in the corners though .

Demolish the uni and flats to make way for our massive stands

[Todd Sweeney]

In the past I’ve thought that moving to a new out of town stadium may be best.

However, I’ve come to realise that we have something really special at the Racecourse. It’s part of who we are, it’s a hugely loved and well-known venue. It’s also in a great location. And it has history and character, and that can’t be replaced.

Yes, it’ll be expensive to refurbish/rebuild - but nowhere near as expensive as a new ground. Three of the stands are structurally ok, albeit the Yale and certainly the Tech End require refurbishment.

We have the footprint to turn the Racecourse into a 15-20k capacity stadium. That’s plenty for us. The likes of Swansea, Bournemouth, QPR and others have all played in the Premier League with similar or smaller capacities.

A Shrewsbury type flat pack stadium has no appeal, for me. A refurbished Racecourse certainly does. Hopefully we see that one day!

[techender]

I agree that the Racecourse is iconic and we should do everything to stay there. I certainly do not want an out of town flat pack solution such as our farming friends in Shrewsbury have gone for.

However, as raised elsewhere, another big issue with the Racecourse is the availability of car parking in the vicinity, and that one is a lot harder to solve.

Can you imagine the chaos a 15-20,000 crowd would bring if this issue isn't solved, especially as it's acknowledged by the new owners that we are looking to bring in fans from across North Wales.

You could hardly say they could get her on a train or a bus given the poor public transport services across that area.

[Todd Sweeney]

Originally Posted by techender

I agree that the Racecourse is iconic and we should do everything to stay there. I certainly do not want an out of town flat pack solution such as our farming friends in Shrewsbury have gone for.

However, as raised elsewhere, another big issue with the Racecourse is the availability of car parking in the vicinity, and that one is a lot harder to solve.

Can you imagine the chaos a 15-20,000 crowd would bring if this issue isn't solved, especially as it's acknowledged by the new owners that we are looking to bring in fans from across North Wales.

You could hardly say they could get her on a train or a bus given the poor public transport services across that area.

I get that but we should be encouraging the use of public transport rather than driving to games in this day and age - that may mean organising a lot more buses, park and ride systems etc. The likes of Anfield are hemmed in by houses but 50,000 odd people are able to get to games without too much hassle!

[Prodigal Dragon]

Originally Posted by Todd Sweeney

I get that but we should be encouraging the use of public transport rather than driving to games in this day and age - that may mean organising a lot more buses, park and ride systems etc. The likes of Anfield are hemmed in by houses but 50,000 odd people are able to get to games without too much hassle!

These are the sort of issues that need raising and resolving. There are pros and cons with developing the Racecourse; we should therefore balance all these points before committing. Once we do commit I cannot see it being viable to then abandon a revamped Racecourse because it isn’t big enough, with good access and the needed amenities. Importantly, it must be useable more than just 23 times a year.

[chesterrobin]

Maybe tongue in cheek but what about the University site becoming part of the Cae Ras and relocate the university. A ready made training complex including conference facilities and accommodation. Scope to develop the stadium by extending where necessary on adjacent land and multi user facilities for the locality.

[davewilli]

Originally Posted by Todd Sweeney

In the past I’ve thought that moving to a new out of town stadium may be best.

However, I’ve come to realise that we have something really special at the Racecourse. It’s part of who we are, it’s a hugely loved and well-known venue. It’s also in a great location. And it has history and character, and that can’t be replaced.

Yes, it’ll be expensive to refurbish/rebuild - but nowhere near as expensive as a new ground. Three of the stands are structurally ok, albeit the Yale and certainly the Tech End require refurbishment.

We have the footprint to turn the Racecourse into a 15-20k capacity stadium. That’s plenty for us. The likes of Swansea, Bournemouth, QPR and others have all played in the Premier League with similar or smaller capacities.

A Shrewsbury type flat pack stadium has no appeal, for me. A refurbished Racecourse certainly does. Hopefully we see that one day!

True and with the Gateway project and new ownership, it should become affordable, without impacting too much on the football team. The Racecourse and its history is what we are all about and we should treasure it.

The Trust had started to make greater use of the stadium and I'm sure with the proposed improvements with the promised funding, the attraction and marketing skills of R&R the ground can generate enough revenue to be cost neutral to the club.

[marathonplny]

Parking - copy what we used at Brighton

Massive car part located away from the ground and simply run watch is essentially a park and ride service for football games.
Worked well at Brighton

[davewilli]

Originally Posted by chesterrobin

Maybe tongue in cheek but what about the University site becoming part of the Cae Ras and relocate the university. A ready made training complex including conference facilities and accommodation. Scope to develop the stadium by extending where necessary on adjacent land and multi user facilities for the locality.

Wasn't that a plan when Glyndwr bought the ground, proposing to build a new Tech end stand with teaching facilities below.