No - Oakwell only for me. No need to move and it's a stadium with a soul. Love the West Stand. Sensitive refurb for me similar to Sheff Wednesday..
I thought the same after watching that video. Even the stands that were rebuilt are now a bit dated (they pull stadia that old down in America), how much would a new stadium cost? Rotherham's & Donny's cost £20 million so would we be looking at £40-£60 million for a stadium similar in size to Oakwell. I think the natives would be alright if its built in the same place. The only other option would to be an overhaul, a bit like they have done at Bristol City.
I can't imagine they'd have bought the club if any concerns over the ownership of the ground hadn't been thorough investigated and resolved satisfactorily. I wouldn't want us to move away from Oakwell. Don't see that there's much wrong with it - nice ground, bit of character, relatively easy to get to on public transport. Don't want to see us playing at a big bowl out in the middle of nowhere, with nothing for miles apart from a motorway junction. If it were walking distance from the town centre, or close to an existing railway station, then I'd be a bit more open to it. But still wouldn't see the need, really. Refurbish the three newer stands, sensitively renovate the West Stand and we'd be golden.
Its a definite know from me , my wife & family are well aware that when my time comes for the one way trip , I would like my ashes spread at Oakwell , it would not be the same anywhere else
I'm already fearful our values are going to change. Moving to another location will definitely be a step too far for me. It wouldn't be the same any more.
In all honesty, I totally agree. Oakwell is part of what makes us "us". A gradual redevelopment of the ground would be what I want, but I'm not a billionaire consortium...
Sitting in the East Stand looking straight across it pains me to see how dilapidated and weary the old west stand looks. As well as having vast swathes of empty seats towards the tunnel which could be used by away fans, or even home fans could be encouraged to sit there. But for some reason it remains unused. What I'd prefer is to knock the old thing down, build a state of the art replacement which fits in with the other three stands and move the tunnel and changing rooms back into it. For goodness sake do away with the tunnel in the corner right by the away fans.
Would I stop supporting them if we moved? No. We'd still be a the same club representing the town. Would I like to stay at Oakwell? Yes. It's location has it locked within the community and I'm fairly sure the new owners were impressed with the community spirit within the club. To be honest I can't see the need in the medium term. There's enough capacity to expand the seating to cover any forseeable attendance increase.
No just can't see it. They have a lot of land up at Oakwell in which to upgrade any training facilities or indeed the west stand. I seem to remember them mentioning the town centre redevelopment and linking in with this regeneration in the press conf following the takeover. It wouldn't make sense to move away from the current position, I doubt we could get any closer to the town centre.
When we dropped down into league one in the early 2000s, we seemed to be there for some time, and it all seemed very grim with lots of empty seats and an away end that rarely had more than a few hundred in. Thankfully we came back up, but I did wonder what would have happened if we stayed down there and became a regular league one club. Maybe after some time we might have courted the idea of a new, smaller stadium ala donny and Rotherham, but I'm really glad it didn't go that far. As things are, our crowds are healthier than they have been for years and we still have room for another 50% ish in the stadium. I'd be worrying about moving or improving when the ground starts filling up for some considerable time. Other than that it's a waste of time and money. A new stadium may attract a few more fans at the outset, but only winning football keeps them coming regardless of the surroundings.
I'd like us to improve the stadium in a similar way to which wolves have over the last few years.... Matching stands still open corners and keeping it in the same place it has always been and should be.... We have land around the ground should we want to create an area where fans can come to before and games if that's what the new owners want. Our club is all about identity and not relocating to the outskirts of town to play in a generic bowl stadium is important in keeping that identity. Improving it where we are is a must for me and I don't see any reason why we won't do that.