Having seen the latest statements by both parties and Dan jarvis wading in to back up the councils side....id lay good money that the new CEO Is soley behind this move to close the west stand ....he's used smoke and mirrors and used health and safety to his advantage .... By closing the west stand hes implemented a cost cutting exercise and gambled that the majority of fans in the west stand will take up the offer of new seats in either the east or pontey end at no cost to the club.....by re deploying the stewards to the North stand he then allocates further away tickets to the away fans at 36 quid a chuck ....he's also gambled that if a small percentage of the west stand supporters do take the refund then this will be overcome by future away ticket sales which over the season generates more cash than it will cost to give out refunds..... Loyalty of home support comes way down the list to the owners business plan....in my opinion... We've already seen senior management and high profile employees depart the club in droves and apart from the new CEO, I'd say those brought in to replace those that have left will have been employed on lesser wages....further savings.... Now I'd say we all agree it makes sense to save on costs but it's the way they go about it and the lies that follow..during Covid for instance and According to Conway it cost us 500,000 by getting to the play offs as there no rewards for teams finishing 4th 5th and 6th I can honestly say I reckon over the next few weeks further cuts will be made and announced all under the guise of health and safety..... The CEO came to the table saying he worked on transparency...guess from where I'm standing that's the first hurdle he's failed .. ....during covid the club couldnt thank those purchasing season tickets enough and this season in blind faith we had our best season ticket sales for some time even though at times there were doubts to what extent we would be allowed in if at all to oakwell....we showed our loyalty and commitment , I wonder when it's their turn at the minute it appears a one way street because nothing is coming back...the announcement of the closure of the west stand in my opinion shows the shallowness that this consortium are prepared to resort to...they don't repay loyalty Already we've had the statement we are not buying the ground we've heard reports of them looking to ground share we've heard reports they haven't paid the Crynes and have successfully negotiated a reduction of purchase for their share of the club ...they own the FA registration and players....seen as they've failed to keep up with their intended payments...id say bugger all else They prove themselves time after time to be charlatans...in many ways.... We've had the speeches from Conway which the majority of the time have been nothing but hot air in reality ...hot air and no substance...especially with the match day experience He came out with a statement the other week ...We are here until we are not welcome or wanted....isnt it about time this was tested....well for one, i don't want you here Mr Conway i may speak only for myself but I doubt it and I've called many a time that these cowboys couldn't lay straight in bed if they tried...Time for them to head out of town.... As for transparency it's as clear as treacle and will always be so whilst this mob are in charge in my honest opinion... Time for them to go ....sooner the better
Possibly..but what ever they are up to Paul I dont trust them ...Im One of a few who's not trusted them from day one.....in my opinion they speak with a fork tongue and we need shut of them ..... I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a Middlesbrough chains on the gate situation arising due to lack of rental payment we thought Blackpool and Middlesbrough had it rough watch this space....our situation will out shadow them both in my opinion....guess you can tell they aren't on my Christmas card list lol
Or they'd allow a multi million pound business to pay v fair rents probably well below market value...
There's not a cat in hell's chance that with all the previous rumblings about the West that this fella has come in & closed it off his own back purely for matchday revenue reasons. Zero.
Why not he's been brought in to manage the business to save money and be cost effective...take the sentiment out of the situation and put a business head on for a moment then it makes complete financial sense to close the west stand....like I've said previously the extra income over a season by extending ticket allocation to away fans will bring in more revenue than it will cost to refund the few who don't take up the offer of being seated else where.... These guys are here to make money not to pander to the whim of supporters who they refer to as customers....
100 customers getting a refund = £20,000 of lost revenue. 20 stewards @ £15 per hour for 5 hours for 20 remaining games = £30,000 cost. It's a lot of effort, bridges burned and aggro to try and save £10k. This doesn't take into account any assumptions on say £3 per refunded ticket holder per game spent on a brew & a programme. But if we did that: £300 per game lost. £6000 revenue lost. So now it's saved you £4,000. Now consider lost revenue of not being able to sell pay on day tickets because of reduced space. 100 of those per game @ average of £30 = £3,000. Multiply by remaining 20 games = £60,000 lost revenue. It's now cost you £56,000 closing the stand. Not. A. Cat. In. Hells. Chance.
I do wholeheartedly agree with you and believe that the new CEO hasn't come in and shut down the west for a few extra quid in revenue, but if you go by Shed's model you need to account for extra ticket sales in North stand, which I don't think you've done? So: 500 extra per game (home and away supporters) in North stand @ average of £30 = £15,000. Multiply by remaining 20 games = £300,000 additional revenue.
Blokes been here 10 minutes. I'd be highly surprised if the decision to shut the stand was solely down to him. Also, what "lies during covid for instance"? Did I miss something?
If you also add in the money they now DON’T have to spend on making the West habitable, the their decision becomes more and more obvious.
They do have to spend it though because it is in the terms of their contract with the ground owners. Whether they will or not is a different matter...
And the money saved on utilities, the potential saving on police costs with just three stands, matchday staff outside of stewards, etc. Potentially in the region of half a million a year vs. existing setup.
I don't think I've ever seen a police officer in the West Stand. Maybe ten stewards. And utilities? THE PISSERS HAVEN'T GOT A ROOF AND THERE'S NO RUNNING HOT WATER.
Still energy and lights being fed to it. I did say ‘potential’ saving on police costs. I can see a game being downgraded one level because you’ve only got three sides of the ground to focus on. Could be wrong but would hardly be surprising. Especially as that’s 1,000+ less people being let on to that particular street at that end after a game.