Gateshead FC New Stadium | Gateshead | Proposed

[Irish Blood English Heart]

Originally Posted by bigchrisfgb

Yeah, Sunderland have now taken up the Ski Slope with the Villege project. Though I'm not sure at what stage it is at, and if NCC came and got someone like Xscape to take an interest then I'm sure the Newcastle one would be more succesful.

Not necessarily, the other indoor snow domes in the country are in Milton Keynes, Castleford, Telford and Salford showing that their model is to build snow domes in less glamerous places that are near big cities (the snow slopes themselves are a loss leader, it's the shops and bars that make the money).

Also it doesn't make for a healthy north east for every amenity to be concentrated all within the same borough. It's hardly a great hardship to travel 30 minutes to Sunderland is it?

At least it isn't being planned for the metro centre.

[Smash17]

Originally Posted by johnnypd

yeah, but most of that is terracing, the main covered stand will be 2000 which is about right, for big games this season they've had over 1000. i think with their meteoric rise through the divisions and a central location they'll get more fans watching too.

But they've had their big rise now, this is the point where numbers will level off and they've only got over 1,000 twice this season so a 9,000 capacity seems very excessive. Something like 5,000 would be far more suitable, I agree the attendance would rise with a better location in a proper ground but nothing that a 5,000 capacity stadium couldn't handle.

You've only got to look down the road to Darlington to see what an excessively big stadium does to a club, obviously this would be on a smaller scale but it's still a cause for concern.

[Newcastle Historian]

Originally Posted by Smash17

But they've had their big rise now, this is the point where numbers will level off and they've only got over 1,000 twice this season so a 9,000 capacity seems very excessive. Something like 5,000 would be far more suitable, I agree the attendance would rise with a better location in a proper ground but nothing that a 5,000 capacity stadium couldn't handle.

You've only got to look down the road to Darlington to see what an excessively big stadium does to a club, obviously this would be on a smaller scale but it's still a cause for concern.

I wonder if the proposed scale (unlike Darlington's) could just be about right because (while YES, they have just made a big rise through the divisions) surely their eventual aim must be to re-join the Football League?

The larger capacity, even if unused for quite some time, will be essential if they progress further, as they (and me) will hope they do.

(Then at least we will have TWO big North East teams . . . . . JOKE!!)

[NewcastleStu]

Looks good, I'd certainly think about going along and supporting them at that ground.

It doesn't matter what the capacity is, if I'm reading the original post correctly most of it will be standing room/terraces with 2,000 seats then more seats would be put in (taking the capacity to 6,000) if the club does well.

[Smash17]

Originally Posted by Newcastle Historian

I wonder if the proposed scale (unlike Darlington's) could just be about right because (while YES, they have just made a big rise through the divisions) surely their eventual aim must be to re-join the Football League?

The larger capacity, even if unused for quite some time, will be essential if they progress further, as they (and me) will hope they do.

(Then at least we will have TWO big North East teams . . . . . JOKE!!)

I do agree that the ultimate aim will be for them to be in the Football League but you've only got to look at the league table to see how far away they are from that.

The way these stadiums are built these days are so they can easily be expanded which is why I would suggest a smaller stadium which could be extended if needed. Look at the other teams in their division, there's some teams who've been in the Football League in recent seasons and even they haven't required a stadium that large.

They'll be spending money on the ground when the key to their progress will be spending money on players, there's no point having a 9,000 capacity ground if they end up back in the Conference North.

[The Tynesiders]

Originally Posted by Smash17

I do agree that the ultimate aim will be for them to be in the Football League but you've only got to look at the league table to see how far away they are from that.

The way these stadiums are built these days are so they can easily be expanded which is why I would suggest a smaller stadium which could be extended if needed. Look at the other teams in their division, there's some teams who've been in the Football League in recent seasons and even they haven't required a stadium that large.

They'll be spending money on the ground when the key to their progress will be spending money on players, there's no point having a 9,000 capacity ground if they end up back in the Conference North.

It's Gateshead's first season back in the Conference. They're currently one of only 7 semi-pro teams in the Conference (Going full-time next season) so this season is essentially all about staying up. A good FA Cup run wouldn't hurt neither starting with Gateshead v Brentford - FA Cup 1st Round Saturday 3pm.

As for the capacity. 9,000 is on the large side but as said 7,000 of that is standing. When you think of the size of other local non-league grounds, Blyth 5,000, Whitley Bay 4,000, then it doesn't sound that crazy compared. They could've put seats in all 4 stands and it would've been 6,000, but what's the point in that as you don't need to be all seater unless you're in the Championship and above.

Long-term, realistically Gateshead's aim is to be a League 1/League 2 side similar to Darlington, Carlisle and Hartlepool. When Gateshead were a Football League side (pre-1960) they were rivals to these three and pulled in similar attendances to them. Whilst crowds have fallen away badly since, there's no reason to think they couldn't get back to that position. Especially given the population of Gateshead and Tyneside. And if there were big cup games then the 9,000 capacity would come in handy.

[Smash17]

Originally Posted by The Tynesiders

As for the capacity. 9,000 is on the large side but as said 7,000 of that is standing. When you think of the size of other local non-league grounds, Blyth 5,000, Whitley Bay 4,000, then it doesn't sound that crazy compared. They could've put seats in all 4 stands and it would've been 6,000, but what's the point in that as you don't need to be all seater unless you're in the Championship and above.

Long-term, realistically Gateshead's aim is to be a League 1/League 2 side similar to Darlington, Carlisle and Hartlepool. When Gateshead were a Football League side (pre-1960) they were rivals to these three and pulled in similar attendances to them. Whilst crowds have fallen away badly since, there's no reason to think they couldn't get back to that position. Especially given the population of Gateshead and Tyneside. And if there were big cup games then the 9,000 capacity would come in handy.

But even if they were in the Football League there's still no need for such a big ground. Go the other way and think of Hartlepool, that's a ground of 7,600 and they get around 3,500 each week, very rarely filling it, and Darlington get around 1,500 in League Two.

If that's where they're aspiring to be then there's no need for this ground to be this big, it could be 10 years before they get into the Football League, yet alone League One and if they're spending all their funds on a new stadium then it'll be even more difficult for them to reach this target.

[The Tynesiders]

Passion and new stadium could take Gateshead Football Club to league
Jan 6 2010 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

ENTREPRENEURS Graham Wood and Brian Waites have a dream to create Britain's first financially sustainable Football League club in Gateshead, Peter McCusker reports.



BY the start of the 2011-12 football season Gateshead Football Club could be playing in a new 9,000 capacity stadium near the Civic Centre.

Whether these games will be in the Football League or still in the Football Conference depends upon the performance of the team over the next 18 months.

However with the ambition of chairman Graham Wood and vice chairman Brian Waites there is great optimism that Gateshead will soon return to the Football League for the first time since 1960.

Graham Wood stepped in from semi-retirement in America in 2002 to help his hometown team and has so far spent £1.25m on the club he followed as a boy.

His interest stepped up in 2006 when he became chairman and subsequently returned to the region.

So far this is a familiar trail, trekked for over 100 years by thousands of wealthy businessman who have bankrolled the football clubs closest to their hearts.

But for Wood and Waites the stadium development will set them on an unfamiliar football path, one which they believe will pave the way for others to follow and will ensure the club can become financially self-sufficient.

Wood says: "Since 2002 I've bankrolled the club to the tune of £1.25m, but what we want to do here is create something that will be financially viable and secure long term.

"The problem with the way football clubs are run at the present is that it's either boom or bust.

"We see philanthropists come along, put money in, lose interest and then the club struggles. That's not a sensible way to run a football club.

"I could help bring league football back to the club by continuing to be a sugar daddy, but I want to look to the long term and build something that is sustainable for the town of Gateshead.

"I want to help build that something while I am alive, something that will be here when I am gone. I get great pleasure from being involved in Gateshead and I want to be able to create something that will give future generations great pleasure too."

The plans for Gateshead's new stadium, which will be on Prince Consort Road opposite the Civic Centre on a site which previously housed North Durham cricket and rugby clubs, will be submitted to Gateshead Council next month.

The club hopes to secure planning permission in late spring and start work on the stadium, which is not far from the town's transport interchange, by June in time for completion by the kick-off of the 2011-12 season in August 2011.

Wood and Waites are currently talking to potential "blue chip" tenants with a view to securing agreements on long-term leases for the 3,000-plus square metres of lettable space which will be built into the stadium's main east stand.

Wood continued: "The key to creating a self sufficient football club at Conference and lower Football League level is to build commercial space into the stadium. Leasing this space not only assists with funding the construction of the stadium but in meeting the ongoing running costs of the club."

"Warrington Wolves Rugby League Club trialled this model and have shown that it works. Preston North End and Blackpool Football Clubs have since followed suit by using the same concept to finance new stands."

"All three have let space to the local primary care trust on leases ranging from 25 to 50 years and this is the type of tenant we'll be looking to attract. We'll be talking to potential clients in both the public and private sectors."

"The annual rental income we're looking at will be in the region of £500,000 and we'll look to maximise revenues through income streams generated from other activities at the stadium.

"We'll look to squeeze the asset six or seven days a week and not simply rely on matchday revenues."

Wood says, "Ultimately, the level of attendance will determine the size and quality of the squad but we're confident that there will be at least sufficient income to achieve and sustain League Two status."

At the end of last season Gateshead, who are currently based at the town's International Stadium, which is primarily known as an athletics venue, played AFC Telford United in the Conference North play-offs for a place in the Conference Premier League, the pinnacle of non-league football. The match attracted a crowd of 4,200, including nearly 1,000 Telford supporters.

Waites, managing director and founder of Gateshead-based print and marketing firm NB Group, says: "When Gateshead were last in the Football League they used to attract similar crowds to Darlington and Hartlepool and gates regularly exceeded 10,000."

"Three years ago we struggled to attract 200 people to games but we're now averaging close to 700. In League Two and with the benefit of a new purpose-built stadium in a prime location, we would hope to attract at least 2,000. In fact I think that is a conservative estimate and we should be up nearer 3,000."

"There's no doubt that Newcastle United and Sunderland will continue to soak up the majority of support in the region but there is a growing sense of independence in Gateshead and we're sure that this will rub off on the town's football club."

"We've no doubt that attendances will benefit from the stadium's proximity to the town centre and transport interchange and we'll have a large catchment area within walking distance of the ground."

Building football stadiums is an expensive business and Wood, who was previously vice chairman of Sunderland Football Club, has experience of the process having had input into the creation of the Stadium of Light which was originally a 42,000 seat stadium built at a cost of around £25m.

"We want to create a 6,000 all-seat stadium in the long run, which at the Stadium of Light rates of close to £600 a seat would cost us £3.5m", says Wood

"At first stage we will only put in 2,000 seats and the rest of the ground will be standing, which will give us an initial overall capacity of 9,000 and will easily exceed the criteria for Football League membership.

"The final cost will depend upon the specification. We'll be looking to maximise all of the grants available for this type of development but will clearly need to use the collateral from some of the leases to complete the funding.

"Wherever possible, the stadium will be constructed using materials from sustainable resources and the provision of utilities will also be sourced with sustainability in mind. The initial seated part of the stadium will be in the east stand, with the ground and first floors being used for football and other leisure activities such as a social club, community facilities and a club shop. The second and third floors and free standing buildings at each end of the stand will house the lettable space."

Commercial property expert Bill Naylor, managing director of Naylor's chartered surveyors of Newcastle, said the rates Wood would be asking for the lettable space, which equate to around £15 per sq ft, should be achievable in such a location.

"The maths certainly stack up. It's feasible and I wish them luck. I think the key to this type of deal is the quality of the tenants."

"If they get the right tenants they should be able to get a pension fund to take the leases and at a yield of around 6% this could provide them with around £8m cash to work with."

Wood added: "The International Stadium is away from the town centre and is surrounded by business premises which are empty at match times. It's ideal for track and field athletics but lacks the atmosphere of a football ground."

Wood, who made millions of pounds from the sale of his US-based boiler business over 10 years ago, believes the club can become financially sustainable in much the same way that Warrington Wolves Rugby League Club has.

He added: "Warrington are my inspiration, They have found the right model to make this type of development work. Our biggest money spinner, like Warrington's, will be the lettable space."

Wood has agreed to buy the land on which the stadium will be developed for £260,000, depending on planning permission being approved, and he is prepared to take his personal spending "north of £2m" to progress the ambitious plans.

He concluded: "This stadium development and hopefully the return of Gateshead to the Football League will be my legacy to the club and the town.

"I believe we can create something that will be sustainable for at least the next 50 years."

http://www.nebusiness.co.uk/business...40-25533076/3/

[Salif]

I worry about Gateshead's extremely optimistic presumption of increased attendances. Yeah crowds will go up when this move happens but this season at times they struggle to get 500 so to expect a leap to 2000-3000 in about 18 months time seems some what staggering. Hopefully they're not developing any business plans based on these presumed jumps in attendances.

[Smash17]

Originally Posted by Salif

I worry about Gateshead's extremely optimistic presumption of increased attendances. Yeah crowds will go up when this move happens but this season at times they struggle to get 500 so to expect a leap to 2000-3000 in about 18 months time seems some what staggering. Hopefully they're not developing any business plans based on these presumed jumps in attendances.

I agree fully.

[wj_gibson]

I don't want to be pedantic, but the current Gateshead FC is not the same club as that which was ejected unceremoniously from the Football League in 1960. Hence, it is not a case of Gateshead "being back" in the Football League should it come to pass.

Actually, come to think of it - I do want to be pedantic.

[thenorthumbrian]

Anyone know if work started on the new Gateshead stadium yet ?

[alf stone]

In the last fortnight I have seen surveyors on site with a theodolite and later it looked like a team was drilling test bore holes.

[thenorthumbrian]

Originally Posted by alf stone

In the last fortnight I have seen surveyors on site with a theodolite and later it looked like a team was drilling test bore holes.

Thanks for that, so it looks like prelimenary work has started. The club were talking about moving to the new stadium in time for the 2011/12 season.

[thenorthumbrian]

Its good to see that Gatehead FC avoided relegation ( by the skin of their teeth ).
A derby game next year will be v Darlington, who know a thing or two about grandiose stadiums,

[thenorthumbrian]

For those who are interested the old Gateshead FC ground at Redheugh Park.
I think it was finally demolished in the early seventies, prior to that it doubled as a greyhound stadium.

[Dan_NUFC]

Originally Posted by alf stone

I am pleased that there is going to be some action on one of the Gateshead projects, namely the car park. Thompsons have moved in a lot more equipment and hung a huge sign on the front of the building with their name on it.

There is no sign of any activity on the old North Durham pitch, site of the new Gateshead FC stadium despite test bores being taken a long time ago. Their aim to open for the 2011/2012 season is looking very ambitious.

The town houses on Bensham Road are still not occupied despite the sold signs on most of them. The builders' security gate is still in place apart from weekends when the show house is open. The first sold signs went up back in April or May and I can't understand why nobody has moved in.

I'm sure it said on the official Gateshead FC site that it was delayed and they aimed to open halfway through the season instead.

[alf stone]

Thanks for that, Dan, I hadn't realised there was a further delay. I pass there every day and I have been watching for some activity but I will relax now for a while. Meanwhile it is serving a useful purpose for the local kids to play football even if they have had to break through the fences to do so.

[TownPlanningNE]

Some news about the stadium:

Two More Seasons at The International Stadium
Thursday 15th July 2010

Gateshead will almost certainly spend two more seasons at The International Stadium as the planning application submission date is put back.



Speaking to former Gateshead Chairman John Gibson, Chairman Graham Wood told the Evening Chronicle: "We will be in a position to seek planning permission by the end of next month" (August 2010, assuming the interview took place in July).

"The quickest planning permission can go through is 13 weeks which would take us to November."

"The stadium itself will take only one year to build, which means we could probably go in halfway through the 2011-2012 season, but for impact and the benefit of the pitch itself we will probably wait until the start of the new season."

"The main stand will have four floors with the top three all used to generate income, The idea is that the top floor will consist of medical outlets involving GP surgeries and so on. Moves have already been made to setup such a scheme."

"We believe there will be a quantum leap in attendances at the new stadium, we have worked out that with the other income streams we can be self-sufficient at our new ground on attendances of 1,250 in the Conference and 2,000 in the Football League."



www.HeedArmy.co.uk: Whilst the thought of two more seasons at The International Stadium is disappointing, in theory the new main stand should be able to generate income from the lettable space for a full six to eight months before we move into Prince Consort Road. It also gives the fans and New Supporters Club ample time to get organised, ensuring we make as much an impact as possible when moving in.

http://www.heedarmy.co.uk/1342/two-m...tional-stadium

[Dan_NUFC]

Thanks for the update, I think it's better that Gateshead move at the end of the 2012 season rather than halfway through. Also, I think attendances of 1,250 in the conference are easily achieveable.