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New stadium is Latics only chance to bring back the good times
Reporter: Matthew Chambers
Date online: 26 November 2009
PARK LIFE: WHAT was that smell?
As the media hacks tunnelled their way through Boundary Park's main stand to the gym area which doubles as a post-match briefing room at the weekend, noses were sent twitching by what seemed to be an application of fresh paint in some unspecified area.
Either that or Athletic press officer Roy Butterworth had been buying cheap aftershave from the market again.
Top marks to the Athletic staff who battle to try to keep the old place respectable through sweeping, dusting, polishing and painting.
Home is home. It doesn't hurt to take some pride in it.
At the same time, nobody needs the skills of a forensic detective to work out that Boundary Park is very, very tired indeed these days.
It remains rich in memories, but so poor in terms of the basic comforts football folk have come to expect in the modern era.
Former Athletic defender Paul Futcher was back and knocking around the press box before the Colchester match.
"This place has hardly changed in 30 years," he said, pertinently.
Disappointing recent home crowds, including the awful 3,607 figure present last week, indicate that the crumbling state of Boundary Park is a factor in keeping people away.
A ground badly lacking in elementary facilities isn't much of a pull and it can't help the team's fortunes, either.
Two home wins since February show that Athletic don't prosper at their partly-demolished home, while visitors love the place. As one wag pointed out on the Chronicle Comments section of our website: “No successful fortress in history has had only three sides”.
It is abundantly clear that for the club to survive and succeed in the future, Athletic need to cut the current Boundary Park loose as soon as possible . . . which makes it so important that the owners' plans to relocate to Failsworth are backed by the fans.
There are plenty of objectors, just as there are plenty of people who thought that John and Edward were a good turn on the X-Factor.
Wrong bit of Oldham? That's one you hear a lot, particularly from those who live within walking distance of the current ground.
It may be closer to Manchester than Boundary Park, but that should make it easier to attract new fans from different areas of town.
Too small? Let's walk before we run, eh?
A 12,000 capacity is absolutely fine for a club of Athletic's present size. There is little worth in fans rattling around some gigantic sarcophagus and current crowds aren't anywhere near such a mark.
Why not stay and redevelop the current ground? Well, that ship appears to have sailed.
The owners have decided that in the current climate the original plans simply aren't viable.
Some will wish it were another way, just as I wish I were blessed with Leo Messi's ball skills and Brad Pitt's looks.
What about the residents? They are entitled to voice concerns, though in fairness it would probably help the image of FRAG (Failsworth Residents’ Action Group) if they held fire on objections until the plans are revealed, so that they knew exactly what it is they are objecting to.
Nothing is set in stone, but it doesn't hurt to look at the glass being half full rather than half empty over the £20million development.
Oldhamers often seem conditioned to be negative.
Athletic's owners are clearly optimists — otherwise, why invest in a dream by buying a League One club in the first place — and seem to be committed to driving forward a new, exciting stadium project which will hopefully benefit Oldham as a whole.
Similar stadium ideas have borne fruit and worked a treat for both club and, in a wider sense, town, in a host of other places around the country. Why not here?
Surely it can’t be coincidence . . .
NINE professional clubs have moved into new grounds while playing in the Football League this century and all but one — Colchester United — have experienced a consequent immediate rise in attendances.
Average attendances, old and new
Cardiff City — Ninian Park, 2008-09 (Championship): 18,044; Cardiff City Stadium, 2009-10 so far (Championship): 21,056.
Relocation distance: 0.6 miles
Increase: 16.7-per-cent
Colchester United — Layer Road, 2007-08 (Championship): 5,509; Weston Homes Community Stadium, 2008-09 (League One): 5,084.
Relocation distance: 6.7 miles
Fall: 7.7-per-cent
Coventry City — Highfield Road, 2004-05 (Championship): 16,048; Ricoh Arena, 2005-06 (Championship): 21,302.
Relocation distance: 3 miles
Increase: 31.1-per-cent
Darlington — Feethams, 2002-03 (League Two): 3,312; Darlington Arena, 2003-04 (League Two): 5,023.
Relocation distance: 1.1 miles
Increase: 51.7-per-cent
Doncaster Rovers * — Belle Vue, 2005-06 (League One): 6,139; Keepmoat Stadium, 2006-07 (League One): 7,746.
Relocation distance: 2.9 miles
Increase: 26.2-per-cent
Hull City ** — Boothferry Park, 2002-03 (League Two): 12,843; KC Stadium, 2003-04 (League Two): 16,847.
Relocation distance: 2 miles
Increase: 31.2-per-cent
Leicester City *** — Filbert Street, 2001-02 (Premier League): 19,835; Walkers Stadium, 2002-03 (Championship): 29,219.
Relocation distance: 0.1 miles
Increase: 47.3-per-cent
Shrewsbury Town — Gay Meadow, 2006-07 (League Two): 4,730; Prostar Stadium, 2007-08 (League Two): 5,659.
Relocation distance: 1.8 miles
Increase: 19.6-per-cent
Swansea City — Vetch Field, 2004-05 (League Two): 8,458; Liberty Stadium, 2005-06 (League One): 14,112.
Relocation distance: 3.1 miles
Increase: 66.8-per-cent
* Doncaster moved to the Keepmoat in the latter half of the 2006-07 season.
** Hull City moved to the KC Stadium halfway through the 2002-03 season.
*** Leicester played their first game of the 2002-03 season at Filbert Street.
MK DONS are counted as a new club and therefore not included in the comparison.
Current League One club Southampton opened their new St Mary's stadium in the Premier League and are also therefore left out, while Burton Albion did so while in the Conference and are also excluded.
Comments
Excellent article. Very well balanced. I defy anybody for or against to criticise it.
What they have neglected to say is that all clubs featured have had massive investment into the team, all in proportion to their status,and all play attractive football. The investment in the team has been cut every year for the past 5 years.
I seem to recall that Leicester went into administration during the 02/03 season and I don't recall Swansea and Coventry having investment in their club. Attendances are only a small part of the issue a new stadium will help increase revenue in other areas
Well-balanced article? you must be joking. This is no more than club propaganda, totally one-sided.
get the new groung built, lets move on, into a modern updated stadium. the knockers will moan and groan, but if we kept listened to them, we would still be ploughing fields, with horses!
Because, OLDHAM SCOTLAND, a new stadium attracts investment, money from increased gate receipts which then is invested in the team which brings better football on the pitch which attracts more support, more investment!!
Lets back the new stadium, or we may find we don't have a football club at all.
Its time to be realistic, Boundary Park is ready for the scrap heap.
We have the memories now lets have a stadium Oldhamers can be proud of.
Stop complaining and START SUPPORTING!!!
whilst 12,000 capacity at the moment,it should be possible to increase the capacity should we need to in the future,getting back to the premiership must be our eventual aim,otherwise where are we going?
How about trying to get Paul Scholes as player manager?the guy wants to come and that along with a new stadium could cick-start a new era for the Latics
Finally an excellent article on the proposed new stadium, and for once backed up with facts and statistics. This part compensates for the anti-Latics propaganda that has been appearing in the news pages over recent weeks.
Ammypam, is is no more propaganda than the leaflets that have been recently handed out by FRAG, it works both ways. As the article correctly points out, it might be an idea to wait for the plans to be published so at least you know what you are objecting to.
we need to move simple.. stuck in old ways of what once was is going to kill the club. BP is a dump we can all see it.
A great article, A new start is just what we need. The Stadium should be built so it can be extended for future references. It will be out of use for most weekdays so why not hold gigs and concerts to put something back into the community. Lets regenerate Oldham for us now and for the future Oldham Athletic fans
Time to be positive people. Many of you have issues with that.
Ammypam the article was one sided because it wants professional sport to continue exist in the town. Your problem with that?
Failsworthian, the Scholesy argument may have possible at some stage but his boss has recently stated that he does not expect him to go down the leagues when/if he leaves OT. I believe we have the right type of manager, these are tough times, we have to be as patient as we were with Joe back in '82
Superlatic - yes, but this is supposed to be an impartial newspaper not a leaflet by an action group. Article failed to mention Northampton Town, one of the first to get a new stadium and they've done er... nowt much.
Very selective stats. Darlington went into administration after moving to their new stadium in 2003 and again this year. Average attendance 2008-09: 2,932 (League Two).
I urge all you people not to believe everything you are fed. Check things and make your own investigations.
ammypam - re northampton, nobody is saying that a new stadium will guarantee success, but it will sure as hell help. Might not have worked spectacularly for the likes of Darlington and Northampton, but with the likes of wigan, swansea, doncaster, hull, milton keynes, who have all gone on to establish themselves at least one division higher than when they got their new stadiums.
re the article, would you care to point out the parts which you believe are 'impartial' or 'club propaganda' ?
Toc, these clubs had investment before the new ground, both on and off the pitch, they did not have half decent managers dredging the bottom of the barrel for cheap loans and nobodies and past their sell buy date, that is the difference they also did not have their budget cut five years in a row, and as ammy said one club still went into admin, although nice viewing the figures show nothing.
The above metric was solely on stadium moves this century. Northampton moved from a three sided ground shared with the country cricket team years before.
Ammypam's Darlo stats are correct but so are the author's, he stipulated it was one season versus the next.
People should not be naive to think that a new home is nirvana, its part of a strategy. A positive strategy.
Have Your Say
very well said Matthew, unfortunatly you can't run a business on sentiment, in an ideal world we'd love to stay at Boundary Park and I will miss the place (hopefully) when we move. But I drive past where it's going to be every day and it is a much better location with transport links than BP
By Mark Hotte @ 26/11/2009 12:30:14