Good publicity for the new Riverside Stand

[Nick Bateman]

Interesting article in today's Mail Online.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13243841/Premier-League-VIP-box-rooftop-SWIMMING-POOL-Fulham-hospitality-Thames-Michelin-star.html

[filham]

I am getting a little wound up with all of the talk and artist,s impressions about the new stand, just wan't to see a bum on every seat on matchdays in orderto restore the full atmosphere to the Cottage.
How many yeas is it behind schedule ,3 I think.

[fancyfeet4]

The idea of high-end suites/seating is just modern sports. It's the way of the world.

But for me, its the how you do it, not whether you do it. I think the Pool is an awful idea and doesn't match the aesthetic of the Cottage. Also, who the hell is going into a pool (even if heated) when it's nearly freezing in January?  It's just such an odd choice, and hopefully that idea gets punted. But the rest is just the way of the world and I think its fine as an addition.

[Woolly Mammoth]

The pool was my idea.
As i generally bring my Lilo on match  days.

[Penfold]

I am getting a little wound up with all of the talk and artist,s impressions about the new stand, just wan't to see a bum on every seat on matchdays in orderto restore the full atmosphere to the Cottage.
How many yeas is it behind schedule ,3 I think.

The kind of spectators they are aiming for in the Riverside aren't likely to Improve the atmosphere much.

[H4usuallysitting]

It's the future.... they'll be moving pictures with sound soon

[Woolly Mammoth]

I am getting a little wound up with all of the talk and artist,s impressions about the new stand, just wan't to see a bum on every seat on matchdays in orderto restore the full atmosphere to the Cottage.
How many yeas is it behind schedule ,3 I think.

The kind of spectators they are aiming for in the Riverside aren't likely to Improve the atmosphere much.

Precisely

[alfie]

I am getting a little wound up with all of the talk and artist,s impressions about the new stand, just wan't to see a bum on every seat on matchdays in orderto restore the full atmosphere to the Cottage.
How many yeas is it behind schedule ,3 I think.

The kind of spectators they are aiming for in the Riverside aren't likely to Improve the atmosphere much.

Let's face it there was very little if any atmosphere in the old stand.

[FFCAli]

The pool was my idea.
As i generally bring my Lilo on match  days.

Does it fit in an A4 size bag?

[Penfold]

I am getting a little wound up with all of the talk and artist,s impressions about the new stand, just wan't to see a bum on every seat on matchdays in orderto restore the full atmosphere to the Cottage.
How many yeas is it behind schedule ,3 I think.

The kind of spectators they are aiming for in the Riverside aren't likely to Improve the atmosphere much.

Let's face it there was very little if any atmosphere in the old stand.

Harsh, but fair

[Cambridge Away]

The idea of high-end suites/seating is just modern sports. It's the way of the world.

But for me, its the how you do it, not whether you do it. I think the Pool is an awful idea and doesn't match the aesthetic of the Cottage. Also, who the hell is going into a pool (even if heated) when it's nearly freezing in January?  It's just such an odd choice, and hopefully that idea gets punted. But the rest is just the way of the world and I think its fine as an addition.

Yes, there is probably one game at the beginning and end of each season where you could get out of the pool and not be freezing. Unless they plan to heat the swimming pool like a bath for match days it is going to be pretty uncomfortable to use for pretty much all of the season (to dip in and out of the pool and match). I am sure the summer months it will be popular though for people that like that kind of thing (and non match days for avid swimmers).

[SG]

The reality is it's targeted at punters who use the exclusive sports club for the 13 days of a fortnight when there's no football.
Very happy for affluent west Londoners to assist us in meeting the various financial rules

[HV71]

One simple gauge will be ( when the stand is at full capacity ) is how many seats will be empty for the first ten minutes after half time ? Real football fans or corporate experience seekers ?
I won't pre - judge - so let us wait and see.

[RaySmith]

Bit different from the days when I used to stand on the  halfway line on the riverside terracing, waving my rattle -
the air filled with the smell of fag smoke, feet crunching on Percy Dalton's empty peanut shells, new plastic badges of  the Fulham players bought outside the ground, pinned to my black and white woolly hat, RAF surplus rucksack with my scrap book of  player photos glued into it to get signed after the game -
watching Tosh banter with the crowd, or with his mate Haynes, all for a couple of bob.

But football, and society, has come a long way since then, and  maybe this is the way forward for Fulham, helping make us  self-sustainable, and  will it help leave behind the threat of FFP sanctions? besides also leaving behind old-timers such as myself.

Well, Shahid Khan seems to think it is, and there will still be tickets available for the  remaining three quarters of the ground, though even those are too expensive for me to regularly afford, but such is the way of top flight English football today.
But maybe we should also admire Khan's long term ambition for the club in which he 's prepared to put his money where his mouth is.

Just an opinion.

[Woolly Mammoth]

The pool was my idea.
As i generally bring my Lilo on match  days.

Does it fit in an A4 size bag?

That's what she said last night.

[Cambridge Away]

Isn't there also an argument that a lot of old Fulham fans CAN afford this kind of thing on occasions. I mean, a lot of Fulham fans made good decisions in life (like their continuing allegiance to Fulham) and have also taken the step up from working class to middle class (you literally can't be poor and attend nowadays regularly). And the new locals certainly do have enough money.

Even if i wouldn't pay money for VIP packages etc, it is the best way forward for the club, and at least we aren't being ripped off like when Bulstrode and Clay were involved. Khan is literally a saint compared to those two (and that horrible part of our history does still impact us today).

[alfie]

One simple gauge will be ( when the stand is at full capacity ) is how many seats will be empty for the first ten minutes after half time ? Real football fans or corporate experience seekers ?
I won't pre - judge - so let us wait and see.

I take it you haven't been in the Hammersmith end at after half time having to continuously
To get up and down to accommodate those "supporters" who just had to have that extra pint.

[HV71]

One simple gauge will be ( when the stand is at full capacity ) is how many seats will be empty for the first ten minutes after half time ? Real football fans or corporate experience seekers ?
I won't pre - judge - so let us wait and see.

I take it you haven't been in the Hammersmith end at after half time having to continuously
To get up and down to accommodate those "supporters" who just had to have that extra pint.

I understand Alfie
 There is though a genuine difference from people who want a half time drink ( but the lack of facilities mean they are late back for the restart ) to those that are enjoying the queue free facilities and prawn sandwiches so much that they don't care about missing any of the action on the pitch

[btffc]

Isn't there also an argument that a lot of old Fulham fans CAN afford this kind of thing on occasions. I mean, a lot of Fulham fans made good decisions in life (like their continuing allegiance to Fulham) and have also taken the step up from working class to middle class (you literally can't be poor and attend nowadays regularly). And the new locals certainly do have enough money.

Even if i wouldn't pay money for VIP packages etc, it is the best way forward for the club, and at least we aren't being ripped off like when Bulstrode and Clay were involved. Khan is literally a saint compared to those two (and that horrible part of our history does still impact us today).

For all the uproar when those £3000 season tickets were announced, I do believe they sold out pretty quickly so there is definitely demand for Fulham tickets at those premium price points. The question is how much demand. There weren't that many of those available and now we are adding even more expensive tickets numbering in the thousands. If Fulham fans can mostly fill out those new seats then that's fantastic but if it's only a few and the rest is taken up by tourists, touts selling to away fans and corporations then that's not so great. But if they are all filled out regardless of who it is then that is a ton a revenue so it's still likely a net positive. It's a problem if no one buys them though.

[SG]

The stand is open as an official partnership with the Boat race organisers. It will be a great spot to watch the boat race, have a few drinks and in future years a meal - if that is what floats your boat ( ) then great. Ten's probably hundreds of thousands of pounds of income for the club