Could introducing "Safe Stand Seats" be an option:
www.the92.net/news-blog/wp-content/uploa...urt-seats-for-AM.jpg
www.bristolcityst.org.uk/artman/uploads/safe_standing_430.jpg
barclayendprojekt.files.wordpress.com/20...anding-awd-arena.jpg
Be nice to not have to segregate "The Standing" from "The Sitting" in any future upgrades/future stadiums
It's designed so person can sit and the person in front can Stand all the while person who is sitting's view will not be obstructed (may have fncked up the grammar there)

It will also bring an end to the scenario us shorter people in Terraces face off getting there early and having a good spot- only for some tall fecker to saunder up 2 mins to kick off and plonk themselves infront off you blocking you

you'd expect a big Leinster contingent since they don't have to pay for champions cup travel

So at the very end of this week's (as always excellent) Craggy Island Podcast Rob confirmed that Connacht have confirmed, that there will be "Extended Terracing" behind the goals for the Leinster Game.

Hopefully they'll need it for all five of the remaining home games.

If you wanna get money outta the IT industry you'd better send an email back to 1999!

Evil_g wrote:

salmson wrote: I thought the same about the boxes too and then I saw what Castres (Castres!!!!) were flogging them for - 2000 euro per seat per season for 12/14/18 seat suites. You're talking 5 to 10 extra lads in the squad right there.

Hmmmm. Are Boston Scientific and Medtronic going to buy them?

Munster owe the IRFU 4.2 Million during the summer of 2017. They need to sell 4.2 Million Euro worth of 10 year tickets at 5 grand a pop to pay that. That's at least 800 tickets.

We don't want to find ourselves in that position.

[edit]....even though being too big to fail might work out okay for Munster if they decide they deserve some of our players.

[edit 2]....Christ I wish Robbie was staying. He'd fill those seats.

Quite a lot of big corporations in and around Galway actually..it seems so probably more scope for decent corporate box returns if they package is carefully though out to suit the product and location (SG being so close to very good Wining & Dining)...
technologyvoice.com/2014/05/27/galway-is...0%99s-silicon-valley

FACECUTTR wrote: Transparent wind breaks used in France around the full stadium. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stade_de_la_Lico.../File%3AStadlic3.JPG

That stadium was the design inspiration for the Stade des Alpes in Grenoble.

P.S. This forum was missing a bit of stadium p*rn.

Transparent wind breaks used in France around the full stadium. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stade_de_la_Lico.../File%3AStadlic3.JPG

ShaneM wrote: The 9,120 for the Toulouse Match is a myth - 7400 is our Max capacity (Fire safety regulations max capacity for the sportsground), that's what we had there that night.....Marketing loves to add to the stats.
Would be class to see a top tear on the clan though.

For Toulouse they had the extra "VIP" stand and sold absolute maximum capacity.

Maximum Capacity is determined by different Health & Safety factors; and in all likelihood Connacht got a one off dispensation from the local Fire Officer for this one off game who has to license every event venue. An old ground like the SG always has areas that aren't usually licensed to open, but in exceptions they may be as long as certain standards are met (extra First Aiders, Stewards etc..)...

But every viewing point in the ground was in use, it was absolutely jammer at both ends as well. You can see it in the video's just how packed every section was. Even for Interpro's there's usually wiggle room on the terraces..

You can see on the video's of the match how jammers it was, must have been fifteen deep just behind the goals...

1 of those either side would be ideal as it provides badly needed facilities that we cannot provide now in the SG and I think this effects how user friendly we are as a club. 2 temporary stands like in the RDS behind the goals that could be added for Champions Cup or World Cup. We need to either develop the existing site or if we do move it needs to be to the docks. We simply do not have the infrastructure to make it work anywhere else.

salmson wrote: I thought the same about the boxes too and then I saw what Castres (Castres!!!!) were flogging them for - 2000 euro per seat per season for 12/14/18 seat suites. You're talking 5 to 10 extra lads in the squad right there.

Hmmmm. Are Boston Scientific and Medtronic going to buy them?

Munster owe the IRFU 4.2 Million during the summer of 2017. They need to sell 4.2 Million Euro worth of 10 year tickets at 5 grand a pop to pay that. That's at least 800 tickets.

We don't want to find ourselves in that position.

[edit]....even though being too big to fail might work out okay for Munster if they decide they deserve some of our players.

[edit 2]....Christ I wish Robbie was staying. He'd fill those seats.

Evil_g wrote:
Oooooooh..........shiny.

4 Million you say?

I don't think we need the boxes. Reasonably good facilities for the prawn sandwich brigade is one thing we actually do have already. So can we put seats up there too?

I thought the same about the boxes too and then I saw what Castres (Castres!!!!) were flogging them for - 2000 euro per seat per season for 12/14/18 seat suites. You're talking 5 to 10 extra lads in the squad right there.

As for the ooh/shiny thing, just think how good it'd look in green.

salmson wrote:
If we were to do something on the rugby side of the pitch I'd look at the hyper-slim 3 tier stand Castres put up at Stade Pierre Antoine a few years ago.

Oooooooh..........shiny.

4 Million you say?

I don't think we need the boxes. Reasonably good facilities for the prawn sandwich brigade is one thing we actually do have already. So can we put seats up there too?

Cost Clan stand - 640K at height of depression
Capacity ~2000
Upper Tier Seated Capacity ~900 (typically one seat = 2 standing positions, cropping 100 for stairs vomitoriums etc.)
Typical Cost Lower League UK football stadium >1000K (Sterling) per person (mix seating/standing).

We'd be lucky to get out for anything under 1.5 million euro, which seems a waste of investment for what's effectively a temporary stand with no corporate facilities.

If we were to do something on the rugby side of the pitch I'd look at the hyper-slim 3 tier stand Castres put up at Stade Pierre Antoine a few years ago. It has a few glitches (mainly sightlines due to building it too close to the pitch, not a problem with the dogtrack). Their config is an allseater one of around 2750 seats including 400 box seats, we'd obviously have the bottom tier standing but for 3.5-4 million you'd be talking:
- 2900 standing
- 900 seated
- 300 box seats
- top class wheelchair user/mobility impaired facilities
- 50-100 capacity top class press facility

Of course the obvious counter argument to this is that if you stuck 2 of these across from one another down at the docks and some full height transparent windbreaks either end you have a brand new fit-for-purpose bearpit of a stadium with a capacity of around 8.5K (~5800 standing, ~1800 seating, ~700 corporate, ~100 mobility impaired spaces) for a bargain basement price.

Accidentally Onside wrote: I'd love to see the SG renovated but, realistically, with the dogs and us not owning the ground the IRFU are never going to put any money into it....and for once I agree with them- that's like renovating a house you're renting.

For me the only viable alternative is ~10k municipal stadium built with ourselves and Galway United as joint tenants. That way you get money from the two organisations as well as funding from the government.

Edit to say: the IRFU have put some money into the place in the last few years but when I say "any money" I mean significant money.

Perhaps long term yes, but before committing to that we have to show that we can consistently attract average crowds greater than 4k. And to achieve that we need to improve the Sportsground experience (and image).

I have no idea what an upper tier to the Clan would cost (can anyone hazard a guess? 500k for a cheapo version?) but between (1) the increased capacity, (2) the premium that people will pay for a seat, (3) the increased sales at the clan bar (I understand that Connacht don't make any money from the bar in the main stand), and even (4) the additional space for advertising opposite the cameras (don't underestimate the value of this), I think it would pay for itself very quickly.

It would also greatly improve the image of the Sportsground. What people see on TV is very important.

It's just the best bang for your buck right now.

Maybe after a few years of solid attendances above 7 or 8K we could put together a business case for a municipal stadium but we can't (and nobody is going to let us) make the same mistake that Munster made. Building a 10k stadium when your average attendance is 4.5k would be lunacy.

And significant State or IRFU funding is very, very unlikely.

Accidentally Onside wrote: I'd love to see the SG renovated but, realistically, with the dogs and us not owning the ground the IRFU are never going to put any money into it....and for once I agree with them- that's like renovating a house you're renting.

For me the only viable alternative is ~10k municipal stadium built with ourselves and Galway United as joint tenants. That way you get money from the two organisations as well as funding from the government.

Edit to say: the IRFU have put some money into the place in the last few years but when I say "any money" I mean significant money.

Yes, I agree. The sportsground has always been the home of Connacht rugby at all levels schools etc. So many good days and bad days over the years.
But Connacht are developing and something needs to be done with the grounds. Its probably the worst in the Pro 12. Is there any chance of the IRFU buying the grounds and walking the dogs elsewhere. Connacht have still spent a too much on the facilities to just walk away and startt again which is a problem.
Are there suitable sites down on the docks ?

As many have said, It has to be within walking distance of the city. A solution should be got as 4-5000 people at games will benefit the city even more. Short term , I'd be looking at erecting a seated stand beside the main stand for the elderly and those with kids. Get kids going young and they will stay supporting us.

Accidentally Onside wrote: I'd love to see the SG renovated but, realistically, with the dogs and us not owning the ground the IRFU are never going to put any money into it....and for once I agree with them- that's like renovating a house you're renting.

For me the only viable alternative is ~10k municipal stadium built with ourselves and Galway United as joint tenants. That way you get money from the two organisations as well as funding from the government.

Edit to say: the IRFU have put some money into the place in the last few years but when I say "any money" I mean significant money.

Agreed. For me, that municipal ground would need to be in town for it to work as a connacht venue. The docks would be ideal.