York City new stadium

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NortonExile

Well-known member
For anyone interested in football and who has been to York City they will know Bootham Cresent is a lovely quaint ground near a bustling city centre with plenty of food and drink establishments and a short walk for away fans from the train station. BC could have been regenerated but like Middlesbrough and Ayresome Park they felt a new stadium would help take them to a higher level by moving ground. The choice of location is baffling however.

Teessiders travelling into York will have likely come to the Rawcliffe roundabout which is busy at the best of times due to the Park and Ride facility and access to the out-of-town shopping centres of Clifton Moor and Monks Cross. When it is a busy weekend traffic can come to a standstill. From personal experience I once had to wait 1hr 45min to go just 400 metres when I tried returning from a Christmas shopping trip a few years ago. How they expect to accommodate having thousands of football fans trying to reach a new stadium at Monks Cross is baffing. Away supporters will also find this a nightmare . Coming by train will mean on a good day a further 40-45 mins from the train station to the stadium by park and ride as it will be well over an hours walk. Im not sure how they expect to get back at the end of a night game also? And for supporters arriving by car, the shopping centres have made it clear that parking will be for shopping customers only and none for those popping into the game. The Park and Ride buses are also quite full at busy times so how will they meet this extra demand remains to be seen.

So it must be worth it right? Well for the move to be a success and York City to sustain the move the average attendance needs to be 4500+. York have only ever experienced an attendance of 4600 or more 33 times in their entire history so how long will they this dream move turn into an unsustainable reality?
York City New Stadium special report
 
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Worth noting that the stadium is also shared by York City Knights, plans are afoot also to dual the outer ring road from Rawcliffe roundabout all the way round to Monks Cross.
 
There are going to be considerable problems but weren't they forced to leave Bootham Crescent by decisions taken several years ago to sell to Perimmon homes? The last I heard was that fans could face very high parking fees, as park and ride rates have escalated, is that correct?
 
I half-follow York, and I loved my occasional trips to BC when at uni.

It doesn't seem a great location, and it will doubtlessly detract from the match experience, because York City Centre was a great place to have a few beers before and after.

HOwever, moving to a new ground did take us to a higher level, so maybe it can help York out of the very reduced circumstances in which they find themselves.
 
Here is a short film linking Bootham Crescent with Ayresome Park and Bradford Park Avenue. Jason Wood, who I worked for at Bradford is presently keeping memories alive as well as retaining some structures from Bootham
 
It'll be a sad day when all of these old grounds have gone. Maybe then someone will realise what we have lost?

I admit until now I hadn't bothered looking at where the new ground is. I don't suppose they will no the effect for a few years but it is a modern stadium and probably will cost less to maintain? Mind, I when I was in the Darlington Stadium car park for my flu jab I had time to look at the steel work on the roof and there is large areas of rust coming through the paint on just about all the roof members, just because it is a new stadium doesn't mean you don't have to paint the bl**dy thing every now and again. That stadium will need to be knocked down or "right-sized" at some point in the not too distant future. The Rugby club that currently occupies it has spent the money they made selling their old ground and club house on foreign players to try to get into the egg chasing top flight and failed abjectly, they are running out of money...
 
Muttley said:
It'll be a sad day when all of these old grounds have gone. Maybe then someone will realise what we have lost?
Click to expand...

Some of us realise it now. Not much we can do about it, except appreciate it when we make our trips to Hillsborough and Goodison. Not many others left, Pompey of course. Who else am I forgetting?
 
I think there was another thread on this recently. Great shame, but I think there was no alternative to the move.

Park and Ride is the obvious cheap and quick answer for those arriving by train.

By car, they've been talking about dualling the outer ring road since I lived there 20 years ago. From Middlesbrough it might be better to take the scenic route through Helmsley and then the B1363 so that you just have to cross the outer ring road and not go along it.
 
What was wrong with sharing the Rugby League ground - Ryedale Stadium? - Hybrid artifical grass means surfaces are much better now when used a lot. The Riverside surface looked like it was August on Saturday.

People complain about the Riverside being awkward to get to, but you can park there for £6? or park for free and walk for 20 minutes or walk 15 minutes to the train station.
 
There was already a stadium at that site and a waterworld complex (not massive but was cheap enough and much better than your average leisure centre) but they knocked it all down

No terracing at new stadium too despite being in national north. Something to do with refusal of grants if not all seater if memory serves me right
 
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More "Car" ball than football:
Stick a stadium on a ring road.
Brilliant if you use public transport or feet?
 
I agree, very depressing really and somewhat Soulless like most of these places are.
Think I've mentioned before that my brother who moved to York in 1979 has a season ticket and when I come back I will try to get to at least one game with him. Always loved the atmosphere and that the stadium was very close to some good pubs. For those that know I would always go to minister Inn on, I think, Mary gate.
Now the attraction just won't be the same and even my brother is quite depressed about it because he enjoyed the fact he could cycle into the town have a few beers etc and it was just an overall great experience.
You can't beat the old school toilets in the Holgate end
 
Loved going to bootham we’d do about 2 or three matches a year, great little ground and the Balti pies are to die for.

yes it’s the end of an era
 
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