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The English Rugby Stadium/Attendance thread

Looks like we're following through with our threat to leave the AJ Bell if we weren't allowed to buy it - just announced we're looking into building a stadium in Sale, at the Crossford Bridge Community Sports Village
https://www.salesharks.com/2020/06/11/crossford-bridge/

Good honestly Sale needed to move away from the AJ bell.
Such a bad location.

Also in reality the majority of Sale fans I have met tended too have been from Cheshire as opposed to Manchester/Salford way, having it that side of the Manchester ship Canal and straight off the M60 is a perfect location for it IMO.

Hopefully they will think about a Station to Stadium shuttle or tram service.
 
8-12k, apparently - sounds low but you can count the games we've hit 5 figures on your hands

Can it be lower than 10K?
I mean I could be wrong but wasn't Sale averaging like 3K more a game than it was when at Edgeley Park which was a pretty crappy ageing stadium.


Have to say when you look at the AJ Bell's location Sale would've been crazy to buy it.
 
Can it be lower than 10K?
I mean I could be wrong but wasn't Sale averaging like 3K more a game than it was when at Edgeley Park which was a pretty crappy ageing stadium.

Crowds are looking up but we're still in the 6s and 7s (we've had two 8ks and an 11k this season).

My guess is they'll aim for 12k, but because planning permission isn't in yet they don't want to be firm on a number - they'll know what PRL will allow them to have.


Aye, AJ bell is a terrible position - would be marginally better with a tram stop (which they've been saying is on the cards for ages) but still naff.
I think buying it was about money more than loving the place - because we're renting we get none of the food and drink cash and can't use the stadium for other money making ventures.
 
Can it be lower than 10K?
I mean I could be wrong but wasn't Sale averaging like 3K more a game than it was when at Edgeley Park which was a pretty crappy ageing stadium.

Have to say when you look at the AJ Bell's location Sale would've been crazy to buy it.

Maybe different as it's a new stadium, but I would imagine that any points that fail an audit would just result in a fine, meaning it's a business decision to balance the size of the fine against the extra expense of a higher capacity.

14k-15k capacity would strike me as profligacy given the current average crowds. Exeter are doing a good job of balancing the books with a lower capacity than that.

The comment about Edgeley Park is interesting. What was crappy about it? I don't see age in itself as any kind of problem.
 
What was crappy about it?
It was just a dump really,
Leaking roofs, crappy seats, toilets (and changing rooms) shite - couldn't redo the stands due to some sort of planning thing (old railway tracks under the stands which weren't allowed to be touched? something weird like that).
They didn't realise, when they took it on, just how bad of a state it was in, so they just did running repairs to stem the flow rather than the massive overhaul it needed.

We were getting fined quite a lot every season we were there because it didn't meet multiple criteria for the PRL, as well - that's the reason it was never an option to move back.
 
It was just a dump really,
Leaking roofs, crappy seats, toilets (and changing rooms) shite - couldn't redo the stands due to some sort of planning thing (old railway tracks under the stands which weren't allowed to be touched? something weird like that).
They didn't realise, when they took it on, just how bad of a state it was in, so they just did running repairs to stem the flow rather than the massive overhaul it needed.

We were getting fined quite a lot every season we were there because it didn't meet multiple criteria for the PRL, as well - that's the reason it was never an option to move back.

Thanks. I'm always interested to hear what's important to people about stadia and feel like those who make the decisions frequently get it wrong, as appears to be bourne out by the decline in crowds following Sale's move. To be fair, maybe the books balance better even if the numbers have gone down.

You even answered a question that I forgot to ask - why it wasn't even an option to move back. Along similar lines, was upgrading Heywood Road considered? It's owned by Sale FC isn't it?
 
Thanks. I'm always interested to hear what's important to people about stadia and feel like those who make the decisions frequently get it wrong, as appears to be bourne out by the decline in crowds following Sale's move. To be fair, maybe the books balance better even if the numbers have gone down.

You even answered a question that I forgot to ask - why it wasn't even an option to move back. Along similar lines, was upgrading Heywood Road considered? It's owned by Sale FC isn't it?

Yeah apparently we make more money now than we did at EP due to the success of our sponsorships/corporate department - the extra income from the food and drink would push us closer to the green.

I don't think there's enough room to redevelop Heywood Rd (it's very residential, houses basically back onto the pitch) even if Sale FC said yes (SS and SFC are two separate entities, as you said)
 
It's going down really well with the Rugby League lot.......
not my job GIF



Not particularly keen on the AJ Bell, it's terrible location, but there's very few alternatives - especially after the NIMBYs voted against building our own - and (part-)owning is better than renting
 

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