Park & Ride for Extra Seats

[b.w.2.]

Thought everyone on here should know...

Was listening to SCR (embarrasing, but I was waiting for sports news - honest!!), and I heard that the council were carrying out a massive search for P&R sites... this was becuase they needed to meet central government guidelines on air pollution in certain areas of the city...

My point is that BHA should piggy-back on the outcome of this search initiative, and utilise one of these P&R sites, so that they can meet the requiremnts of the planning department, and put in the extra seats...

Perhaps this is why Insider is claiming that an announcement on the seats will be made shortly... the findings of the P&R search are also due in the near future...

 

[Colbourne Kid]

The Club have been aware of the City P & R search. The search is for one or more sites that would be capable of holding 1000+ cars. Each of these sites would need to go for planning permission and then be built. Might be OK in timing terms for Falmer but completely hopeless for Withdean. The Club need a site for 200 cars. Hopefully some news will be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

is there a need for more seats at the moment with the club not selling out?

 

[b.w.2.]

Yes... we now have a couple of wins, a mid-table position, and the possibility of a target man arriving... attendances will rise... sell-out = wasted revenue...

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

but we wont play west hame every week

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Presumably 22,000 will be about 15,000 too many then. Do you live in Falmer?

A lot of us think 22,000 is a bit on the small side.

what is the point of the club paying for seats when we wont fill them?

 

[Tony Le Mesmer]

We will fill them though, particularly playing at higher standard of football.
The away following will be far greater too as at the moment it is very limited.
The fact that Albion fans have so much difficulty getting tickets for home puts a lot of punters off too.

 

[Curious Orange]

what is the point of the club paying for seats when we wont fill them?

Because we used to regularly get 8,000 at the Goldstone when we played at this level in the late 80's and early 90's when we weren't the greatest side in the world, and there is a damn sight more interest in people seeing the club play now.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

if we are so interesting why are we not selling out at the moment? and dont give me the its difficult to get hold of tickets as it never stopped people before

 

[Curious Orange]

if we are so interesting why are we not selling out at the moment? and dont give me the its difficult to get hold of tickets as it never stopped people before

Because I gave my Dad my ticket for the Preston game as I was out of the country and he didn't go. It's his fault that the game wasn't a sell-out, the club still got paid for the empty seat though!!

 

[Windmill]

I hope that the 'late summer' excuse is a valid one, but am almost sure that the 'hate Withdean' factor is also true.

The ground is shit. I buy my season ticket because it guarantees me a seat for every game, since I don't have time to sit on the telephone ordering one.

I also like to have a good view of the game from D block. Sitting behind the goals is absolutely crap, and believe me I've done that, you might as well not bother.

 

[Albion Dan]

if we are so interesting why are we not selling out at the moment? and dont give me the its difficult to get hold of tickets as it never stopped people before

I think the whole perception that it is hard to get tickets is the reason we havent sold them all, dont forget we are only talking a couple of hundred seats. With more capacity and the belief that they will get a ticket more easily I think more people will have a go.

Also the following teams would all bring 2000 fans alone:

Stoke
Ipswich
Reading
Millwall
West Ham
Watford ? not sure about them
Leeds
QPR
Wolves
Forest
and possibly Sheff Utd!

Thats half of our division!

 

[MidlandSeagull69]

we fill about 87% of our ground that is second highest to wolves in the championship who get about 93%, and the main reason we are not sold out is due to the away fans not selling out.

as for the its hard to get tickets excuse
here is an idiots guide to getting a seat at withdean

1 ring the ticket office

2 state what game you want to watch

3 select the area of the ground you want to sit in

4 select a valid method of payment

5 wait for ticket to arrive through the post

5b or collect it from the ground

6 take ticket to the withdean

7 watch the game

feel free to copy this guide and keep it by the phone for next time you think about coming to watch the mighty seagulls

 

[Rangdo]

we fill about 87% of our ground that is second highest to wolves in the championship who get about 93%, and the main reason we are not sold out is due to the away fans not selling out.

as for the its hard to get tickets excuse
here is an idiots guide to getting a seat at withdean

1 ring the ticket office

2 state what game you want to watch

3 select the area of the ground you want to sit in

4 select a valid method of payment

5 wait for ticket to arrive through the post

5b or collect it from the ground

6 take ticket to the withdean

7 watch the game

feel free to copy this guide and keep it by the phone for next time you think about coming to watch the mighty seagulls

Yes but I think a lot of people still don't know this.
I know people who just assume that evey game is sold out by ballot and don't even try. I also spoke to one guy who thought the whole ground was season ticket holders?
More seats may remove the need for a ballot which will let everyone know that all games can be attended without having to apply.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I heard that the council were carrying out a massive search for P&R sites... this was becuase they needed to meet central government guidelines on air pollution in certain areas of the city...

My point is that BHA should piggy-back on the outcome of this search initiative, and utilise one of these P&R sites, so that they can meet the requiremnts of the planning department, and put in the extra seats...

A nice idea, but ...

NINE YEARS AGO, when I was still working for East Sussex County Council and we still had responsibility for transport in Brighton and Hove, I was involved in commissioning consultants to identify suitable sites for a permanent park & ride scheme for the conurbation.

Loads of time spent on a thorough investigation. Conclusion - not a site to be found that suited. Operationally, Waterhall is the best, but it's environmentally unacceptable. Patcham Court Farm? Braypool? Toads Hole Valley? Shoreham Airport?

Nope.

I fear that "piggy-backing" on a city council initiative is likely to lead absolutely nowhere.

Carden Avenue is by far the best site for the Albion's purposes. We simply ... simply? ... need to persuade the Tory members of the Council to stop supporting the Withdean NIMBYs. Then we can have the extra seats.

 

[b.w.2.]

Still think the club should look into this city-wide P&R site search... gotta be worth a punt, surely...

Who are these 2 Tory councillors, LB?...

Let's get people to write... now...

I'll definitely have a go...

 

[dougdeep]

I always thought Carden Avenue would be a ridiculous place for a park and ride. It is at it's busiest on Saturday afternoons and a lot of fans drive home that way after evening games(including me) It may suit the football club, but it would inconvenience thousands of shoppers and locals.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

How would Carden Avenue inconvenience ANYBODY?

The only bit of Carden Avenue that would be closed for parking would be the bit that is bypassed by Crowhurst Road. Through traffic would simply use the lower part of Carden Avenue (as now) and, at the very top end, would drive past the ASDA entrance. No disruption to anyone.

And there are no properties at all that get access to the outside world via the section of the road that would be closed. Which is more than you can say for the Mill Road site.

Some people seem to think that the Carden Avenue scheme involves closing the whole road. It doesn't.

 

[dougdeep]

I think that is a very blinkered view.But that is just my opinion.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I think that is a very blinkered view.But that is just my opinion.

How is it blinkered?

200 cars arriving over a period of an hour and leaving in the space of half an hour is a tiny fraction of the traffic going in and out of ASDA. If all through traffic used Crowhurst Road, movement would be more free than normal because there wouldn't be the number of conflicting right turn movements at the top and bottom of Crowhurst Road that there usually are.