Caledonian Stadium will look second best

[donjo29]

not compliaining. just fact, our attendences are dropping

[lukemackay]

last years average attendance was 4526

this season so far has been 4140

its less at the moment yes but we still have to play rangers which will boost the average attendance

and when you look through our average attendances our first season in the spl the average attendance was 4067

the attendances have fluctuated between then and now but have always been between 4000-5000 apart from our second season when we strayed into the 5000's

http://www.scotprem.com/content/default.asp?page=home_Statistics <<<<facts

Edited February 12, 2012 by lukemackay

[+Fraz]

lets look forward when we have only people in the main stand because we have lost all the fans. that is the rate it is going at. people are just bored of football because its always celtic and rangers.

p.s when caley where in the semi-finals with thousands of fans, where are they now??? and the other 2000 fans that stopped going to the old firm games???

well theres no point in looking back your not gonna change anything

and theres definatly no point in complaining about it

If there's no point looking back why did you bring up RC's attendance at Hampden? Why analyse a game once it's finished? You're right it sure won't change anything but you can often learn from it for the future.

Regardless, there were nearly 10,000 empty seats at Celtic Park yesterday when their team is on a great run and top of the league so it certainly isn't just us.

[The Mantis]

Everybody's is dropping though. Scottish football is fecked.

The one thing I thought was encouraging about ICT was, we are far enough away from the OF unlike say the Midden. So maybe we'd get a few more through the gates that way. Also we're a young club and around 2004 we got the first wave of fans, who were too young to remember the merger, coming along with their dads. When we went up in 2004 we gained a couple of thousand new fans. Even when we got relegated we held on at around 3000 fans in div 1which was encouraging.

However, like I say fitba in this country is fecked, I've been going since 1966 and the standard even in the past 5 years has dropped. The days of small nations achieving anything at football are over. Sometimes I wish we could uninvent satellite tv.

Edited February 13, 2012 by TheMantis

[The Mantis]

Donjo, ICT and RCFC arguing about away supports is like two bald men fighting over a comb. Our supports are about the same, usually one busload and some central belters. I've actually been at one or two C(o)unty games (not this season) and I say claims of 350 are rubbish, but if it's true then fair enough. As Luke says it was probably the Falkirk game, and we had some cracking supports ourselves in div 1.

One thing I remember, (OK it's 10 years ago) when we played Hearts in the cup in 2002 they actually got County the round before us and I went along with Naelifts as our game was off. They beat County quite easily though it was only 2-1, and County had about 1500 sweetie rustlers who sat on their hands all day.

When they drew ICT in the next round they probably thought it would be another walkover. Unfortunately for them, we took 2500 and lifted the roof off the place in the rain. On the park ICT blew the Jambos away 3-1. That's the difference. County are having a bit of glory this season but ICT have always been winners.

Edited February 13, 2012 by TheMantis

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

No point to this thread as Tinkerville will bottle it fer shure.

[staggy4life]

i was told by a county fan that they bring over 350 fans to away games! we struggle with 100.

i was told by a county fan that they bring over 350 fans to away games!

lol

Agree the who has a better away attendance malark is pretty pointless.

We (and probably yourselves) always get slated for away attendances despite having to make the long journey down the A9 every second week but our away attendances have been pretty good by our standards this year. Of course being top of the league plays it's part in that though.

Roughly off the top of my head so far this season we've taken about 350 to Partick, 400 to Dundee, 500ish to Falkirk and about the same number to St.Mirren last weekend although that was a cup game (despite us not bothered about the cup this season). Took our standard 150-200 to Livi, Raith, Hamilton, Morton though and an heard of 100+ to Queen of the South.

I always laugh at other teams fans slating us anyway. Raith on Saturday being a prime example moaning that we only took 160 fans despite the overall attendance being just 1700ish?

Edited February 13, 2012 by staggy4life

[dougal]

All very well staggy but are you counting your whippets in that travelling support?

Anyway now the plans are revealed I have been proved right that you lot will indeed have the number1 stadium in the highlands should you get promotion

We need to be looking now more than ever to relocate to a site and a stadium where Invernessians can be proud off

I find it very galling that we sold two prime city centre sites and got a landfill site, if that's not being short changed I don't know what is

We deserve better

Dougal

[Alex MacLeod]

For christ sake dougal dry your eyes. Its not a stadium that makes a team. Its not a stadium that gels players and fans. Its not a stadium that brings success. Its a heart and its a soul. This has to be the first time in all the forums, reports and blogs that I've ever read where a stupid playground debate like this one has come up. A classic case of na na na na my stadiums better than yours.

[Charles Bannerman]

Unfortunately Dougal simply doesn't understand the basic principles behind why the Caledonian Stadium is (and had to be) as it is - unless of course he has some longstanding axe to grind and is making a very tolerable effort at playing silly b*****s on the stadium issue in search of some kind of reaction.

The two "prime city centre sites" of Kingsmills and Telford Street only raised £1.486M GROSS on sale - rather less than that nett once you deduct legal expenses. And even the gross figure comes to less than one third of what it cost to build the Caledonian Stadium - and access road.

Also, I have been waiting for 20 years now to find out where in Inverness all these prime stadium sites are that people reckon football should be locating to?

On the attendance question, yes it's true that averages have generally been in the 4000-5000 range over ICT's SPL years, but it's also true that there is a general recent downward trend across the entire SPL. I admire Luke's commendable effort at optimism when he notes that although this season's average so far is about 400 down on last, there is still a Rangers home game to come which should take the average back up.

Unfortunately, a more detailed look at the arithmetic doesn't support this. There are three OF visits to the Caledonian Stadium each season of which two have taken place already. We are also exactly two thirds of the way through the season. So what we therefore still have is the third OF visit which will be needed to boost all the other 3000-3500s of the final third of the season up to about the 4140 which has been the average so far - boosted by the other two OF visits - and there's the additional consideration that two or three of the remaining home games MAY be bottom six which would tend to drag the late season average down further.

Although it would be very good to see a higher figure, unless top six were to be achieved I can't unfortunately see the average for the whole season being much more than the 4140 for the season to date.

Edited February 13, 2012 by Charles Bannerman

[+DoofersDad]

For me the issue is not about the site and all the past politics about that, it is what we have put on the site that is the problem. I agree with Alex that its the heart and soul that makes the club but I just think we would have a bit more heart and soul as a club if we had a ground with a bit more heart and soul. Unfortunately it looks as though we are stuck with it. Don't realy see the point of the favourite pasttime of Dougal bashing here. He is stating the Highland's 2nd best team will have the Highland's best stadium. Can't see any argument with that.

[lukemackay]

i say just build a new stadium at the northern meeting park sell the caledonian stadium to the gypsy's and share a stadium with inverness city

anyone got 10million+ quid to spare?

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

The tinks dont need a new stadium - let the cnuts travel to Aberdire - the travellers will love it. At least we have a dump on the outskirts of a city whereas the gudgies have a dump in a dump of a town.

[Council Juice]

Well done Dougal for raising this, freedom of speech and all that. Bah humbug to those who cannot take the post in the manner in which I am sure it was meant.

See if this was the first time he'd done this I'd see where you're coming from but he does it on a monthly basis. Finds some aspect of the club to moan about, be it commericalism and how we dont do enough, how we dont have a multi storey club shop, a, jewel encrusted car park, a stadium bar more popular than shearers, why we haven't got Messi on the other flank to Hayes yet and now why our stadium doesn't have another stand. It's constant beration of the club and perhaps if he occasionally had a nice think to say about it people might take his bashing more seriously than irritable goading.

On the subject matter. I'd much rather see the main stand fully roofed and not have those 2 stupid bits hanging out at the sides. Then perhaps look into terracing the empty side. Perhaps use the tower as a crowd divider of some sorts. That way you could maybe even have home and away safe standing, and suitably segregated by a ruddy big pillar and catering/toilets etc.

Either way it might not be the most asthetically pretty stadium, or hold the best atmosphere (more to do with the support given away fans often make a lot more noise with fractional amounts.) but I'll ask one thing. Can you name a better view from any other stadium in Scotland? (not looking at the city obviously)

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

That is exactly what I said to my missus this morning when I geve her the dozen red roses - I'd much rather see the main body and not have those 2 stupid bits hanging out at the sides !!

[skifreak]

Since the doors to the main stand are now closed preventing access from the North Stand to the toilets and concourse with catering, a really worthwhile modest improvement would be to put a canopy over the area between the West Terrace and the toilet blocks / catering portacabin, creating in effect an undercover concourse as the main stand has for queuing / waiting in.

[dougal]

http://www.thejailender.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/stadium-upgrade-continues.html

Looks like I have been proved correct once again and the above photos are evidence that the peg sellers will have a very compact and atmospheric stadium this coming season

I see the away stand is to hold just under 2000 fans it will be interesting to see if we can sell out are allocation at the up and coming highland derbies what with the falling numbers of our fans etc

IMO there's a fair chance at least one or two of these derbies will hopefully be shown live on sky sports so it would be disappointing and embarrassing to see half full stands going out to world wide audiences

Dougal

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

Hate to say it bit it looks like it'll be a cracking wee stadium . I think we'll sell our allocation no bother .

[CaleyD]

SPL don't give points for stadium looks so it could be gold plated with diamond incrusted seats for all I care.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Bricks and mortar make a house, but the laughter of children makes a home.

But in all seriousness the positives are the covered areas but it looks like a bit of a poor mans Midden or Liviscum to me. The other big issues must be the site of the ground in regard to traffic control, general access

and if we had problems with the undersoil heating and the drainage then they are surely going to be worse off. I am looking forward to christening their away shed but I may have to don the wellies and I am slightly concerned about the infectious and olfactory properties of the surrounding area.

[Georgeios]

If we had a west stand n not as deep north and south stands I'd say it looks like our ground......

[Alex MacLeod]

And the jailend is still going to have pillars blocking the view.

[Doofer]

Once Victoria Park is complete i think i'd rather have that as a stadium than our own. Although i like our stadium, who ever designed the main stand with two open "wings" on it next to sea should be shot, its an appauling design. When they put the 2 new stands in at either end they should have been put 2/3 meters nearer the pitch, would have helped with the atmosphere i think and brought the fans closer to the action. Countys is much more enclosed and i am very very much looking forward to the 1st away game there this season, its going to be amazing.

[lukemackay]

Kessock bridge, moray firth, bigger stadium.

3 things that are better about tcs than Victoria park.

Itll be atmospheric 1 once or maybe twice a season. Depends how many times we play there next season.

[Renegade]

It looks good I think. I quite like these compact, tight grounds. They'll have no trouble creating a good atmosphere in there, County's fans have always been a bit more vocal from what I can remember.

Edited June 10, 2012 by Renegade