New Stadium location? (fun thread)

[Scarlet Pimple]

IHE --oh you are a wag!  

 

Or as they say in Yorkshire " Hullo, fook'n hairoil."   

[ForzaCaley]

Anyway back on topic!!!!! This is abit of a novel but please read cheers

Been having a think and browse on google maps and if we were looking to move anytime soon, the only two viable options i can see working is the current Longman campus of inverness college and funnily enough Stratton Farm.

Firstly the Longman. If you took the college site along with the bus depot (which is actually not used anymore so potentially viable) the area of land which is left is rather sizeable. Infact it is similar size to the new st mirren park site on Greenhill road. A 6/7k stadium, with community 3G pitch plus parking etc could fit in that site no problem.

The positives of this site - VERY close to city centre/pubs/shops/train station. Another plus is its next door to police station which may come in handy when the filth visit. Its also less than a mile away from both Caley and Thistle heartlands

Negatives - that area can get awfully conjested at peak times and on especially on Saturdays, so add football trafic and you may have a problem. Also the possibilty of having a ground right across from the Fire Service and police station may cause concern if there happened to be an emergancy and the over conjestion would cause problema for them. However it could be argued that due to the close proximity of the city centre, people are more likely to walk or use public transport.

The Stratton Farm site may have been seen as 'out of town' back in 94 but it most certainly is not now! With the retail park next door, a University campus being built opposite and the ever expanding housing schemes of Cradlehall, Westhill, Culloden, Smithton (and not to forget Tulloch wish to build a 'new' village in that area) surrounding that site, Stratton just seems to good an opportunity to grow as a community focused club!

Positives - unlimited space for a stadium/stadium expansion, community facilities or football Academy, parking. Like in 94 the public transport to that area is good if not better now. Its close to A9/A96 for easy in/out access for away fans in particular. If they ever did build a new road like they said they would behind the retail park, it would give home fans potentially 3 different ways to get out of the area.

Negatives - atleast 2 miles from city centre/train station/pubs. However with a new uni campus and new 'village' being built i can see there being more pubs in the future. Also the club may actually build a proper social/sports bar, why not? They'll have the space. Also the town centre is dying, simples. Shops and pubs are shutting all the time. It has been mentioned several times Inverness is the fastest growing city in the UK and that by 2030 Raigmore roundabout will infact be the the centre of Inverness. In that case Stratton farm would be ideal if you are looking for a stadium which is central and has a large community outlook!

If i was the decision maker, i would be building a St mirren esque 7k stadia (seats and terracing) at Stratton farm! I would have a sports bar which would be open to the wider community during the week for functions/weddings etc. i would also have a purose built club shop within the sports bar so LG has something more suitable for all the hard work she does! And if possible i would join forces with the UHI and share their new sports facilities. A sports academy for students, players, youth teams and the inverness community. Hearts for example share their Riccarton base with Heriot university and look what wonders that has done for them!! I would also start up a scholarship programme for local and foreign younsters to get the chance to play for ICT buy playing in reserves whilst studying on campus.

Personally i believe the possibilities of a stadia at stratton are HUGE. its a real shame we never went there 20 year ago. Because for all the money we spent at longman what have we got to show for it? And what possibilities is there for the future at longman? Feck all thats what. Getting to cup finals and europe is great sure, however what i would love more is if ICT could start a Legacy which will benefit the Inverness community in a way never seen before!!

Thank you for reading ;) x

[Alex MacLeod]

If I were the decision maker I'd forego the carpark provision and encourage folks to travel by other means. On the same google maps as Forza used I have found a much better site. Theres a perfectly sized piece of wasteland in an area of the city that was the heartland, indeed the motherland, the holy grail, of Inverness football. The development of this site would, however, require some slight changes to the area. Changes like binning a few childrens amenities, a bowling club and possibly re-directing a section of the road that carries the name of the area because it cuts through the middle of my site. Plenty of streets to park in around the Kingsmills area as well.

[CaleyThistle]

Anyway back on topic!!!!! This is abit of a novel but please read cheers

Been having a think and browse on google maps and if we were looking to move anytime soon, the only two viable options i can see working is the current Longman campus of inverness college and funnily enough Stratton Farm.

Firstly the Longman. If you took the college site along with the bus depot (which is actually not used anymore so potentially viable) the area of land which is left is rather sizeable. Infact it is similar size to the new st mirren park site on Greenhill road. A 6/7k stadium, with community 3G pitch plus parking etc could fit in that site no problem.

The positives of this site - VERY close to city centre/pubs/shops/train station. Another plus is its next door to police station which may come in handy when the filth visit. Its also less than a mile away from both Caley and Thistle heartlands

Negatives - that area can get awfully conjested at peak times and on especially on Saturdays, so add football trafic and you may have a problem. Also the possibilty of having a ground right across from the Fire Service and police station may cause concern if there happened to be an emergancy and the over conjestion would cause problema for them. However it could be argued that due to the close proximity of the city centre, people are more likely to walk or use public transport.

The Stratton Farm site may have been seen as 'out of town' back in 94 but it most certainly is not now! With the retail park next door, a University campus being built opposite and the ever expanding housing schemes of Cradlehall, Westhill, Culloden, Smithton (and not to forget Tulloch wish to build a 'new' village in that area) surrounding that site, Stratton just seems to good an opportunity to grow as a community focused club!

Positives - unlimited space for a stadium/stadium expansion, community facilities or football Academy, parking. Like in 94 the public transport to that area is good if not better now. Its close to A9/A96 for easy in/out access for away fans in particular. If they ever did build a new road like they said they would behind the retail park, it would give home fans potentially 3 different ways to get out of the area.

Negatives - atleast 2 miles from city centre/train station/pubs. However with a new uni campus and new 'village' being built i can see there being more pubs in the future. Also the club may actually build a proper social/sports bar, why not? They'll have the space. Also the town centre is dying, simples. Shops and pubs are shutting all the time. It has been mentioned several times Inverness is the fastest growing city in the UK and that by 2030 Raigmore roundabout will infact be the the centre of Inverness. In that case Stratton farm would be ideal if you are looking for a stadium which is central and has a large community outlook!

If i was the decision maker, i would be building a St mirren esque 7k stadia (seats and terracing) at Stratton farm! I would have a sports bar which would be open to the wider community during the week for functions/weddings etc. i would also have a purose built club shop within the sports bar so LG has something more suitable for all the hard work she does! And if possible i would join forces with the UHI and share their new sports facilities. A sports academy for students, players, youth teams and the inverness community. Hearts for example share their Riccarton base with Heriot university and look what wonders that has done for them!! I would also start up a scholarship programme for local and foreign younsters to get the chance to play for ICT buy playing in reserves whilst studying on campus.

Personally i believe the possibilities of a stadia at stratton are HUGE. its a real shame we never went there 20 year ago. Because for all the money we spent at longman what have we got to show for it? And what possibilities is there for the future at longman? Feck all thats what. Getting to cup finals and europe is great sure, however what i would love more is if ICT could start a Legacy which will benefit the Inverness community in a way never seen before!!

Thank you for reading ;) x

Love the idea but can we really afford it???!

[AlexJones]

I say stick it in the middle of Bught Park.

[ForzaCaley]

Thats the stuff, lets build a super stadia in the middle of the only green space left in inverness :/ lol. Also not to mention that the bught is actually further away from the town centre than where we are atm. The bught will always be a no go, simples.

No, i doubt very much we could afford a new ground on selling our current stadium alone (i dont even know if we own it) unless we could sell naming rights. It s a fun thread, thats all, but if we ever did think about moving those two sites i gave our probably our only genuine hope.

[Alex MacLeod]

We cant even sell our current ground. We dont own it.

[ForzaCaley]

Thats what i thought. Who does own it?

[Charles Bannerman]

Thats the stuff, lets build a super stadia in the middle of the only green space left in inverness :/ lol. Also not to mention that the bught is actually further away from the town centre than where we are atm. The bught will always be a no go, simples.

The Bught has already been devalued by the construction of an enclosed area for Inverness City's park as well as severe surface damage for a long way around the bonfire site and unsightly heaps of earth in various places.  I would also have to observe that the weekly parkrun is also beginning to wear the perimiter quite markedly. Now I know that some of the Inverness football community tends to get a bit sensitive about any perceived criticism of Inverness City and I don't intend to dissect that particular story once again. But it has always been my belief that the Bught is the wrong place for their park and they should have been given better access to the Northern Meeting Park and Northern Counties cricket club should have been decanted to groundshare with Highland at Fraser Park. I also think that point of view is reinforced by the fact that NCCC has now slipped even further downwards and has been relegated to playing reserve standard cricket in the reserve league. It's not realistic that NCCC in any state, never mind its current one, should have such a stranglehold over a facility like the NMP.

[Sneckboy]

I think Highland

 

Thats what i thought. Who does own it?

 

I think Highland Council own the stadium.

[Charles Bannerman]

Thats what i thought. Who does own it?

When ICT got into severe financial difficulties after 1999 the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Trust was set up as a charitable organisation. I was told at the time that the legal bits required the Trust to be available to help all sports but I am not aware of it having operated outwith football. In effect a deal involving the Trust and the bank removed over £2M of debt from the football club while the lease for the stadium site and ownership of the fabric transferred to the Trust.

As far as I recollect the original Trustees were ex-Provost Allan Sellar, David Stewart MSP and David Sutherland. There is no doubt at all that the debt was sidelined through David Sutherland's intervention and the bottom line is that the ICT Charitable Trust - when I last looked!! - owns both lease and stadium fabric.

 

PS - in his former "poacher" days, Caley D would probably have posted to disagree in some respect. So will we hear from him in his current role as "gamekeeper"?  

[Charles Bannerman]

I think Highland

 

Thats what i thought. Who does own it?

 

I think Highland Council own the stadium.

Highland Council, through the Inverness Common Good Fund, owns the stadium site and leased it initially to ICT for a 99 year term either late in 1994 or early in 1995. The Council did, I believe, have some financial interest in the north and south stands at one point but whether that is still the case I am not sure.

[Sneckboy]

Apologies for my incorrect assumption - I may have misinterpreted the following article. A lot of the legalities are a little 'over-my-head'!

http://ictsupporterstrust.co.uk/news/trust-news/212-stadium-ownership

[Charles Bannerman]

Apologies for my incorrect assumption - I may have misinterpreted the following article. A lot of the legalities are a little 'over-my-head'!

http://ictsupporterstrust.co.uk/news/trust-news/212-stadium-ownership

Perhaps I should clarify that my slightly loose usage of "David Sutherland" should more strictly read "The Tulloch Group through David Sutherland".

[Westhill1]

The ideal location would be at Beechwood plenty of parking spaces readily available and good infrastructure into the area. Discussion have made made in the past between the local economic development agency (whom I will not name!) and senior staff at ICT (whom I will not name!). Initial discussions were about training facilities but moved on to discuss stadium 're-location however as is usually the case these talks came to a standstill mainly from the ICT end. T here always seems to be a lack of vision from the club in terms of facilities I guess it's all about the money, maybe a good run in the Scottish Cup could provide the additional money to kick start new training facilities. My guess is that we would require about £1M to start it all off with matched funding coming from elsewhere we could rent out the pitches assuming they're of 4th generation standard and accumulate revenue to go towards an indoor training centre. There could be a real business case on the agenda here but unfortunately all my cash is been tied up on other things!

[+Fraz]

The ideal location would be at Beechwood plenty of parking spaces readily available and good infrastructure into the area. Discussion have made made in the past between the local economic development agency (whom I will not name!) and senior staff at ICT (whom I will not name!). Initial discussions were about training facilities but moved on to discuss stadium 're-location however as is usually the case these talks came to a standstill mainly from the ICT end. T here always seems to be a lack of vision from the club in terms of facilities I guess it's all about the money, maybe a good run in the Scottish Cup could provide the additional money to kick start new training facilities. My guess is that we would require about £1M to start it all off with matched funding coming from elsewhere we could rent out the pitches assuming they're of 4th generation standard and accumulate revenue to go towards an indoor training centre. There could be a real business case on the agenda here but unfortunately all my cash is been tied up on other things!

 

[Alex MacLeod]

I dont think the few thousand gained from cup runs is going anywhere near the million you suggest westhill. Considering land costs and costs of providing 4G pitches with changing facilities etc I'd be inclined to guesstimate nearer £3m. I also think we'll be using training facilities at new campus when its completed.