Is moving stadium really the key to success?

Everyone loves to make their match-day experience a memorable one, so clubs try their best to please their fans. Although, in recent years, many clubs have failed to deliver both on and off the pitch since trying to find a different home.

Building plans are being approved every season for ambitious clubs but are new stadiums the foundations for destruction?

League One and League Two are full of clubs who have both history and are ambitious which has led to persistent conundrums over the years as to whether or not make the leap to a new stadium but we all know clubs in other leagues that have had similar dilemmas.

In recent years, the likes of Bolton Wanderers & Manchester City have built new grounds and never looked back as it’s been a significant improvement so far. However, ask any Oxford United or West Ham United fan and they’ll pain themselves to discuss the trails & tribulations the move has come with.

The idea of a new stadium being a fresh start or the next stage for a club is often bandied around. It can elevate a club’s stature. The sheer capacity increase is enough to entice most clubs. Some clubs are able to change public perception with a new stadium as the likes of Bolton and City have done. Now both look like far more established clubs with (at the time) state-the-art facilities. These facilities can then help attract a better quality of player due to the professional and well-oiled appearance the club now carry. Also new facilities can also incorporate other money making premises within the compound of a new build. Hotels, restaurants and cinemas are just some examples.

The likes of Rotherham United have improved on the pitch with that ‘next level’ home as they won promotion to the Championship using the NY Stadium as a springboard.

Boards of directors are always looking at a potential move away from the club – take Carlisle United for example. Many supporters claim that the club simply cannot either fill or run Brunton Park in its current state so a smaller, hassle-free ground might be the next step. However Brunton Park is steeped in history. An iconic ground intrinsically linked to the club that play there in every single way. As a fan you take for granted those little imperceptible qualities that make a ground like Brunton Park feel like home. These are the things that you miss when moving to a new stadium, often leaving fans feeling empty, searching for a new identity. For Carlisle the location of the stadium has been a stumbling point as any club can build something aesthetically pleasing but none can create history with a few million pounds and some vague blueprints.

Recently, the decision by Coventry City to move to the Ricoh Arena (a ground that in its time has hosted gigs, casinos and exhibition halls) is an example of how the bright lights of new stadium can blind a club. The chaos surrounding that stadium came to light in 2013 when the club re-located temporarily to Northampton Town but aside from the business element, the stadium is now devoid of atmosphere due to the fact attendances are nowhere near full capacity and the location itself lacks atmosphere.

To use Oxford as another example; they may be doing okay on the pitch, but the move to the Kassam Stadium (which only has three sides signifying the lack of cohesion the stadium has with the club) has frustrated fans due to the fact it makes it incredibly difficult to build atmosphere even in good spells since all the noise drifts over the fence into the car park behind one end.

Of course with Oxford the stadium is not owned by the club but rather their former chairman who it is named after. The Oxford case should act as a warning. The side had just been relegated to League Two when they made the move but rather than it acting like a springboard for success it did the opposite. Oxford were relegated into the Conference before they eventually recovered to where they are now, much of that thanks to the efforts of recent chairman Darryl Eales.

There’s no doubt that some fans would do anything for a change but some others would hold onto the grass until the digger has picked them up with it. Stadiums can either hold clubs back or elevate the team but it’s a blurred line between the two.

What do you think of new stadiums? Let us know.

words Nathan Ridley, D3D4 Carlisle United correspondent