Long Kesh Park takes another step forward

[Evil Genius]

Time the IFA was told to feck off. The Brits should throw them the two or three million they'd be entitled to commensurate with their attendance figures and let them slip off and renovate their cess pit of a bigot bowl and let the rest of us move on. FFS all they would need to do would be host four concerts a year instead of three to make up the shortfall.

Very constructive. Did you get bitten by a dog on your Paper Round this morning, or something? 

[Leo]

Do you think it will be possible to buy a season ticket that will allow access to all games in all three sports?  

I would like one of them.  (tickets that is, not sports)

I'd imagine they'll do some sort of 'guaranteed seat' ticket, which will cover all events including concerts etc. As long as you don't mind travelling to Belfast

Travelling to Belfast will be quite easy for me, given that I am there already. 

I have always been against the proposal at the Maze, but I am actually warming to it a bit now.  Certainly beats the hell out of travelling to Clones and watching soccer and rugby in a modern stadium is quite appealing.
[/quote]

I know of a few boyos who would prefer Maze to Clones on the basis that it was always easier to get out of  the Maze.

[T Fearon]

It is amazing that the monocultural IFA supporters are allowed airtime to vent their spleen on the new provinical stadium. The IFA  themselves are not averse to the prospect and their supporters number between 5 to 15 k depending on how well their team is doing. In any event soccer will be lagging behind both the GAA and Rugby in terms of spectator appeal so I agree that the OWC mouthpieces should not be given any opportunity for megliomaniacal indulgences. There are the third of three players in this venture

[Donagh]

Donagh,

No thoughts on my previous post re the shinners linking their support of the stadium to the conflict centre?
It would be nice for them to act in the GAA's best interests on this one.

Surely if the stadium is in the GAA's best interests, then the shinners should do the intelligent thing and let it proceed, whilst parking the conflict centre for a year or two.

Seems like a very good suggestion to me, but as far as I know, the idea of the stadium and conflict resolution centre was driven by an all party working group of Lisburn Council. I don't think SF as a party have a policy on it either way, although as one of their councilors was on the working group I assume they're supporting whatever he feels is the best way forward for nationalists in the Lisburn area.   

[Donagh]

Time the IFA was told to feck off. The Brits should throw them the two or three million they'd be entitled to commensurate with their attendance figures and let them slip off and renovate their cess pit of a bigot bowl and let the rest of us move on. FFS all they would need to do would be host four concerts a year instead of three to make up the shortfall.

Windbagging alert!!

Now Chris behave. I wouldn't want to have to tell the Mods on you. 

[his holiness nb]

Whats "windbagging" ?

Sounds like a gay manouvre.

[Maximus Marillius]

I think that they should re-invest in Windsor park....this will allow Linfield to continue to dominate the football League due to the money they get paid for the international matches.......isn't this the hidden agenda

[The Watcher Pat]

I think that they should re-invest in Windsor park....this will allow Linfield to continue to dominate the football League due to the money they get paid for the international matches.......isn't this the hidden agenda

Of course this is the hidden agenda....The place is a dump anyway, dont really know why else anyone would want to stay there when they have a chance to move into a new stadium...It really could only happen in this country...
Maybe it's because the OWC'ers from Belfast don't want to travel to the Maze?

Windsor park should be levelled to the ground and built up with social housing. Apparently there is a real need for social housing in that area.

[take_yer_points]

Do you think it will be possible to buy a season ticket that will allow access to all games in all three sports?  

I would like one of them.  (tickets that is, not sports)

I'd imagine they'll do some sort of 'guaranteed seat' ticket, which will cover all events including concerts etc. As long as you don't mind travelling to Belfast

Travelling to Belfast will be quite easy for me, given that I am there already. 

I have always been against the proposal at the Maze, but I am actually warming to it a bit now.  Certainly beats the hell out of travelling to Clones and watching soccer and rugby in a modern stadium is quite appealing.
[/quote]

I'm in Belfast too and I'd prefer to travel to Clones than going to the Maze - nothing political or anything but just like getting down to Clones once or twice a year for a bit of a session and a laugh. Don't think the Maze would hold the same appeal in that respect and there wouldn't be the same buzz about the place like there is when the town is totally taken over by the 2 sets of supporters.

[snatter]

Do you think it will be possible to buy a season ticket that will allow access to all games in all three sports?  

I would like one of them.  (tickets that is, not sports)

I'd imagine they'll do some sort of 'guaranteed seat' ticket, which will cover all events including concerts etc. As long as you don't mind travelling to Belfast

Travelling to Belfast will be quite easy for me, given that I am there already. 

I have always been against the proposal at the Maze, but I am actually warming to it a bit now.  Certainly beats the hell out of travelling to Clones and watching soccer and rugby in a modern stadium is quite appealing.

I'm in Belfast too and I'd prefer to travel to Clones than going to the Maze - nothing political or anything but just like getting down to Clones once or twice a year for a bit of a session and a laugh. Don't think the Maze would hold the same appeal in that respect and there wouldn't be the same buzz about the place like there is when the town is totally taken over by the 2 sets of supporters.

even so, should the GAA pump 10's of millions of our money into Clones just because of a better atmosphere?

I did a back of a fag packet calculation to somebody a few months ago - the Maze just makes so much financial sense for us.

In relative terms, we either

1. pay next to nothing rent and get a state of the art stadium purpose built to our size and capacity.
or
2. pump 10's of millions of our own money into just bringing Clones up to an accepatable standard, ie 2/3rds covered seating.

No brainer. Maze wins hands down.
Far cheaper for GAA
Far handier for most fans as well.
Far better stadium than anything else that wuld get built.

[Evil Genius]

I think that they should re-invest in Windsor park....this will allow Linfield to continue to dominate the football League due to the money they get paid for the international matches.......isn't this the hidden agenda

Of course this is the hidden agenda....

Whose hidden Agenda? All the other clubs are long since fed up with Linfield getting so much money from the IFA, under a ludicrously unfair contract. And the IFA has signed up to the Maze, at least in principle, so how does that fit in with an Agenda to keep NI at Windsor?

The place is a dump anyway, dont really know why else anyone would want to stay there when they have a chance to move into a new stadium...It really could only happen in this country...

The majority of soccer's "stakeholders" (clubs, officials, supporters) do want to move into a new Stadium - it's just that they don't want to be forced to move to this particular new Stadium at the Maze, since it's the wrong size and design, in the wrong location, plus a hideously expensive waste of public money, when other possible alternatives in Belfast would be much more suitable and less expensive.

Maybe it's because the OWC'ers from Belfast don't want to travel to the Maze?

Utter bullshit. The best indicator of opinion was a survey of actual NI fans taken at the Wales game, when the overwhelming majority (90%) preferred Belfast over the Maze as a location. All of the Amalgamation Supporters Clubs, bar a couple, have expressed a preference for Belfast. Curiously, the pro-Belfast clubs cover the whole of NI, whereas the pro-Maze clubs are in, ahem, the Lisburn area. Further, there is a UTV poll running on this very subject which after nearly 3,000 votes, is presently showing 82% in favour of Belfast, versus 18% for the Maze. Oh, and the IFA commissioned a Poll of people in NI on this subject a while back, but have so far refused all calls to release the full findings. Meanwhile, they also refuse to honour a pledge to Poll just soccer supporters in NI. I wonder why?

Windsor park should be levelled to the ground and built up with social housing. Apparently there is a real need for social housing in that area.

Er, Windsor is owned by Linfield. They currently have neither the will nor the need to see it knocked down. Would you like to see public money being spent on buying it from them to build houses on a site which would be expensive, since it also has commercial value? Especially when the Government already owns a perfectly serviceable site at the Maze, on which they could build 10 times the number of social houses, a hell of a sight cheaper, if they really liked.

But hey, I'm sure soccer fans might go along with your plan to build at the Maze and demolish Windsor, so long as the same was done for Casement and Ravenhill. You know, Parity of Esteem and Shared Space etc...


You know, it might be easier for you to go on believing what suits your particular worldview, but it's not very bright, is it?  

[snatter]

EG,

allegedly the PriceWaterhouse report also costed the option of upgrading the three grounds.

That option, along with the NOrth Foreshore one was rejected on cost grounds in favour of the Maze.

Assuming that this report stands up to scrutiny, surely by now (several years later), the anti-Maze brigade now accept that the Maze is indeed the best option available.
They have failed miserably to come up with any alternatives.

[Evil Genius]

EG,

allegedly the PriceWaterhouse report also costed the option of upgrading the three grounds.

That option, along with the NOrth Foreshore one was rejected on cost grounds in favour of the Maze.

Assuming that this report stands up to scrutiny, surely by now (several years later), the anti-Maze brigade now accept that the Maze is indeed the best option available.
They have failed miserably to come up with any alternatives.

This Report is being paid for by the Government. The Government is on the record as favouring the Maze. On the basis that "He who Pays the Piper Calls the Tune", 'Consultants' like Deloittes will say whatever they think will keep the Fees rolling in.

[snatter]

EG,

allegedly the PriceWaterhouse report also costed the option of upgrading the three grounds.

That option, along with the NOrth Foreshore one was rejected on cost grounds in favour of the Maze.

Assuming that this report stands up to scrutiny, surely by now (several years later), the anti-Maze brigade now accept that the Maze is indeed the best option available.
They have failed miserably to come up with any alternatives.

This Report is being paid for by the Government. The Government is on the record as favouring the Maze. On the basis that "He who Pays the Piper Calls the Tune", 'Consultants' like Deloittes will say whatever they think will keep the Fees rolling in.

I'll hold fire on judgement until I read it.
I suppose you do have a point - look at the hopelessely lopsided UUJ pro-Belfast report paid for by BCC.

[SammyG]

EG,

allegedly the PriceWaterhouse report also costed the option of upgrading the three grounds.

That option, along with the NOrth Foreshore one was rejected on cost grounds in favour of the Maze.

Assuming that this report stands up to scrutiny, surely by now (several years later), the anti-Maze brigade now accept that the Maze is indeed the best option available.
They have failed miserably to come up with any alternatives.

Is this the same PriceWaterHouse report that only adds up if they allow zero running costs and over £100 a ticket?