WE LOSE OUT WHILE OTHERS NET SUCCESS
WHILE politicians continue to debate the merits of a new stadium in Bristol, other cities around England have been reaping the rewards of building theirs.
From Cardiff to Coventry, Swansea to Southampton, cities smaller than this one have pressed on and approved developments which have attracted cash to invest in their futures.
Bristol City FC's proposed new 30,000-seat stadium and conference centre in Ashton Vale has planning permission.
But while wrangles continue about its funding and the redevelopment of City's Ashton Gate ground it is the competition who are hoovering up the business Bristol could be cashing in on.
Cardiff City's new stadium and retail park opened its doors last summer.
Cardiff City Council leader Rodney Berman heralded the estimated £110million it will bring to the Welsh capital, including around £32m of community benefit and an estimated 1,200 jobs.
On the eve of the first match there Mr Berman said: "There have been improvements to local roads, new sports facilities at Fitzalan High School and an upgrading to the area around Tesco and the community hall in Canton.
"We also have an additional 1,500 park-and-ride spaces and coach parking facilities and various community-focused sports pitches and facilities for disabled athletes.
"We have an excellent sporting tradition here in Cardiff and this stadium is a fitting addition to all the other first-class venues the city offers.
"From the Ashes to the new series of Torchwood, Cardiff is garnering a global reputation and long may it continue."
Less than a 90-minute drive from Bristol in a different direction is Coventry, which has struck gold with the Ricoh Arena.
When Coventry City FC hit financial difficulty and faltered with its plans for a new stadium, the council stepped in.
The end result is a multi-use complex complete with a 32,000-seat stadium and 10,000-capacity arena and conference centre, which has attracted more than two million visitors since its opening in 2005.
In its first two years more than 1,500 business events were staged there. And according to Barry Butterworth, senior projects manager at Coventry City Council, more than 3,000 jobs have been created, and Cardiff's £110m of estimated investment has been thoroughly eclipsed.
Coventry council bought an old gas works and colliery and banked £60m by selling 32 acres of it for retail. It then put in £10m of its own and secured the rest of the £113m project through grants and charity tie-ins.
"The Ricoh Arena has given us facilities Coventry didn't have before and now attracts events, concerts and conferences which used to go to Birmingham," Mr Butterworth told the Post.
"Only 25 per cent of the Ricoh's revenue is drawn by the football team. We have conferences, exhibitions, catering, rugby, England Under-21 internationals, rock concerts with Bon Jovi and Take That, as well as a hotel and casino.
"And we've now been appointed one of the venues for the football in the 2012 Olympics. We're hosting nine games," he added.
"The economic draw of having big rock concerts throughout the summer is huge. We had Take That for three nights playing to a sell-out 40,000 people a time. All those people coming here is a significant financial boost to the area."
Club attendances jumped too, something particularly noticeable in Swansea, whose council built the Liberty Stadium in 2005. The average attendance for Swans matches tripled with the provision of a new stadium and retail park.
Swansea City Chairman Huw Jenkins told the Post: "A large proportion of that increase has been down to the fact that we now play our football in a family-friendly stadium with clean, modern facilities.
"In particular, the number of youngsters and female fans has increased dramatically because the stadium guarantees a great experience for the whole family." Back in Coventry Mr Butterworth underlined the importance of understanding the end goal of the project.
"We've given advice to a lot of new stadiums to look at the reasons why you are doing this," he said.
"We weren't looking at a football stadium with a couple of conference rooms. We were doing it because Coventry didn't have a lot of the necessary facilities and by putting them all in we created a centre which attracts a critical mass of business and further investment.
"(The Ricoh) is in an area that has been blighted for some time. Now it is a thriving economic area."
Bristol City and Sainsbury's are considering whether to appeal the council's decision to deny planning permission for the supermarket, which the club says is vital to fund the new Ashton Vale stadium.
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by Noel Stanton, Bristol
Wednesday, July 28 2010, 9:57AM
“I'm glad you have moved to Bristol. there is a lot of good things here but as this story points out our council has never been good at achieving a complete project. They might get a football ground, and then think they should have put in stands. Then something else. Ten years down the line they might get it right.”
by Birbeck, Montpelier
Monday, July 26 2010, 2:24PM
“All those who say 'not Bristol born...', well, I've only lived here almost 5 years, but I chose to move here with my then 16-yr-old London-born daughter, and my then 27 yr-old came for a 'few weeks' after a break-up. We're all still here and loving it and try and convince our 'very far off' or so they perceive it, London friends that it's a fine and chilled place to live; us adoptees probably appreciate and participate in more events than the average Bristolian.”
by Noel Stanton, Bristol
Monday, July 26 2010, 9:41AM
“The point that I would like to make is that Bristol C C are very short sited. I ride a bike to work as its to far to walk and I can't drive.There are bike lanes around my route BUT they go nowhere. I came home a Council Backed route and found the cycle lane appeared about 300 yards from a main round about and then stoped. What is the point of that. Yes there are places you cant put them but if they are going to plan any more make them long enough to get somewhere.
But this is the problem with ALL there plans, they might look at the City Ground but they will not make any plans for anything to help with the roads, housing, buses, etc. Look at all the years they have spent thinking about a tram system. If they had saved the money wasted on trips to look at other systems they would have enough to pay for it today, but they still would not be able to make up there tiny minds .”
by Prince T, Tobius is the place.
Monday, July 26 2010, 8:56AM
“St John Quimston, is right in that it is a very big problem if most BCC councilors aren't born & raised Bristolians - no heart is no good. A hard head is also important though & it's no good just following the crowd. Cardiff made a good decision in developing their stadium & other places,e.g., Manchester made a good decision in developing their airport many years ago. I always think that Bristol is a little bit different in attitude to the norm and needs to develope in it's own way, not just follow on with ambitions to become an identikit town. Some big names were lined up to be at Glasto, for eample, would they have been at an B.Arena in competition with the MS in Cardiff? But surely the council should be spending money on top quality sports facilities and education. And yes, transport wise, bendy buses aren't sexy but contrary to popular belief they aren't a disaster in London and they are cheap.”
by Geoff, Bristol
Sunday, July 25 2010, 11:18PM
“Its only a matter of time before the Bath road becomes a two-way bus lane anyway.
If the peons don't do what you want, then just force the issue by making it completely impractical to use the roads.”
by David, briz
Sunday, July 25 2010, 11:07PM
“A lot of congestion problems are caused by the idiotic council transport planners. The latest craze of paving over Bus pull ins being a prime example. Bath Rd opposite majestic wines being a prime example, no pull in anymore, bus now stops on single carriageway causing traffic to build up behind a stopped Bus on one of the busiest roads into Bristol. Transport planners!! Absolute waste of space the lot of them.”
by St John Quimston, Bristol
Sunday, July 25 2010, 10:37PM
“decent new football stadium, an Arena, a quality mass transit system, some decent sports facilities, a bit more cutting edge architecture in our new builds....
No, the lack of these things do not make Bristol a nightmare to live in, or make me think about leaving my city...BUT....they are things that a regional capital of 600,000 inhabitants should have.
The fact that all other major cities in England (Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, Newcastle) and a lot of smaller cities have these things should make Bristolians look up and ask - 'Why not us?'
Personally, I'm highly unlikely to be interested in watching Take That or Disney on Ice or whatever in a Bristol Arena - but a lot of people do, and it will bring in a lot of money to the city.
I don't support Bristol City, but a lot of people do and it would be good to have a chance of attracting World Cup football - it will raise the city's profile and bring in money.
However, having a decent transport system in this congested and car dependent city is a must-have and it is an absolute disgrace that we do not have one - or even a chance of having one. Our politicians, both local and national should hang their heads in shame. All of them.
And Bristol has only just started building a 50m pool. All other major cities in the country have at least one of these.
How many national - or even regional sports events are held in Bristol? None - absolutely none at all. We can't even run the UK student games without relying on the University of Bath's facilities.
How many major conferences and business events does Bristol host? None - we don't have the conference centre to be able to do it.
All of these things would bring investment into our city and provide jobs.
I spoke to Ian Knight a couple of years ago - he's the Operations Director for the soon to be defunct Regional Development Agency. He stated that Bristol's infrastructure deficit compared to equivalent UK cities 'now runs into the billions' and is unlikely to ever catch up.
My point is that Bristol is a brilliant city and has a great look, feel and culture. However, it has fallen behind dramatically over the past 20 years and that's because of very poor quality local politicians making very poor decisions.
£18 million for a foyer for the Colston Hall whilst the auditorium remains untouched?
£26 million to glaze the Industrial Museum and give it a silly name?
These are decisions made by idiots.
Even during the years of plenty when other cities were developing and extending their urban public transport, Bristol's politicians did next to nothing.
One thing that I have noticed is that a lot of our local councillors aren't Bristolians. Perhaps if we had more people who were born and bred in this city and know what needs to be done in power, then we would get more things done - by people with a bit of passion.
But perhaps, therein lies the problem. Bristolians are reknowned for being laid back - in my opinion too laid back.
We're just reaping what we've sowed.”
by Geoff, Bristol
Sunday, July 25 2010, 10:22PM
“Interesting, all the city *supporters* that couldn't possibly tolerate an evil Sainsbury's round the corner, even if it is going to fund their new stadium. Nothing like supporting your local team eh!”
by Local Nimby, Bedders
Sunday, July 25 2010, 9:17PM
“I can also add
Coventry, Swansea and Southampton to the list of cities, as mentioned in this "report".
Maybe Bristol City should ask about redeveloping the stadium or building a more modest one... A 25,000 seater (to expand to 35,000 or more) would be more than enough for now”
by Local Nimby, Bedders
Sunday, July 25 2010, 9:08PM
“I tell you who's to blame -
All the glory-hunting pillocks in Bristol who have supported Liverpool in the 80's, Man Utd in the 90's and 2000's and now the same sort of people who are Bristol based Chelski fans...
Bristol's bigger than Liverpool, Newcastle, Wigan, Nottingham, Cardiff, Hull (whatever the other stadiums are that are pictured)... However, all these cities have a big or newly built stadium....
It's because the LOCALS SUPPORT THEIR LOCAL TEAM...There is no demand for a £90 million pound stadium funded by yet another supermarket. Bristol City don't have the local fans
Might as well build an Alien landing pad for all it's worth.”