The Arena

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Jamoy
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The Arena

Post by Jamoy » Mon Aug 12, 2019 11:50 am

What would peoples' view be if we moved back to Areana?

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divas
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Re: The Areana

Post by divas » Mon Aug 12, 2019 12:41 pm

Unobstructed

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TKOA
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Re: The Areana

Post by TKOA » Mon Aug 12, 2019 12:44 pm

Would only be useful if we got a big FA Cup draw (pigs might fly) or we were playing Hartlepool, Carlisle etc. 1300 fans rattling around in there would surely kill the club.

carlodarlo
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Re: The Areana

Post by carlodarlo » Mon Aug 12, 2019 12:52 pm

If its a long term plan then it would be a no from me. I am not saying I wouldn't still attend games, Just I would rather watch us in a stadium that is correctly sized for the crowds we get. That place was horrible even we had 5000 attendances let alone the sub 2k we were getting in the final 2/3 years. Blackwell isn't perfect but I find it more enjoyable then the Arena.

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Spyman
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Re: The Areana

Post by Spyman » Mon Aug 12, 2019 1:31 pm

Grande.

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On Sunday April 29, 2012 at 10:25 pm, Darlo Cockney wrote:Sadly some people have nothing better to do that invent rumours.

We will be playing at the arena again next season - fact.

Quakerz - if you actually attended games and spoke to people you might actually find our facts, rather than spreading s*** on this board.

DC

darlo_baron
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Re: The Areana

Post by darlo_baron » Mon Aug 12, 2019 1:31 pm

I wonder when we expect to hear an update in this regard from the club.

Obviously the next step, infrastructure wise, will be critical so I am very intrigued to see which route is the most viable going forward.
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jjljks
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Re: The Areana

Post by jjljks » Mon Aug 12, 2019 2:02 pm

We would have to be in a dire situation, eg facing groundshare with Pools or Spenny, before I would consider this a viable option. Best case scenario would be a totally new & smaller 5000 capacity stadium constructed as part of the Sporting Village, either alongside the Arena or Blackwell Meadows. Cannot see this happening, so will continue to hope DRUFC go bankrupt & we can buy out BM in the (near) future ;)

Ghost_Of_1883
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Re: The Areana

Post by Ghost_Of_1883 » Mon Aug 12, 2019 3:54 pm

A. Dial it.

onewayup
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Re: The Areana

Post by onewayup » Mon Aug 12, 2019 4:15 pm

My thoughts are, until a constructive plan is formally put to the football club regards the sporting village, we cannot make any decisions as to what, where or how things pan out ,it's no good second guessing or posting untruths, so we must wait. However long it takes. I personally believe that David Johnson has the clubs best interests in these matters and I trust him implicitly to get the best ,right deal for us whichever way it goes.

m62exile
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Re: The Areana

Post by m62exile » Mon Aug 12, 2019 4:35 pm

Depends on the numbers and where we can be most successful. Not that interested in the aesthetics of it, more interested in where we can be the most stable and grow from.


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bga
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Re: The Areana

Post by bga » Mon Aug 12, 2019 4:48 pm

Yawn yawn how many times is this raised? At least spell the name correctly!

quakersfan
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Re: The Areana

Post by quakersfan » Mon Aug 12, 2019 9:04 pm

onewayup wrote:
Mon Aug 12, 2019 4:15 pm
My thoughts are, until a constructive plan is formally put to the football club regards the sporting village, we cannot make any decisions as to what, where or how things pan out ,it's no good second guessing or posting untruths, so we must wait. However long it takes. I personally believe that David Johnson has the clubs best interests in these matters and I trust him implicitly to get the best ,right deal for us whichever way it goes.
It will be up to the 1000 or so fans of the supporters group who will have the final vote albeit different scenarios laid out by the DFC board. Once this happens it will be interesting to see if the DFCSG has a dramatic increase in numbers so they can vote.

Henley
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Re: The Areana

Post by Henley » Mon Aug 12, 2019 9:17 pm

divas wrote:
Mon Aug 12, 2019 12:41 pm
Unobstructed
Cap doffed.

quaker4life
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Re: The Areana

Post by quaker4life » Mon Aug 12, 2019 10:27 pm

I'd sooner go back to Bish.

That cave needs to be left where it belongs, in the past.
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Darlo_Pete
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Re: The Areana

Post by Darlo_Pete » Tue Aug 13, 2019 6:20 am

My choice of grounds

1. Bishop
2. Arena
3. Blackwell Meadows

However, Bishop Auckland is never going to happen. But I would never rule out a return to the Arena. DMP are in financial trouble and I could see us returning as tenants or if DMP go bust, I could see us returning as owners sometime in the future.

Of course the ideal situation would be for us to move into our own purpose built ground, that could be developed further and when we get promoted.

lo36789
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Re: The Areana

Post by lo36789 » Tue Aug 13, 2019 6:46 am

Can’t understand the love of Bishop Auckland so much beyond the on pitch success we had there...

- The amount of seating was less.
- There was less space around the pitch so more impeded views
- The covered terrace was no better than what we have now and was smaller.
- the bar area was considerably smaller
- it cost about the same amount of money per year
- we didn’t get any money in apart from ticket sales whereas now we do
- it was further out of Darlington and had less car parking
- it wasn’t eligible for this division - so we’d be playing with a ceiling - but yet somehow it is preferred to Blackwell (absolute madness?)

QUAKERMAN2
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Re: The Areana

Post by QUAKERMAN2 » Tue Aug 13, 2019 7:49 am

Went to Curzon last night, that would be the perfect model for us, great little bar next to the main stand, food area in the concourse under the stand, 2 great stands one with terrace standing only and terracing behind both goals.Not to mention a pitch that was better than a bowling green.Very impressive, probably 5000 capacity but wishful thinking sadly.

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Darlopartisan
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Re: The Areana

Post by Darlopartisan » Tue Aug 13, 2019 7:51 am

lo36789 wrote:
Tue Aug 13, 2019 6:46 am
Can’t understand the love of Bishop Auckland so much beyond the on pitch success we had there...

- The amount of seating was less.
- There was less space around the pitch so more impeded views
- The covered terrace was no better than what we have now and was smaller.
- the bar area was considerably smaller
- it cost about the same amount of money per year
- we didn’t get any money in apart from ticket sales whereas now we do
- it was further out of Darlington and had less car parking
- it wasn’t eligible for this division - so we’d be playing with a ceiling - but yet somehow it is preferred to Blackwell (absolute madness?)
It’s just a small point, but the feeling of being made welcome/ unwelcome has something to do with it.
Not that I want to return there.

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theoriginalfatcat
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Re: The Areana

Post by theoriginalfatcat » Tue Aug 13, 2019 8:01 am

Good point, we did feel welcome at Bishop and I even got the impression that they were sad to see us leave.

Unlike now ..............
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lo36789
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Re: The Areana

Post by lo36789 » Tue Aug 13, 2019 8:42 am

Go on then. Name all the things that Bishop provided / allowed which made you feel ‘welcome’ that the rugby club have not done.

Bishop wanted us out more than you think - I suspect they get more in rent from Boro than we paid and it doesn’t affect their match schedule.

The only difference of course is that they probably took more over the bar when we were there than Boro u23s.

lo36789
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Re: The Areana

Post by lo36789 » Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:00 am

My point is it is mostly perception.

- Did Bishop let us keep all the bar sales? No they kept 100%, Rugby Club give us a proportion
- Did Bishop let us put signs up outside? No. They sign always had Bishops next game advertised. The Rugby club have allowed a sign to be placed.
- Did Bishop remove all Bishop ‘stuff’ from the walls etc. as has been mentioned the rugby club should do to make it feel like a football club? No. If I am not mistaken there is DFC decoration which is now put up in the bar area on matchdays.
- Did Bishop allow us access outside of matchday for deliveries and temporary club shop (before Dolphin Centre)? No.
- Did Bishop maintain the pitch specifically for us? No, from what I remember we ended up with our own groundman there because of the issues with drainage in years 1 and 2.

But yes they were welcoming in the way they unlocked the doors for 5 hours on a match day.

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theoriginalfatcat
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Re: The Areana

Post by theoriginalfatcat » Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:09 am

You have a point. Some of it could well be perception.

Perception though is important.
lo36789 wrote:
Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:00 am
- Did Bishop let us keep all the bar sales? No they kept 100%, Rugby Club give us a proportion
-- I'm not sure this is correct, I thought we had some kind of deal re bar sales at Heritage Park.
lo36789 wrote:
Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:00 am
- Did Bishop let us put signs up outside?
-- Did we ask? Anyway, do our Darlo flags outside B.M. still go up on match days ? Bearing in mind of course they will really only do any good if they are allowed to stay there, or something of a full time nature can be put up. People quite often ask me where Darlo play these days, people from out of town simply don't know.
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lo36789
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Re: The Areana

Post by lo36789 » Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:12 am

We got nothing at Heritage Park. They staffed the bar and took 100% of revenue.

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Re: The Areana

Post by lo36789 » Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:20 am

theoriginalfatcat wrote:
Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:09 am
Bearing in mind of course they will really only do any good if they are allowed to stay there, or something of a full time nature can be put up. People quite often ask me where Darlo play these days, people from out of town simply don't know.
Perception is misguided and often driven out of bias, rumour and ulterior motives.

I am not sure if a sign outside the doors will help this much.

Do people outside of town generally find out where football clubs player by stumbling across the ground? I would expect that the volume of people finding out where clubs play by this means is a low proportion of the total population.

If we are that bothered about people needing sign posts for direction to the ground speak to the council about getting a sign post put up on Grange Road and at the roundabouts (bypass and Victoria Road)

lo36789
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Re: The Areana

Post by lo36789 » Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:26 am

By the way I am not saying everything is perfect. It isn’t and I think the catering could be improved still from what I hear (however after being on a stag do with most of the DRFC firsts it sounds like that is just the standard of their catering - it isn’t a deliberate non-effort for us).

I am not sure what more people want and how tangible it is beyond a “feeling”. I mean the fact people point to a clock and twist that as an indicator that we are not welcome is borderline paranoia.

The experience is improving and growing and if folk have ideas Darlington have a full time commercial manager and a fans liaison representative.

Contact them, give your ideas and actually ask if there are any barrier to you taking ownership and following up on them.

al_quaker
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Re: The Areana

Post by al_quaker » Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:44 am

There's no point even talking about Heritage Park - we aren't going back.

The biggest problem with Blackwell Meadows is that it's just a really awful place to watch football. No height + big run offs = crap views. And it's even worse when there's any sort of crowd in and you have to stand more than 1 deep at the sides. It would be better if we didn't have amateur landlords, and the place felt a bit more like a home for the football club too, but it wouldn't fix the fundamental problems with BM as a place to watch football. Only time and (a lot of) money can do that. The Arena is almost the exact opposite - decent views but awful for everything else. I await with huge anticipation the club's opinions on the future home for the football club, as there's not a more important decision facing the club.

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Kalu
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Re: The Areana

Post by Kalu » Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:53 am

If it's part of the plans for the Sporting Village - i.e temporary until a viable solution is made as part of the plans at the arena then yes.

The Sporting Village is going to not only be huge for the town, but for the region - DFC simply can't not be a part of it IMO.

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theoriginalfatcat
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Re: The Areana

Post by theoriginalfatcat » Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:54 am

LOL :D :D :D :D I was the one banging on about the clock!!

But It was mainly for humour purposes, and nothing to do with the welcoming issues - B.T.W. it did look a little ridiculous being consistently wrong and from where I usually stand people did comment on it, away fans too.

I wouldn't want to go back to The Arena, I wonder what D.J. has in mind?
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Ghost_Of_1883
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Re: The Areana

Post by Ghost_Of_1883 » Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:58 am

lo36789 wrote:
Tue Aug 13, 2019 6:46 am
Can’t understand the love of Bishop Auckland
There is no love of Bishop, not so much love that anyone would rather play in Bishop than Darlington anyway.

It's only Darlo Pete saying he'd rather play in Bishop, just to be controversial.

Ghost_Of_1883
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Re: The Areana

Post by Ghost_Of_1883 » Tue Aug 13, 2019 10:01 am

Kalu wrote:
Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:53 am
If it's part of the plans for the Sporting Village - i.e temporary until a viable solution is made as part of the plans at the arena then yes.

The Sporting Village is going to not only be huge for the town, but for the region - DFC simply can't not be a part of it IMO.
It won't be "huge", it's all about making sure Mowden are alright.

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