The New Raith Rovers Thread

[stevoraith]

57 minutes ago, Michael W said:

 

The stadium is the big one - I am not really enamoured at the thought of a new stadium as I think they are generally a bit crap, but I can be persuaded if a viable plan is presented. 

There are a few things that worry me about potential foreign ownership, not least the similarity to the Anelka model of bring in unknown foreigners (of course we are just assuming that’s what the business model will be) but contrary to what you’ve said, the one thing that excites me is the possibility of moving away from Starks. 
 

Its a terrible old stadium to watch football in these days- no opportunity to watch from the side of the pitch with an uninterrupted view and an atmosphere, away fans never near enough to home fans to create an atmosphere and always a load of empty seats, never mind a disused stand that runs the full length of one side and a disused terrace that runs half the length of the other.
 

Location is good for the train but that’s about all it’s got going for it.
 

An edge of town stadium with a (expandable) capacity of about 5-6k, as long as it had 4 sides, which included conference facilities, maybe hotel, restaurant, bar facilities etc and community use would be potential income stream for the club as well as being a nicer place to watch football and hopefully allow a better atmosphere. 
 

That would get me excited. Who knows what any potential investors would have in their plans but I hope it’s a move away from Starks. 

[Broken Algorithms]

1 hour ago, raith1974 said:

Exactly, some of the comments in the past 12 months have been shocking, yes mistakes have been made but can't help that these comments have pushed Sim away. Hopefully his intentions are still to ensure the club survives and not just about getting some money back.

The man was literally emailed by dozens, if not hundreds, of our fans via the fan's rep begging him not to sign a rapist. He can feel hard done by all he wants, but if he was expecting people not to call him out on that then he's living in a different world. 

A year to the day since Scott Burns broke the rumour. So fucking daft. 

[Michael W]

6 minutes ago, stevoraith said:

There are a few things that worry me about potential foreign ownership, not least the similarity to the Anelka model of bring in unknown foreigners (of course we are just assuming that’s what the business model will be) but contrary to what you’ve said, the one thing that excites me is the possibility of moving away from Starks. 
 

Its a terrible old stadium to watch football in these days- no opportunity to watch from the side of the pitch with an uninterrupted view and an atmosphere, away fans never near enough to home fans to create an atmosphere and always a load of empty seats, never mind a disused stand that runs the full length of one side and a disused terrace that runs half the length of the other.
 

Location is good for the train but that’s about all it’s got going for it.
 

An edge of town stadium with a (expandable) capacity of about 5-6k, as long as it had 4 sides, which included conference facilities, maybe hotel, restaurant, bar facilities etc and community use would be potential income stream for the club as well as being a nicer place to watch football and hopefully allow a better atmosphere. 
 

That would get me excited. Who knows what any potential investors would have in their plans but I hope it’s a move away from Starks. 

Main issue for me is that these out-of-town stadiums are generally also crap. I fear we'd end up with a St Mirren Park replica with blue seats and possibly three stands. That would be pretty mince, really, and the prospect isn't enticing to me. However we are facing a maintenance bill for Stark's that is substantial (but also not much according to Steven Macdonald), so all options need consideration. If leaving is viable then it might be the right answer, given the forthcoming bills. 

The key questions are what we'd get for Stark's and how that stacks up against a new stadium, as well as whether there is funding to plug probable gaps, and how much that'll require. Currently it seems the gap is probably insurmountable, maybe new owners will be prepared to plug it. Who knows. 

[Michael W]

17 minutes ago, Broken Algorithms said:

The man was literally emailed by dozens, if not hundreds, of our fans via the fan's rep begging him not to sign a rapist. He can feel hard done by all he wants, but if he was expecting people not to call him out on that then he's living in a different world. 

A year to the day since Scott Burns broke the rumour. So fucking daft. 

Exactly. 

You can also point to that dismal interview with Alan Temple, particularly his characterisation of reports about negative impacts on out finances being "fake news" and boasting about us getting better sponsorship deals. 

Then contrast it with the last few weeks - club suddenly up for sale, begging for investment and losing £150k a year on average. Tell me more about these super sponsorship deals, John! 

And, well, John Sim himself presiding over said money-losing operation as the man with near total control over it for the last however many years it is now. I will cut him some slack in that he did not always have this level of control over the football club itself, but he has had that now for a few years and has made little to no serious attempt to stem the losses. Essentially, his comments about our losses are John Sim trashing John Sim's governance. The club has been badly run for some time and of course the man in charge is going to cop it for that. 

[TxRover]

13 minutes ago, Michael W said:

Main issue for me is that these out-of-town stadiums are generally also crap. I fear we'd end up with a St Mirren Park replica with blue seats and possibly three stands. That would be pretty mince, really, and the prospect isn't enticing to me. However we are facing a maintenance bill for Stark's that is substantial (but also not much according to Steven Macdonald), so all options need consideration. If leaving is viable then it might be the right answer, given the forthcoming bills. 

The key questions are what we'd get for Stark's and how that stacks up against a new stadium, as well as whether there is funding to plug probable gaps, and how much that'll require. Currently it seems the gap is probably insurmountable, maybe new owners will be prepared to plug it. Who knows. 

For Stark’s, nothing…the Club owns none of it,

SP advantages: Reasonably good access to trains and buses, available bars nearby, parking doable nearby, excellent plastic pitch, good lights and a classic stand.

SP disadvantages: Limited parking nearby, poor access via single (narrow) roadway, aging facilities, deferred maintenance, often a mausoleum rather than a stadium, crap handicapped access.

 

If we moved to a new, outlying facility, we would lose a number of advantages, but I suppose a well chosen location might help. Certainly, the idea of a new stadium, with a decent stand along one side with facilities and a hospitality area, a smaller stand on the other side, and terracing at either end is appealing…especially if some way could be found to allow standing spectators to change ends. It would be cool and retro, appeal to fans of all ages, and be much more fiscally appealing.

[raith1974]

7 hours ago, TxRover said:

For Stark’s, nothing…the Club owns none of it,

SP advantages: Reasonably good access to trains and buses, available bars nearby, parking doable nearby, excellent plastic pitch, good lights and a classic stand.

SP disadvantages: Limited parking nearby, poor access via single (narrow) roadway, aging facilities, deferred maintenance, often a mausoleum rather than a stadium, crap handicapped access.

 

If we moved to a new, outlying facility, we would lose a number of advantages, but I suppose a well chosen location might help. Certainly, the idea of a new stadium, with a decent stand along one side with facilities and a hospitality area, a smaller stand on the other side, and terracing at either end is appealing…especially if some way could be found to allow standing spectators to change ends. It would be cool and retro, appeal to fans of all ages, and be much more fiscally appealing.

Sorry I see no advantage of a classic stand as you call it. That stand is a dump with restricted hospitality and no room for any expansion. It needs raised to the ground, along with the railway stand that's been allowed to rot. 

Yes we have an excellent pitch but is that really an advantage as it could be replicated at another site. The only advantage SP has over a new stadium is proximity to the town centre.

[Beachbum]

47 minutes ago, raith1974 said:

Sorry I see no advantage of a classic stand as you call it. That stand is a dump with restricted hospitality and no room for any expansion. It needs raised to the ground, along with the railway stand that's been allowed to rot. 

Yes we have an excellent pitch but is that really an advantage as it could be replicated at another site. The only advantage SP has over a new stadium is proximity to the town centre.

So, to sum up, the main stand and the railway stand need flattened and rebuilt and the north and south stands need £500k spent on them to stop them falling down.

And John Sim wants £3m before any of that work can begin.

 

[Offshore Rover]

I’ve always thought the main stand is listed in some way? Someone can correct me if I am wrong but it would be a nightmare to redevelop the main stand if it is listed. 
 

Best bet is a new out of town stadium with good community facilities, a hotel is maybe bit far fetched but I suppose we can only dream 

[Beachbum]

6 minutes ago, Offshore Rover said:

I’ve always thought the main stand is listed in some way? Someone can correct me if I am wrong but it would be a nightmare to redevelop the main stand if it is listed. 
 

Best bet is a new out of town stadium with good community facilities, a hotel is maybe bit far fetched but I suppose we can only dream 

The main stand is not listed.

[Michael W]

9 hours ago, TxRover said:

For Stark’s, nothing…the Club owns none of it,

I am assuming here that the purchaser will also get the stadium. To buy the club and leave the stadium with Sim would be utterly mental, frankly - makes a new stadium even more of an outlay (if that's the plan) as we can't sell an asset to part fund it, or the current problem of the club paying rent for its stadium and thus depleting the playing budget continues indefinitely. 

[roverthemoon]

15 hours ago, Beachbum said:

John Sim wants his legacy to be that of the kind and well-intentioned benefactor of the citizens of Kirkcaldy, not the evil mastermind mentioned above.

Believe this was might have been the case when he first arrived. Not so sure it is after the DG fallout. Suspect he just wants to recoup some cash and isn’t arsed about his legacy here as any goodwill with fans has probably long since sailed. 

[roverthemoon]

On this bid, like most things with the Rovers, I’ll believe it when I see it. Can’t understand why anyone from elsewhere would want to invest in us as it certainly won’t generate a profit for them. So you have to assume it’s a vanity project -which immediately raises concerns about how it will actually go when they realise to do anything on the pitch they’ll have to run at a considerable loss.  Would much rather have ownership which is local and focused on making the club sustainable regardless of what level we are at but Kingdom Homes guy aside that doesn’t look it’s an option.

[spot on]

4 hours ago, raith1974 said:

Sorry I see no advantage of a classic stand as you call it. That stand is a dump with restricted hospitality and no room for any expansion. It needs raised to the ground, along with the railway stand that's been allowed to rot. 

Yes we have an excellent pitch but is that really an advantage as it could be replicated at another site. The only advantage SP has over a new stadium is proximity to the town centre.

‘Raised to the ground “ how low is it just now ?  

[roverthemoon]

As an aside, it is a perfectly valid view to want Sim out of the club but still question exactly who he’s selling us out to. Could easily be a frying pan into the fire situation. Given the absolute rogues we’ve had as owners in the past then I’d rather have folk asking questions than blindly accepting whoever is prepared to hand Sim a bundle of cash. 

[Heid_The_Baw]

The main stand has a category B listing.  The Railway side home end concrete is rotten and needs dug out.  The metalwork on the behind goal monstrosities has serious issues having not been properly built in the first place (Barr has a lot to answer for not just with us).  The main stand side cannot be used for terracing any more due to height issues.  Any redevelopnet would need to be passed by Network Rail too, as they own the adjacent land.  Starks is also a morgue now.

In short, Starks Park is a millstone round our neck.  We should in the medium to long term be looking to move elsewhere.  

[TxRover]

10 minutes ago, Heid_The_Baw said:

The main stand has a category B listing.

False, unless you can show otherwise, a check of listed buildings in KY1 does NOT show this to be true.

https://hesportal.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Viewer/index.html?appid=18d2608ac1284066ba3927312710d16d

[SirJimmyofNic]

8 minutes ago, TxRover said:

False, unless you can show otherwise, a check of listed buildings in KY1 does NOT show this to be true.

https://hesportal.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Viewer/index.html?appid=18d2608ac1284066ba3927312710d16d

It was a listed building years ago but for whatever reason no longer is

[raith1974]

4 hours ago, Beachbum said:

So, to sum up, the main stand and the railway stand need flattened and rebuilt and the north and south stands need £500k spent on them to stop them falling down.

And John Sim wants £3m before any of that work can begin.

 

Basically yes. That's why leaving Sim with a rotting stadium with not a lot of value. The change of use to housing may prove difficult with the location so it may be better for anyone considering buying the club to buy his stake in the team. If they are genuinely interested in moving Raith forward then the money saved from not purchasing the ground could go towards a community stadium which generates funds for the club. Obviously a lease on the ground would need to be agreed whilst anything I'd built. Maybe again pie in the sky but until the purchase takes place and we know their intentions we have no idea what is planned. This time next year we could very well be out of business.

[pub car king]

Sim to me seems more interested starks park and the community foundation. They are the main tennants and use it 95% of the time. 

This new mob might only be interested in the club regardless of where they play and will lease the ground thus leaving and maintenance to the landlord ie Sim. 

[Jack Rae2]

So, Oriordan away. That really is a bummer considering his performances.