The Ultimate Super Ayr Thread

[Shibuya]

Aim to start May 2023 and NT will be closed for the 23/24 season. 

[eez-eh]

21 minutes ago, yorkshirepud said:

Is it a complete tear down and rebuild or are they just putting the roof and seats in while retaining the terrace? Terracing needs to be a bit steeper than currently.

Was gonna ask the same thing. Love the terracing but a bit steeper and less crumbly would be quality.

All looks exciting either way.

[AUcal]

8 minutes ago, Shibuya said:

Aim to start May 2023 and NT will be closed for the 23/24 season. 

I wonder how they'll arrange the ground during that time. I imagine it'll just be a case of putting everyone in the SRE and seeing the main stand getting more use.

Put small away supports in the main stand/enclosure in front and allow home fans in the railway end for those games?

When new stand opens I assume it would be just home support in the North terrace with no corner given to away support. I've always wanted that tbh.

Edited June 9, 2022 by AuAl

[AUFC 1910]

That looks pretty nice

[RedEd]

39 minutes ago, AYRSHIRE_ANGUS said:

I assume that once the stand is built then the hub can expand to take the whole of the building if they are moving the offices there too?

No.The Academy will take over the current AUFC offices.

[Thumper]

Those slats had better be retractable.

In all honesty, this is the sort of modest but bold improvement that has been desperately needed. Top marks.

[bazka6]

Don’t mean to be a downer but how does this attract your average punter other than the roof? Seems like a large investment for basically a new hospitality suite, how long to get a return on it? What about the rest of the stadium for folk that’re there every week or to attract away fans?

[RedEd]

10 minutes ago, AuAl said:

I wonder how they'll arrange the ground during that time. I imagine it'll just be a case of putting everyone in the SRE and seeing the main stand getting more use.

Put small away supports in the main stand/enclosure in front and allow home fans in the railway end for those games?

When new stand opens I assume it would be just home support in the North terrace with no corner given to away support. I've always wanted that tbh.

Segregation will depend on the visiting team, so we could have more space than we normally have just now.

[D'Jaffo]

I'll hide all this for folk that would rather wait for the club to talk about it. Don't think I'm posting anything confidential but if I am, I'm sure @Finlay21will let me know.

Spoiler

That was a great night. All very informative and great to have three guys at the helm who all seem pretty confident in what they are doing. Mathie said to keep the plans and stuff about the new stand under wraps but VOR has released the pics there so I guess there's no harm in saying how great it all looks. The terracing is to remain untouched but the new building will be added on. The NT will also be shut for a year so we'll all be packed into the SRE in the meantime. 

Bullen was actually very honest. Especially when talking about Tomi and Maxwell. We've made a good offer to Adeloye but he's so far non committal. His agent has said he's got offers from top flight teams but Bullen says thats nonsense and backed it up by saying that "football guys talk". He thinks that some managers would find it hard to connect with Tomi and thats why he's moved about so much. He did say though that by the last few games, he and the player had sort of reached an understanding where by Adeloye trusted Bullen and that contributed to him being so good in the last few games of the season. 

Trying to get 6 players in and we've obviously got two in Dipo and Bangala. Bullen said we've got a budget but made sneaky offers to guys in a chance we might get them. Dom Thomas being one. QP simply offered more money. Sibbald was name dropped by Bullen when talking about his Falkirk days which prompted a question about the chances of signing him which Bullen answered by saying he is a player we are very interested in and both he and his agent are very open to the move. However we won't be the only club after him and we'll have to wait and see. That's about exciting as it got on the transfer front. Tried to get a boy released from Sheff Wednesday who agreed terms but then fucked us off for a club in the English 7th tier which prompted Bullen to give him a bit of a talking to and his agent to drop him out of embarrassment due to him reneging on the deal. 

There was loads of stuff said by Mathie who was really impressive it must be said. Really struck gold by getting the guy on board. 

 

[Thumper]

1 minute ago, bazka6 said:

Don’t mean to be a downer but how does this attract your average punter other than the roof? Seems like a large investment for basically a new hospitality suite, how long to get a return on it? What about the rest of the stadium for folk that’re there every week or to attract away fans?

The north terrace is glorious for three or four months a year and fucking miserable for the rest. For better or worse, "your average punter" no longer desires to stand on a 15 degree concrete slope in the pishing rain watching their football these days. Meanwhile, improved hospitality increases revenue every week while an improved media box almost certainly increases the chance of getting TV exposure (as opposed to a windy scaffold).

Finally, and possible most importantly: that part of the ground is owned by the club, as opposed to Smith, so if the offices move there then it reduces the risk that when the Banter Years come again the club's staff find themselves literally locked out.

[AUcal]

5 minutes ago, bazka6 said:

Don’t mean to be a downer but how does this attract your average punter other than the roof? Seems like a large investment for basically a new hospitality suite, how long to get a return on it? What about the rest of the stadium for folk that’re there every week or to attract away fans?

Were you expecting news on the the whole stadium being redeveloped? Tbf Somerset park is already a pretty good attraction for away fans. I imagine any further improvements will be made down the line if deemed necessary/possible. 

[Thumper]

1 minute ago, AuAl said:

Tbf Somerset park is already a pretty good attraction for away fans.

The most impressive bit about this is that it in no way diminishes the attraction, save for those perverts who come to the ground in the hope of being attacked by seagulls.

[Ayr23]

I would like to see the terracing made steeper, but it doesn't sound like that's happening. Buzzing with the pictures, and it will look outstanding when it's done. I'm sure we'll see other parts of the ground continuously upgraded too throughout the next few seasons (toilets, catering etc). Also looking forward to the SRE being busier that season.

[AUcal]

7 minutes ago, Thumper said:

The most impressive bit about this is that it in no way diminishes the attraction, save for those perverts who come to the ground in the hope of being attacked by seagulls.

Aye. Quite impressive. Everything that makes me love watching the football on the North terrace remains the same, while the club takes a big step forward in modernising that side of the ground. I assume the stand will have better catering and toilets etc (wouldn't be hard) than what is currently available at the corner between SR and NT.  

Obviously this is a huge outlay but hopefully it's a sign of thing to come. Bit more paint and upkeep in other areas of the ground too would be great. Just need playing squads to match, here's hoping....

Edited June 9, 2022 by AuAl

[diegomarahenry]

A good night, all in good humour and quite candid at times also. 

Bullen spoke well about targets, missed out on a few, he said he want's players in early so there may not be the budget should guys holding out for better moves become available. 

Mathie's talk was mostly corporate toss about vision and mission statements but he comes across as someone who wants to achieve big things and wants to listen to people. There was a lot of talk about the young support and engagement. 

Smith reflected on his time at Ayr and then presented the plans for the ground. 700 extra seats, hospitality and offices as well as a business club and bar, what ever that is. 

He presented the plans, got a round of applause and then made the mistake of asking for questions because the first half dozen or so were basically - what are you buying us next? It was getting embarrassing. Someone asked if he was doing up the turnstiles at the away end. Someone else said they were concerned that the new stand would kill the atmosphere in the Somerset road end

He batted it off every time by saying, can I show you the plans for the new stand?

Maybe him going last was a mistake as by that point some folk were half a dozen pints in and it almost turned in to an episode of question time, by the end Smith just said, I think that will be the last question and ended it, probably wisely. 

[ayrunitedfw]

12 minutes ago, D'Jaffo said:

I'll hide all this for folk that would rather wait for the club to talk about it. Don't think I'm posting anything confidential but if I am, I'm sure @Finlay21will let me know.

  Hide contents

That was a great night. All very informative and great to have three guys at the helm who all seem pretty confident in what they are doing. Mathie said to keep the plans and stuff about the new stand under wraps but VOR has released the pics there so I guess there's no harm in saying how great it all looks. The terracing is to remain untouched but the new building will be added on. The NT will also be shut for a year so we'll all be packed into the SRE in the meantime. 

Bullen was actually very honest. Especially when talking about Tomi and Maxwell. We've made a good offer to Adeloye but he's so far non committal. His agent has said he's got offers from top flight teams but Bullen says thats nonsense and backed it up by saying that "football guys talk". He thinks that some managers would find it hard to connect with Tomi and thats why he's moved about so much. He did say though that by the last few games, he and the player had sort of reached an understanding where by Adeloye trusted Bullen and that contributed to him being so good in the last few games of the season. 

Trying to get 6 players in and we've obviously got two in Dipo and Bangala. Bullen said we've got a budget but made sneaky offers to guys in a chance we might get them. Dom Thomas being one. QP simply offered more money. Sibbald was name dropped by Bullen when talking about his Falkirk days which prompted a question about the chances of signing him which Bullen answered by saying he is a player we are very interested in and both he and his agent are very open to the move. However we won't be the only club after him and we'll have to wait and see. That's about exciting as it got on the transfer front. Tried to get a boy released from Sheff Wednesday who agreed terms but then fucked us off for a club in the English 7th tier which prompted Bullen to give him a bit of a talking to and his agent to drop him out of embarrassment due to him reneging on the deal. 

There was loads of stuff said by Mathie who was really impressive it must be said. Really struck gold by getting the guy on board. 

 

Craig Sibbald would be a terrific signing. Was it mentioned how long the new boy had signed for? Just so I can get the squad list updated

[bazka6]

8 minutes ago, AuAl said:

Were you expecting news on the the whole stadium being redeveloped? Tbf Somerset park is already a pretty good attraction for away fans. I imagine any further improvements will be made down the line if deemed necessary/possible. 

No. Decent facilities like toilets and catering options? A bit of polish for someone who isn’t a corporate w**k or there for their birthday treat. I think it’s a fair question.

[Buckfast]

3 minutes ago, ayrunitedfw said:

Craig Sibbald would be a terrific signing. Was it mentioned how long the new boy had signed for? Just so I can get the squad list updated

2 year deal

[Thumper]

Just now, bazka6 said:

No. Decent facilities like toilets and catering options? A bit of polish for someone who isn’t a corporate w**k or there for their birthday treat. I think it’s a fair question.

think it's fair to expect that if a seven-figure sum is being dropped into the new stand that they might manage to do away with the Capri-Sonne van and maybe have some seats on the bogs.

[Finlay21]

1 hour ago, ayrunitedfw said:

So if I’m reading @diege comments right we’ll be looking at another 4 players 2x CM and a winger, possibly Adeloye aswell. I’d imagine any other signings would then be loans. 

Nope , he said he was still looking for another forward