Ground development

[firehazard]

http://m.essexchronicle.co.uk/Architects-redeveloped-Old-Trafford-Olympic-Park/story-28865513-detail/story.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

To get Premier League darts, you'd have to be looking at a 4,000-seater (at least) indoor arena. Hmm.

[vim]

In the article there is mention of darts tournaments, the restaurants, flats, business meetings and conventions in the pavilion. But no mention of cricket. Also the pictures give a good show of the pavilion and the flats. However not much of elsewhere, particularly behind the bowlers arm. 

I think the hidden agenda is revealed now. Cricket and the ordinary club members do not appear in it.

Under the club rules an EGM carries great power. Now is the time to use, save the EGM about team performances until later. As once this pile of poop is built, you will not wish to set foot in the place again.

[Mog]

The club continue to make themselves ridiculous with this ongoing, fiasco. One that has delivered precisely nothing in terms of spectator accommodation, facilities. Firstly, why is Bowden speaking to the media, when it is the members of the Club that employs him? what about the members? (those that remain, anyway) who should be consulted with initially. Despite, the 'consultation' with about 1.25% of the membership last year, not a word has been heard about it since...until now!
Meanwhile, the image on the link, is the same 9 year old publicity shot of the model, that continues to collect dust and cobwebs on top of the CEOs filing cabinet. It also was shot at a suitably opaque angle so as to disguise what the design actually look(ed) like.

As for the architects who designed Old Trafford's redevelopment....does Irani know one of their sales team? Maybe they emailed him the plans for the technical area at OT? . Having visited AFL Architects; http://www.afl-uk.com/welcome Needless to say there's no mention of ECCC!

As firehazard states, darts is an indoor sport, so how would the pavilion, which even by No Change Essex's admission was being reduced in scale and budget be capable of hosting that? Perhaps NCE could have a word with Hearn, oh hang on a sec, perhaps they already did back  in 2008, where the needs of buy-to-let market clearly took precedence over a sporting arena.
This farce would be hilarious, if wasn't so utterly symptomatic of ECCC.

[Andy]

Interesting, same guys who have to reinvigorate Altrincham's dead town centre and are building the new Belle Vue down the road. They seem to crop up everywhere - although indeed Gorton and Alty do get more website coverage than Chelmsford...

[mawallace]

"We hope our new pavilion will be able to cater for business meetings and weddings, we plan to have an open air cinema out on the pitch, and the aim is to really connect the ground with the city.

Umm. I think that the present pavilion can host business meeting and weddings. I the website is already advertising a cinema showing in August!

[alji]

So capacity is down to 6,500 seats in the latest update. no doubt all with no more legroom than Douglas Bader would need. What's happened to the other 1,000+ seats in the Fat Controller's original plans? Why new architects at this stage? More planning applications to come? What's happened to the original  "development partners"? A look back through the yearbooks shows how the story continues to change, would anyone bet against it changing again? Forget what goes on on the pitch, the "redevelopment" is the biggest disgrace in the history of ECCC, yet the same people remain in power (Hilliard will be replaced by another of his kind). How do we get an EGM?

[vim]

Is the change of architects similar to someone in a long running court case, always changing their solicitors. A sign that things are not going as planned?

[squarelegumpire]

Is the change of architects similar to someone in a long running court case, always changing their solicitors. A sign that things are not going as planned?

Inclined to agree, Vim.

What on earth is going on? If ever there was a "jam tomorrow" scheme, this is it.

[Andy]

Remember when the club gave £100k to an advisor who disappeared over the horizon? Just saying.

[jimmy]

The development was never about the members, it was barely about cricket, the modern attitude is that cricket is an  inconvenience to a cricket club and championship cricket a complete nuisance, that's why it's going to be cut back. Essex ceased being about the members about 20 years ago and a deliberate policy of allowing membership to decline then creates the argument for more alternative sources of business. Perhaps the reduced capacity now being spoken about is an indication that the club know that francise cricket is an inevitability and that it will not be coming to little old Chelmsford therefore no need for 8000 seats.  Please please please someone get an egm called and get this decade long saga of mismanagement, incompetence and deliberate duplicity exposed. This story is a scandal and it must end now.

[Daren Mootoo]

This article and the information it contain raises many questions on a lot of levels and I feel members and followers of ECCC need some explanations; aside from forcing an EGM, specific questions need to be asked at the next Members' Forum; Ash, is there one slated for pre-season? in the meantime, please make sure regular attendees such as "squarelegumpire" and myself are armed with the questions you want asked and we shall do our best.

[Postman]

It would be a start if some members actually attended the AGM this year, unlike last year when the total present was about 40.

The bottom is forecast to fall out of the Buy To Let market following the latest tax changes so will this be yet another blow to this doomed project?

[vim]

Does anyone know anybody who has invested in the flats as an buy to let investment? I mentioned that someone found out that all the developers had to do after taking the money. Was to put down the foundations and say we have started construction by a certain date, no date given for completion. No refunds.

With the costs of drawing up new plans and the legal costs, it must be getting to the stage that the construction costs will exceed the receipts from sales.

[jimmy]

Have the original development partners left because they would make a loss? Declining attendance at agm is simply a reflection of declining interest in general, the future support is the casual t20 supporter who no more feels part of cricket or the club than he feels part of the Odeon or Hollywood when he goes to the cinema AND THATS THE WAY THE CLUB LIKES IT. To get any interest going I guess you'd need a meeting arranged for lunch on day 1 of a championship game publicise it heavily in advance and have flyers handed out explaining the dire nature of the off field situation which could break the club. Essex always prattled on about not wanting the development to send the club into debt, well that may look like a dream scenario compared to what might happen. I note Derbyshire have turned in another profit, what are we doing wrong ???l

[alji]

The original partners website looks well out of date, and refers to projects managed by RPC (who are they).

http://www.mcdproperty.com/

Going back to the EC article, shockingly poor journalism as usual from them. There are so many questions that they could have asked Bowden about what he has told then "exclusively" for the article, let alone the history of this embarrassing failing project but they obviously hadn't got the balls to.