Amazing what a fan ownership model can accomplish.

Unreal to think some people out there think it's unfeasible, isn't it, MARTIN JESPER?

Well done to the loids, they achieved great things since they reformed. To raise 134k is a fantastic effort.

Yes, I’m a Darlo fan - it’s a great effort.

Well done Darlo. See you back in the football league before the decade is out.

One big hurdle to overcome first.

Stadium

If Harrogate's cobbled together ground is allowed, I doubt Blackwell would struggle to be allowed.

Even if that failed, could Heritage Park become EFL standard?

whilst it is a brilliant effort by darlo fans its still not a budget boost like many others in their league get. depends a lot on where fans are really happy for their club to be. teams with gates of not much more than 200 with away followings in single figures splash the cash with half a million playing budget. then there is the ground. fine where they are, ok in the national league, but would cost a fortune to even get to the standard of harrogate. fans of fan ownered clubs might feel all warm inside by doing it the right way. really have doubts it will work unless a handful of their fans have real cash to throw at it.

Aren't Exeter City also fan owned?

What's really necessary at a higher level is both a rich benefactor and a hardcore set of fans. Sadly that balance is hard to find.

yes on both counts. however you do not need one man. a group of say 5 will a bit of cash to throw around who are part of the fans group would work. just ordinary fans on there own will not.

The way I look at it is this.

In the next few years we (Darlo) could have a good season and get promoted to step 1.

This is an achievable goal but it would then take some input to keep us in this league and without a stadium move or significant improvement to Blackwell Meadows further promotion would not be possible. Obviously, both of these options would cost large sums of money that we simply don’t have and if anyone turned up with hard cash this would split the fan base, as some would approve and others wouldn’t.

Other clubs have negotiated this issue by the Council providing a stadium, I’m thinking about York and Hull etc but DBC don’t seem to value DFC so that’s off the table too.

We’re lucky we have a good chairman and a seemingly good manager, these are assets that some clubs don’t have - it’s just the stadium.

Was there ever any specific reason Darlington never used the ground on Brinkburn Road? Other than lack of parking the ground seems fairly canny, at least for non league football.

Is shocking the lack of interest the council had in Darlington. I suppose Pools are lucky in comparison to other clubs in that the council does seem to give half a damn.

I remember a few months ago Darlington's MP pushing for an inquiry into why the Newcastle takeover fell through. Shows everything wrong with football today imo.

Hartlepool Council appear to have a good attitude towards HUFC. I remember reading some study thing they commissioned years ago about how much extra footfall the club brings to the town itself. Your council seems to realise the value that the club brings to the town - and act accordingly.

I don't live in Darlington but in regards to the football club DBC do the bare minimum.

Some Guys Have All The Luck-Rod Stewart.?? not one of my favourites!!

At the risk of being stoned to death. should Darlo make Nat league 1 and gain promotion, is there any reason they could not share the white elephant?

There's no reason as such, BUT it would cause bother and (you've guessed it) split the fanbase. A few fans think there is a conspiracy to get us back there but personally I can't see it.

I never liked the place, it's far too big however there is a lot more cash to be made from hospitality and extras.

serious question. i,m not an architect but surely there could be a way to make the arena smaller and keep it 4 sided. they seem to be able to make grounds bigger so why not the other way round.

[quote="Infidel"][


Hartlepool Council appear to have a good attitude towards HUFC. I remember reading some study thing they commissioned years ago about how much extra footfall the club brings to the town itself. Your council seems to realise the value that the club brings to the town - and act accordingly.

think a lot of this is due to geography. pools like halifax and stockport have a ground close to the town centre. when we go to a game my partner drops me off and then does her shopping at morrisons and in the town. if pools were situated well outside the town this would not happen and would bring in less revenue for the town. others must do similar stuff on matchdays. will be interesting the number of away fans that swerve york city next season due to the problems with their new ground and its position miles out of the city.

Heard the parking there will be hell, no idea how considering its surrounded by car parks. Home fans will have to use a park and ride system or some shit.

Another decent awayday lost to time.

I think the location point you are making is very important.

There is no need to move away from the Vic and I think it would be a tragedy if we did.
There is plenty of expansion room(if we ever needed it).
There are also lots of options available for development to maximise revenue.

always remember talking to an old guy at scunthorpe in the players lounge in their last but one league game at the old show ground. he lived very close to the ground and had supported his club since their midland league days. found it quite sad when he said he,d only one more game to watch his team play as he could not get to the new ground. can see the same happening at york and pools if that happened to us.

Cost prohibits that. Its up to Mowden Park to pay for it and they are strapped for cash.
There was talk of it a while back though. Its more likely to be totally knocked down IMO

I don't understand where this shtick about moving or "developing" the Vic has came from. It seems to of been born completely from Raj Singh and desperate journalists. Victoria Park is fine. It's better than some grounds in the EFL and better than almost every ground in the National League. And despite how bad our last few owners were, the ground hasn't been ran to rack and ruin either.

Anyone who says the Vic is decrepit should visit Workington's Borough Park or Gretna's Raydale Park.

yes, and even if it was decrepit like those it would have been better to redevelop it for the town and the fans than move a way out of town to a new build that will start to look equally as decrepit after 20 years. glandford park certainly feels and looks much older than it is on my last visit a few years back.