Torquay United Fans Forum

WestLondonYellow wrote: ↑29 Feb 2024, 09:24 We seem to be a 2nd club to a lot of people who have visited Plainmoor over the years whilst on holiday. In addition, it's not just the attendance figures we need to use to gauge potential because so many people leave the area for work or other life reasons and cannot attend but remain 100% Torquay.
If we actively promoted the fan ownership on a large scale we could even attract new interest. Maybe there are a lot of fans of premier League clubs who are fed up with the ticket prices or the lack of connection they may feel with their club nowadays?
I wonder if a deal could be done with a Hotel chain or a few local hotels where members are entitled to a large discount on rooms during the football season? When hotels are typically quieter during the winter months

I've lived down here for seven years now and still yet to see a poster up anywhere in the bay or surrounding area advertising the club and fixtures. We have an enormous amount of tourists down here all through the year, and yet we do nothing to attract them. We have a great family stand with a nice bar above and food,pop, sweets all available. Why not make a family ticket available as well.


Club should engage with the tourist board over this and those hotels willing to give a discount should at the very least get a free link on the club website and also someone would need to engage on opposition clubs forums to push this. After all if someone is offering a discount on a hotel when we are visiting I would like to think that I would see it on this forum.

Same accountant as Ken Dodd.

Well said JPR. We have a lot to thank the council for. If they didn't own the land then Osbourne would have arranged a groundshare with Buckland or Brixham and built houses on plainmoor long ago. WE are in a very good position owning the stadium and paying a nominal groundrent to a council which is pro football.

The real value to the council in Plainmoor is the tourism that it should bring in. Ok not so much at this level , but as the team goes up the leagues many fans will come and stay overnight. I know that I did.
To my mind the club doesn't work hard enough with the tourist board to link hotels and and offer package deals to entice more visitors. How many wives/ partners would accompany husbands, or even encourage husbands/partners to come for the weekend if they were being treated to a spa day whilst their other half is at the footie.
Torquay is a great place for a weekend break in the winter and the club, council and tourist board need to work towards it.

If the guy on the tea bar in the corner at Bristows can't up his game and speed things up, then rent a space for a burger van. 20 minute queue for a cuppa is no fun. How many look at the queue and don't bother?
Correct me if I'm wrong,but I thought that at this level, It's legal to have a beer whilst watching the game. Certainly at Weston there was no problem taking your plastic glass outside to drink and watch.

Gulls 3 Avely1

budegull1954 wrote: ↑22 Feb 2024, 08:25 Great article here which sums up exactly where TUFC are at the present time:

https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/torq ... TO=newsnow

Spot on.

Fannys 2- Gulls 3

Kenty in Weardale wrote: ↑19 Feb 2024, 20:05 Both Havant and Eastbourne are full time so you're not the lowest ranked

Yet.

Full time / Part time?
Do you pay players more for their skill or because they can train more often?

standupsitdown wrote: ↑16 Feb 2024, 19:21 Surely it would make sense to move our game v Truro to Plainmoor.

Closer for both sets of fans, giving probably a bigger crowd and a better financial return for Truro.
Could do the same for Taunton away.

Both clubs are starting to build a backlog of games.

But at the end of the day, no one cares about the fans.

2-2 draw.

I have only been a Torquay fan for the past five years, previously I lived in Burton on Trent and was a Burton fan. In 2005 a new stadium was built, capacity 7,000 ish. Four covered stands, one of them seated. I'm sure that some of you have been there, I know that I came to plainmoor a couple of times as a Burton fan.
The new stadium cost circa 7 million. Burton were fortunate to be gifted the land it has been built on by Pirelli (probably tied up in some sort of agreement to call it "The Pirelli Stadium" ) They were also able to sell the land that the old stadium stood on for housing.
Even so they went over budget considerably but fortune struck in the FA cup with a draw against Manchester united and a replay at Old Trafford which put them back in the black.

20 years on, at a rough guess to build a new stadium here would cost in the region of £20 million including buying the land. We also have nothing to sell.
With Bank of England interest rates at just over 5% ,Interest payments alone on a new stadium would probably be 1 million a year and if they go up again then then that figure would rise. That's just the interest with none of the capital being repaid.
What I don't know is what we pay the council in land rent.
With an average attendance of 2000 over a 30 home game season then that would cost just over £16 per person per game. that includes pensioners children, season ticket holders freebies etc.

Just who is going to pay for this fancy new stadium and who will own it?

I'm no accountant, just an ordinary bloke so feel free to poke holes in my figures if you want.

Torn ton 1 Gulls 3

Gulls 2- Sluff 0