rob9872
Well-Known Member
Not sure but if it did then I imagine we gambled on returning. Can't remember loads spent on players in that era unless it was wages (Eg Hughes, Bellamy cost £10m but recouped £8.5 for them)
Brian Richardson. (7 Viewers)
- Thread starter letsallsingtogether
- Start date
HuckerbyDublinWhelan
Well-Known Member
Ironically was built 5 years after it was supposed to be... how many years since Fisher promised ours
D
Deleted member 5849
Guest
There's certainly areas of grey. My issue witgh Richardson isn't that he ballsed up, but that he ended up the fall guy. It was that which allowed his partners in crime to continue at the club, and be in a position to sell off every asset they possibly could, to try and salvage their failed investment.
Plenty Richardson can be criticised, although ultimately it's a reach for the stars, but coming down to earth with a crash after getting too close to the sun. Admittedly interviews like this CWR one where he (feings?) ignorance do him no favours at all.
So, contributory factor no doubt, but not exclusively so at that time.
Philosoraptor
Well-Known Member
Hi all,
I've always tried to keep off these threads but I do have some questions.
Namely the construction costs.
OSB quoted a figure of £76M just for construction costs to build a stadium but this article back in 2004 quotes around £34M for the complete costs of a regional stadium.
Were there more costs that were associated with the Ricoh and not just the building costs?
What was the total cost of building and fitting out the Ricoh?
Cost model: Football stadiums
I am wondering why there is such a discrepancy between these figures?
Is a regional stadium bigger than a normal football stadium? I do not know.
I've always tried to keep off these threads but I do have some questions.
Namely the construction costs.
OSB quoted a figure of £76M just for construction costs to build a stadium but this article back in 2004 quotes around £34M for the complete costs of a regional stadium.
Were there more costs that were associated with the Ricoh and not just the building costs?
What was the total cost of building and fitting out the Ricoh?
Cost model: Football stadiums
I am wondering why there is such a discrepancy between these figures?
Is a regional stadium bigger than a normal football stadium? I do not know.
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Captain Dart
Well-Known Member
The Ricoh costs were huge but they included the hotel, casino, exibition hall and a hell of a lot on decontamination none of which I think are included in the model you are looking at.
It is also on a fair old slope which pushes up the earthwork and groundwork costs, though on the other hand roadworks cost were relatively modest, a few tunnels a footbridge and a big roundabout (unless I have misjudged the cost of tunneling under a running railway).
Google "coventry council arena construction report" for some costs, but it does not go deeply into construction details but uses some very broad headings.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...20Report.pdf&usg=AOvVaw15lud2UnNR3KIyT9h_iTz1
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torchomatic
Well-Known Member
I've said before but I genuinely can't remember there being a bit apetite for a new stadium at the time. We were all given leaflets and brochures weren't we showing how perfect it was all going to be. Even then I wanted to stay at HR.
D
Deleted member 5849
Guest
tbf I was all excited with the original plans - that seemed a proper step forward. Then it got swamped by England and got too big (and suspicious why we went for the national stadium), then we downscaled to flatpack, nothing special.
That's when we should have backed out.
torchomatic
Well-Known Member
Yeah all the roll-out pitch stuff was shit. I really wanted to stay at HR as we moved to the new East Stand when it was built and it was great.
no_loyalty
Well-Known Member
The sliding pitch idea was modelled on a stadium in Holland, I recall.
fernandopartridge
Well-Known Member
I've questioned this again and again. It doesn't really stack up to me either
chiefdave
Well-Known Member
There was a little model, think it was in the boardroom at HR, that had a pitch you could slide out. That was me sold.
Paul Anthony
Well-Known Member
As a 10 year old lad at the time, it all seemed very exciting. They seemed to be changing times, and that we were about to take a major step forward. Being a young kid, of course, meant I had a very simplistic, probably naive view of such things. Never even occurred to me about the politics involved. Didn't really understand the financials either. It had a sliding pitch, and a moving roof, it looked out of this world. that was cool! The reality, however, ended up a totally different matter.....
There were 2-3 stadiums that had been built at that time by the same designers, the dutch one was Arnhem i think. The biggest was the ground used by Schalke, very similar to our original design:
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&s...FjAEegQIDRAP&usg=AOvVaw3YZ9F0_-qKXNt-IDEP9p2P
This is a true event involving Bryan Richardson which as a match day steward along with others I personally witnessed which indicates the bloke was basically thick and ignorant.
Remember the players tunnel at HR and remember the canopy leading to the pitch with some sponsors name on, can’t remember who. Well it was first game of the season v Chelsea the canopy was pulled out and it was too long and when fully out obscured the view of a lot of fans in the lower tier of block H and it needed to be fully extended to show the sponsors name, this was pointed out and Richardson personally came I have to say hurtling down and went into a tirade and tantrum about it, wanted us to remove the supporters who couldn’t see some being ST holders, somewhere, anywhere, so the canopy could be fully extended before and during the match but as I said it was too long and would have been only a yard or two from the pitch and fully extended other fans couldn’t get to their seats because it blocked their path. He wanted two stewards to pull the canopy in and out as fans came piling in, imagine that. He eventually scuttled off beetroot red, I’m glad I wasn’t his cat.!
Remember the players tunnel at HR and remember the canopy leading to the pitch with some sponsors name on, can’t remember who. Well it was first game of the season v Chelsea the canopy was pulled out and it was too long and when fully out obscured the view of a lot of fans in the lower tier of block H and it needed to be fully extended to show the sponsors name, this was pointed out and Richardson personally came I have to say hurtling down and went into a tirade and tantrum about it, wanted us to remove the supporters who couldn’t see some being ST holders, somewhere, anywhere, so the canopy could be fully extended before and during the match but as I said it was too long and would have been only a yard or two from the pitch and fully extended other fans couldn’t get to their seats because it blocked their path. He wanted two stewards to pull the canopy in and out as fans came piling in, imagine that. He eventually scuttled off beetroot red, I’m glad I wasn’t his cat.!
Gynnsthetonic
Well-Known Member
I remember writing a letter to the CT wanting to stay at HR and how the Ricoh will be a White Elephant, I never wanted to leave.
skyblueeyesrevisited
Well-Known Member
Writing a letter! You will be telling us you can thatch roofs next
fernandopartridge
Well-Known Member
Ours was based on Vitesse Arnhem
Gynnsthetonic
Well-Known Member
The Vitesse Arnhem stadium The Gelredome is imho better as a football ground than the Ricoh, it’s a squared stadium so is not the soulless bowl design which I hate and has a capacity of around 25000.
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Adge
Well-Known Member
Think he used to work down the pit.
Captain Dart
Well-Known Member
I discovered today the Ricoh Arena Construction Completion Report (2006) has disappeared from the CCC website. Good job I downloaded it. :emoji_confused:
Warwickhunt
Well-Known Member
get Nick to store it Oldfiver!
Warwickhunt
Well-Known Member
Thats not like Nick! you upset him or something/He wont listen to me
You can print it to PDF and save the file
Captain Dart
Well-Known Member
It does. :bag:
vow
Well-Known Member
eastwoodsdustman
Well-Known Member
Did I read something about Richardson having an involvement in the company decontaminating the land? I’m sure it cost way more than anticipated at the time.
letsallsingtogether
Well-Known Member
Did like that stand cracking view.
The main reason Ricoh happened was because of fingers in the pie. HR could and should have been re-designed. Loads of land there if we count the old Mercer’s site which the club owned. There were a few people connected to ccfc at the time came out a lot wealthier than they were at the beginning.