With hindsight, should City have stayed at Highfield Road? (2 Viewers)

[The CableGuy]

I love the Arena, I really do.

But....Highfield Road was the right size for us, and was very accessible for most fans compared to the Arena - the casual walk-up CCFC fan has become an extinct species since the move to CV6.

More importantly, didn't we own Highfield Road?

Now were in a ground we don't own and without the 50% share we sold a few years ago. Can't see us affording to buy that back any-time soon. We don't make any money from concerts, car parking, stand sponsorship or catering I believe at our current home so any plan to increase the club's finances when we moved have, well, been fracked.

Hell, the Arena didn't even have any CCFC signs up for the 1st season, Fletcher had to sneak behind the City council's back to put up the big sign behind the Main Stand.

So, with hindsight, I suspect, in a wacky parallel universe, the CCFC which stayed at HR is...well, doing OK. Not great, but relatively OK, especially compared to the cluster-frack scenario we're in now.

Thoughts? Comments? .......Investors? Please?

 

---

[Cobi Jones's Dreads]

Let's face it the place was a crumbling shit hole, But it was our crumbling shit hole.

I'll say no more as i'll start getting emotional!

 

[gouldberg]

I don't really think it's an 'in hindsight' moment. The ground was a bit of a mess, but as Ma_Ma_Ma_Carl_Baker said, it was OURS. I felt at home every time I arrived for a game. There is nothing special about the Ricoh for football. It's amazing for concerts but for a football game, it's just a space to sit. Highfield Road was always something more. It had personality (the open corners) it was central and on a matchday the whole city centre came to life as the Sky Blue Army descended onto Highfield Road. A stadium away from the city centre was always going to lose it's spark, it's just a shame that the club didn't think it through and got sidetracked by the idea of a nice shiny but somewhat boring stadium.

 

[sky_blue_up_north]

Been all down hill since we moved from HR, big mistake IMO

 

[Covstu]

Ricoh is now a common stadium - Stade municipal on FIFA! HR had character and you were close to the action, teams did not like coming there for that reason, the west terrace had a voice which made a difference and there was no ifs or buts about whether you can stand or not. Sadly missed...

 

[Nick]

I think the SBA behind each goal helped too!

 

[nigel bruce]

should never have left highfield road.was perfect for us in so many ways.

 

[bishbosh]

Short answer, yes we should have.

Although, in the interests of balance, I have yet to get to the Ricoh on a matchday.

 

[im-confused]

Highfield road had a special feel to it, and I used to like the fact that you had to find a parking space round some back streets and walk up to the ground. Made it feel more genuine if that makes sense?
Ahh well, times change and everything gets new locations these days.

 

[emsiby]

We didnt own Highfield Rd towards the end. It was sold a few years before & the money "disappeared" That is why we had no money to build the Ricoh. Without the council stepping in we may not have had a ground at all!!

 

[ccfcway]

With hindsight, I should have said to my dad, "no thanks dad, nice of you to offer to take me to see my 1st match, Southampton v Coventry (we lost 8-2), but I would rather support someone good"

Never forget the Southampton fans that day in 1984. From that day on, I was destinted to support the underdog !

 

[SkybluePelsall]

My father in law is Derby. We saw the 6-2 at HR and the 6-1 at the Ricoh together. Going up HR after a few in the city centre was much more of a laugh than the drive to the Ricoh and back. Haven't seen HR since it went, will show my 13 month son where his dad used to go every Saturday one day and probably show some emotion.

 

[skyblu3sk]

HR for me should have re-developed I think we threw a lot of money in to ground clearances didn't we (at the gas works )

 

[GaryPendrysEyes]

Remember taking a Dutch friend to HR in the last year-- He thought it was a great stadium and couldnt understand at all why it was being scrapped.
He was right.

How many good days we had at the Ricoh?

 

[ccfcway]

Remember taking a Dutch friend to HR in the last year-- He thought it was a great stadium and couldnt understand at all why it was being scrapped.
He was right.

How many good days we had at the Ricoh?

two for me, the 1st game and the blackburn game

 

[SkybluePelsall]

The 6-2 against Derby when Adams was in charge and Wise was there, the morning outside the Cherry Tree before Chelsea and yes the Blackburn game was the only time I thought fuckin hell if things go right it could be good in here.

 

[rob9872]

I don't know if I'm being overly nostalgic and it was just that I was younger but the West End (terrace and upper when with my dad) at HR will always be home to me. Nothing will ever compare even if we were filling the soulless bowl every week

 

[tippex9]

My reply to another post on same subject

I think the reason people can't settle at the Ricih and still see Highfield Road as our spiritual home is because it's where we grew up loving the Sky Blues. Memories of standing on a box on the Kop, my first season ticket in West Stand at 11 years old and fighting sleep in the main stand. I think as the next generation get older the Ricoh will be more widely accepted, for instance my son is 13 and on his fourth season ticket, for most of his life the Ricoh is where he's grown to love the Sky Blues.

Rightly or wrongly the Ricoh is home now, Highfield Road is now a housing estate, the Butts is inadequate and talk of fan money building a new one is about as realistic as Fletchers 3 year plan. Time to move on and just realise our fond memories of HR should just remain that!!!

 

[skybluetom]

I've got a massive picture of HR on my wall that I'm looking at now, no other ground will ever come close. It was a real football stadium, you can clone the Ricoh and put in anywhere in the country. Couldn't do that with HR, I'll always associate us with that ground despite the fact I'm relatively young. I wish we were still there.

 

[AngryAnt]

We didn't own HR towards the end as someone stated. We sold it off and the company who bought it said we could stay there as long as we wanted i believe. All the money we got, went elsewhere (like someones pocket) and after the ground clearing we were skint.

I was too young/not interested in going when we were at HR, but i do know the family miss it and part me of does too. We should have redeveolped it, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

The problem with the Ricoh is that its not a winning ground.. With HR it had history because it had seen so much (okay not all wins... not even most were wins), the rioch has seen naff football ever since we moved there and untill we start to win some games it won't get any better.

 

[derbyskyblue]

My father in law is Derby. We saw the 6-2 at HR and the 6-1 at the Ricoh together. Going up HR after a few in the city centre was much more of a laugh than the drive to the Ricoh and back. Haven't seen HR since it went, will show my 13 month son where his dad used to go every Saturday one day and probably show some emotion.

No i'm not!!