Crowdfunding a small covered stand at Dulwich Hamlet

[Joe K]

I do love a good football counterfactual. Here's Isthmian champions from around that time, which is a mixed bag of reaching the Football League and disaster:
View attachment 80949

Three league teams, a solid Conference outfit in Woking, a few who have found a median in the CS (G&N, Sutton and Hayes, although the latter are always on the verge of implosion), the clusterfucks of Enfield and Farnborough, the incipient clusterfuck of Ks, and Chesham, who are a decent Southern League side. Interesting.

 

[AndyDHFC]

Interesting alternate history question there - what do you think would have happened if Dulwich had been promoted to the Conference (as was) and got the ground grading? Might there have been a similar spike in local interest to the one seen over the last few years and, if so, could that have sustained the club at Level 5 for long enough for them to have (for example) attracted investment and even challenged for a Football League place?

There may have been a short term spike but I doubt the powers that be at the time would have had the time or inclination to know what to do with it. I suspect any extra initial cash would've been pocketed, we'd have got into significantly more debt and then it's anyone's guess. Could be wrong though!

 

[AndyDHFC]

Damn my upbeat positivity!

See what ongoing attractive football and continued improvement and success breeds? Thats not the Dulwich way and never has been!

 

[Pink Panther]

Interesting alternate history question there - what do you think would have happened if Dulwich had been promoted to the Conference (as was) and got the ground grading? Might there have been a similar spike in local interest to the one seen over the last few years and, if so, could that have sustained the club at Level 5 for long enough for them to have (for example) attracted investment and even challenged for a Football League place?

There may have been a short term spike but I doubt the powers that be at the time would have had the time or inclination to know what to do with it. I suspect any extra initial cash would've been pocketed, we'd have got into significantly more debt and then it's anyone's guess. Could be wrong though!

The average attendance that season (1995/6) was just over 500, the highest since at least the mid-70's until the recent rise since our return to the Premier Division. Biggest hypothetical difference is that Frank Murphy would probably have stayed longer as manager instead of resigning during the following season. Had we gone into the Conference in 1996 it would have been on the back of 500+ crowds, so hard to say whether we'd have established ourselves at that level or crowds would have continued to rise. Personally I suspect we'd have been only one poor managerial appointment or one poor season away from dropping back down again. We might have lasted five seasons, or maybe just the one, but I reckon we'd have been back in the Isthmian League well before the formation of the regional Conference divisions in 2004.

Three league teams, a solid Conference outfit in Woking, a few who have found a median in the CS (G&N, Sutton and Hayes, although the latter are always on the verge of implosion), the clusterfucks of Enfield and Farnborough, the incipient clusterfuck of Ks, and Chesham, who are a decent Southern League side. Interesting.

Hayes technically no longer exist since they sold their ground and merged with Yeading. Hopefully the merged club will return to Yeading soon and find the stability they need to flourish, but they were always punching above their weight in sustaining Conference National football with the size of crowds they got.

 

[PartisanDulwich]

The stand at Kellingley Welfare FC, whose colliery, the last deep mine in Britain, closes tomorrow.

 

[Joe K]

The average attendance that season (1995/6) was just over 500, the highest since at least the mid-70's until the recent rise since our return to the Premier Division. Biggest hypothetical difference is that Frank Murphy would probably have stayed longer as manager instead of resigning during the following season. Had we gone into the Conference in 1996 it would have been on the back of 500+ crowds, so hard to say whether we'd have established ourselves at that level or crowds would have continued to rise. Personally I suspect we'd have been only one poor managerial appointment or one poor season away from dropping back down again. We might have lasted five seasons, or maybe just the one, but I reckon we'd have been back in the Isthmian League well before the formation of the regional Conference divisions in 2004.


Hayes technically no longer exist since they sold their ground and merged with Yeading. Hopefully the merged club will return to Yeading soon and find the stability they need to flourish, but they were always punching above their weight in sustaining Conference National football with the size of crowds they got.

Cheers, PP. Interesting response. I'm a complete nerd for counterfactuals, so would be interested to read any versions of this.

(I know about H&Y, by the way - just couldn't be bothered to use their composite name in what was already a busy sentence! Wasn't it Yeading where you nearly clambered over the Grand Union on a slippery pipe to go and watch a county cup game? Still my favourite ever 'the things football fans do' story, that!)

 

[Joe K]

View attachment 80968
The stand at Kellingley Welfare FC, whose colliery, the last deep mine in Britain, closes tomorrow.

Interesting roof angle on that.

 

[Pink Panther]

Cheers, PP. Interesting response. I'm a complete nerd for counterfactuals, so would be interested to read any versions of this.

(I know about H&Y, by the way - just couldn't be bothered to use their composite name in what was already a busy sentence! Wasn't it Yeading where you nearly clambered over the Grand Union on a slippery pipe to go and watch a county cup game? Still my favourite ever 'the things football fans do' story, that!)

TBH I don't think our club had the infrastructure to have made much more than a token attempt at Conference football at that time, regardless of attendances.

It was indeed Yeading where it momentarily occurred to me that I could still make kick off if I crawled across a pipe to watch an FA Vase replay against Braintree in 1989/90, but in reality I was always likely to opt for the safer choice of walking the long way around via streets and miss the first ten minutes or so!

 

[clog]

 

[clog]

A couple of possible temporary scaffolding thingies from yesterday...

 

[editor]

Eight years later and still nothing has happened.

 

[Sparkle Motion]

Surely modular terracing is the way to go. Can be taken to the new ground when built. Maidstone sold part of theirs to Solihull when they built the Genco stand. You could start with one or two sections, then add more when finances allow.

Products | Stadium Solutions

www.stadiumsolutions.co.uk

 

[Alex W]

In the interests of actually moving this forward, at the last Q&A Ben Clasper basically said that he was in favour of making it happen, but would need help (from the Trust or, presumably, elsewhere).

I'd love to stop lobbying and actually help, but unfortunately I just don't personally have any relevant skills I could bring to the party.

Is there anyone who actually does have know-how in this area that could be part of a working group to make cover at Champion Hill a reality?

 

[SimonH23]

Alex W - There will be many fans with a lot more actual know how than me, but happy to lend a hand. Have sent you a DM.

 

[AveryDave]

No idea as to the financial side of it, or construction conditions, but Farnham Town have built a new covered and stepped terrace in just over two weeks, in the middle of the season and during winter weather conditions.

 

[editor]

No idea as to the financial side of it, or construction conditions, but Farnham Town have built a new covered and stepped terrace in just over two weeks, in the middle of the season and during winter weather conditions.

That looks similar to the ones we all packed into at Margate recently and made a terrific noise.

 

[Roger D]

Re Farnham. It's secondhand. It basically a kit which sits on two thin strips of concrete. That goes well with the local council due to water dissapation as you aren't concreting over large chunks of Farnham. It's either 210 or 270 capacity, I can't remember which.

Not sure how many of you are aware but Farnham are now my local team and I am a season ticket holder. I have a rough idea on what it cost them, suffice to say it's more than DHFC would realistically raise through a fundraiser. It's well into five figures and takes total expenditure on the Memorial Ground past £150k in the past 18 months or so.

 

[AveryDave]

Re Farnham. It's secondhand. It basically a kit which sits on two thin strips of concrete. That goes well with the local council due to water dissapation as you aren't concreting over large chunks of Farnham. It's either 210 or 270 capacity, I can't remember which.

Not sure how many of you are aware but Farnham are now my local team and I am a season ticket holder. I have a rough idea on what it cost them, suffice to say it's more than DHFC would realistically raise through a fundraiser. It's well into five figures and takes total expenditure on the Memorial Ground past £150k in the past 18 months or so.

Are you at liberty to disclose what your rough idea of the cost is?

 

[editor]

I don't think it's beyond the realms of imagination that, given Hamlet's colossal fanbase, there could be people out there able to provide a heavily discounted stand or even pay for it outright in exchange for naming rights.

 

[Roger D]

Are you at liberty to disclose what your rough idea of the cost is?

From memory the fans raised £16k when Hamlet were evicted. If the rough figure I was told is true, that would be well short of paying for it. I don't want to any more precise as the figure came from a private chat with an official I know well and may not be intended for public consumption.

I expect Farnham could have been done cheaper. I suspect the cladding is new. I don't know where FTFC got the terrace from but it seems unlikely the original owners also played in claret and blue tbh. They also had the cost of the concrete base, presumably Hamlet could bolt something to the existing concrete floor

As per above, clearly sponsorship options exist. Farnham are currently seeking a sponsor for their new terrace. I suspect the heavily discounted route is unlikely. There's a limited number of suppliers in the UK and I'm not aware of anyone from any of them being involved at Hamlet
.

 

[Bugpowder Dust]

How about those guys with the steel/welding company under Peckham Rye station? Surely they could knock something up in an hour or two

 

[scousedom]

I don't think it's beyond the realms of imagination that, given Hamlet's colossal fanbase, there could be people out there able to provide a heavily discounted stand or even pay for it outright in exchange for naming rights.

The Truepenny Terrace?
The KFH Kop?
The Savills Stand?
The Foxtons Enclosure? (Can’t alliterate that one, sorry)

 

[editor]

The Truepenny Terrace?
The KFH Kop?
The Savills Stand?
The Foxtons Enclosure? (Can’t alliterate that one, sorry)

Seeing as the club was already happy to have the TO stand emblazoned with an estate agent's name, I couldn't really care what's written on it, so long as I'm keeping dry and there's a healthy racket blasting out of it.

 

[scousedom]

Seeing as the club was already happy to have the TO stand emblazoned with an estate agent's name, I couldn't really care what's written on it, so long as I'm keeping dry and there's a healthy racket blasting out of it.

Every man has his price and yours was some corrugated iron with good acoustics?

 

[editor]

Every man has his price and yours was some corrugated iron with good acoustics?

I was totally against the club being sponsored by estate agent wankers but that horse has long since bolted.

 

[scousedom]

I was totally against the club being sponsored by estate agent wankers but that horse has long since bolted.

I’m only on the wind-up, obviously.

Personally I don’t see the point of getting anything for the current stadium IF the new one happens soon. Better to keep the cash and spend it on improving something in the new gaff.

And if that doesn’t happen there’ll probably be something more pressing that needs money spent on it in the existing one.

 

[Bugpowder Dust]

Maybe this could be part of the solution, if we have a word with Sainsburys