Hey eveyone, im currently a third year goegraphy student at Cardiff University and im completing my dissertation on the movement of Shrewsbury Town Football Club from the Gay Meadow to the New Meadow in relation to the fans of the team!!
I have a 4 main research questions that i have posted in the sports section that if people would like to look at then it would be greatly appreciated!
However, i was wondering how the stadium move has affected the everyday residents of shrewsbury rather than just the fans!!
Do you think that the move of the ground to the outskirts of town will have an effect on the businesses of the Town??
Are people going to be encouraged to go into Town more often on a MatchDay??
Will everything have a negative effect on the Town??
Any other viewpoints on anything or in relation to these would be a great help to my research and much appreciated, thanks, Nathan
Hello there, i must admit when certain teams were visiting the Gay Meadow on saturdays i would think twice about going into town, derby matches against the like of Wrexham, Chester, Walsall, Hereford etc. Not just the possibility of trouble but the extra traffic and crowds. :huh:
Whilst there are problems with car parking (and the lack of it) at the new site, people do seem to forget the trouble of car parking at the old site. Simply there was none. You had to park at the municipal car parks (which are nearly always full anyway on a Saturday because of shoppers) or, which most fans did, park in nearby residential streets. So really whilst there are transport/parking problems at the new ground, there were problems with the old ground in respect of parking too. The old ground however was more central and nearer to the railway station and other public transport.
As for affecting businesses - I think that pubs and some shops/cafes in the Abbey Foregate part of town (the area where the old ground was) will be hit with fewer customers on Saturday afternoons, but in general the town centre will not be affected. Businesses near the new ground of course have had a boost, though there are few pubs in the vicinity. Wouldn't surprise me if some new pubs are built down there in the Sutton/Meole area.
Have a read of this "unofficial" fan forum. Plenty of comment on the new ground
http://blueandamber.proboards48.com/index.cgi?board=general