Do you feel the Riverside is looking a little tired these days?

If you want to see what a "tired" stadium looks like have a gander at the state of the Darlington Arena. Rust on a lot of the roof members and doesn't look to have been painted since it was built. The reception area looks tatty and (I'm told) the pitch is in a "state". Though I guess that goes with playing rugby on it. I'm not sure if it was ever properly finished and it is starting to fall apart. What a disaster that was.
You beat me to it. I went there for my Covid booster on wednesday. What a mess!
 
The stadium is basically in the middle of an industrial wasteland, and very little has been done to improve the immediate surrounding areas in the last 25 years. I appreciate that money can be spent better elsewhere, but I always think that the impression visiting fans get won’t do much to address the negative image they might have of the town.
 
We spoke about the seats at a recent meeting with MFC. They are getting the blow torch people in to have a look and to get a quote. They also said funds at this moment in time could be better spent elsewhere such as the team and the likelihood is this would not happen until / if we get promoted.
Suppose when bang average players command ridiculous wages other things have wait
 
I was there last Saturday and was looking up and thinking how much cleaner and brighter it would look if the corrugated plastic roofing could be cleaned up for starters. I wouldn't know how challenging that would be and how expensive the cost.
 
The outside now looks grey when it was white originally, but when inside does it matter.

I 'd like to see any clear plastic roofing cleaned and the seats blow torched.

I actually think the surrounding area has improved with the new buildings over the last 15 years particularly the College.
 
The Ayresome gates are rusting - quite obvious when you go and have a closer look.
It doesnt take much to sort that out.
There must be a professional painter on Teesside who can rectify the rusty paint - peeling? Surely?
Inside - the concourses look grim.
In the stands - there are places where birds have taken roost: seats and surrounding area are covered in bird - schitt.
The steel work is rusting above our heads in places and clearly in need of TLC.
 
The thing that annoys me the most is... Gibson's other properties / businesses are amazing... Hurworth, etc... really world class

Yet we're all paying customers just like people are to the hotel... and Riverside is terrible in comparison
 
Sporting Lisbon from memory had different coloured seats or fans painted on them to make the ground look full.

you can have boro brick, what about having a personalised seat with your face on it!
 
Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I couldn’t help notice some significant patches of rust on the inside of the roof in the North towards the west stand on Saturday.

Not sure how wide spread this is, and I’m not an expert, but surely the cost of repainting this now will save a huge amount of work further down the line?

The strange thing as well is that I don’t think stadium improvement count towards FFP calculations
 
What is the point of our flag poles either as there’s never any flags on them. Surely we can do something with these
 
The thing that annoys me the most is... Gibson's other properties / businesses are amazing... Hurworth, etc... really world class

Yet we're all paying customers just like people are to the hotel... and Riverside is terrible in comparison

Ridiculous comparison.

People wont go to Rockcliffe Hall if it's tatty and run down, it's a destination hotel and is the "product". People will go to the Riverside if we have a team worth watching, that's the "product" not the stadium.
 
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