In light of the ongoing uncertainty regarding our home of the future I thought I'd poll for fans' views.

If we were able to decide on our future home would you rather move to a sy new, purpose built stadium in Newmarket? Or would you rather redevelop where we are at Belle Vue?

Although I've voted to stay at BV I'm easy either way, however what's swung it for BV was the proximity to the city. NM is too far out of the city limits for my liking. Thornes Park would've been the winner hands down. The benefits of a new development whilst retaining a city centre status.

I've gone for Belle Vue but that is based on the redevelopment being done to a decent standard. If changes are going to be purely cosmetic then I think Belle Vue has had it's day sadly. With some new stands and the facilities that can go with that Belle Vue would win for me every time due to it's history and it's location.

Personally I'd like see BV developed to a decent standard, NM is a long way to travel for a lot of fans without transport and imo would put off quite a few which would negate any new following we might get from the move, and I'm far from convinced that visiting fans' from other clubs' would significantly improve, Two new stands on the east and west sides' of the ground with floodlights' should be achievable so the north stand could be left as it is, also leave the flats for the corporate business and we've cracked it

Logically NM was always best.

But for me personally and most existing club fans BV is where we really want to be I suspect.

I must be in the minority, but I fear any redevelopment of BV will be marginal and won't take us forward. Redeveloping BV is still just prolonging a move to another stadium. There simply isn't enough land and modern facilities that are now expected at top flight sports.

I love BV, the history heck even how close it is to the city centre, but there will be a time when we must move and so long as the financial support is there to allow a move then I'm behind it.

Even though it would take me three times as long to get NM Id prefer to move there as BV has had its day for me, regardless of any sort of redevelopment. I can't see much being done to improve the stadium other than a bit of paint here and there.

Belle Vue would win for me, even without the development.

If we were talking like for like facilities at either venue, then BV wins hands down.
However, new purpose built stadium over dated crumbling ground, Newmarket wins every time.
So it really depends what the options are.

IF Sir Rodney can get the stadium sorted at NM then that would still be the way forward.
As Vasty has said, the potential for increased income would make it a far better option.

Just to add something else to the debate, how many old grounds would we prefer to go to, out of:

Wilderspool
Central Park
Boulevard
Craven Park
Naughton Park
Knowlsley Road
Fartown
The Willows

Apart from nostalgia, all of the new grounds are a vast improvement on what was there before and in
20 years time, new memories will replace the old.
Although we will all have fond memories of visiting The Boulevard or Central Park etc, the new stadia
are in all cases a vast improvement.

In an ideal world your right, the problem is though as far as I know we don't have those sort of finances available to us and my thoughts' centred on saving money where possible, that's why imo it would have been more realistic to keep the flats' and the partly covered north stand and spend what money we could get on the more important things' like two new stands' down each side even if they are not high spec, if we had them built over two seasons it would greatly improve the ground without trying to achieve something what is probably beyond us assuming of course we could secure the ground.

For me you're right on all counts except Wigan and I can't put my finger on why I don't like it. Maybe it's again a nostalgia thing associated with visiting what was the biggest and best RL club during my early years of supporting. Central Park just holds more memories for me than most of the others but I'm really not sure why.

I'm just going to quote a post I made earlier in another thread

New stadium, be it NM or wherever, although this appears to be looking more and more unlikley.

Been going to Belle Vue 30 years. Take the nostalgia out of it and its a dump. Our dump admittedly, but a dump all the same. Access is poor, parking is poor, terraces are poor, facilities are poor etc etc
Im pretty certain that if the money is found to buy it back, there wont be much left over in any pot to do it up to a required standard or to the standard some are hoping for and thats before we have thought about buying the superbowl land as well.

I have my fingers crossed that something major can come out of all this YC/Community Trust thing but my head is telling me a positive result at this point would be the ground been bought from the BOI (to be owned by whoever??) and the old girl getting a lick of paint, until the next new stadium campaign comes around???