"who knows what the next 2 or 3 years has in store ?"

Quote: jibson1 "a lot of sense'"

You've been keeping your powder dry.

Quote: jibson1 "Seems to me that the nudger believes that improved facilities would see a 25% increase in the support base and is pinning the existence of teh club on this assumption. Is there any evidence to suggest this is likely?'"

There isn't even any evidence that your assessment is accurate. The RFL and fans generally want better facilities. See Wakey and Salford's efforts to build new stadia. Look at the upturn in support after Hull's move to the KC. Aim high (especially if you can persuade someone else to help foot the bill), but have a plan B (ie cutting costs).

Quote: jibson1 "Have the dobbins ever averaged over 10k before? (genuine question, I don't know). You've already seen a 500%+ increase in your average gates in the last 5 years so are there really any rovers fans who don't go to games when teh club are their most successful in over 20 years? Whilst Hull have seen an increase since the move to the KC, the biggest rise has been since rovers were promoted, and crowds now are only where tehy were at teh Boulevard in the early 80's. Although crowds are generally up in SL, I don't think any club is averaging more than they have at times in the past'"

Setting aside the franchise criterion and trying look at your question dispassionately - do Rovers need the new the North Stand?
Certainly better facilities would be very desirable, but the issue of capacity is valid. Will better facilities bring in more fans rather than just making the existing ones more comfortable? I can't see a massive upturn in away support as it is the journey which is a turn off for many I suspect. Certainly there is a shortage of available covered seating with an unobstructed view. The effect of the new east stand extension will be interesting, but won't be very informative in that respect. There is just no way of knowing without building it.

To put the losses into a different context. Rovers spend near the cap. Knock £200k of the wage bill and they'd still be competitive. If you can then get just £30 more from each existing, regularly-attending fan each year (about 60p/week), you are at break-even. There is potential to improve the merchandizing and retail side of things. If trimming the squad budget for a couple of years to invest in the business, as helpful Hull fans have selflessly suggested, that'd be fine by me. Difficult to balance on a 3 year license, but it used to be one year at a time, so can't complain. Self-funding major stadium improvements is always going to be a big ask without a strong commercial case, but if everybody else finds 'partners' Rovers need to too.