The Poolie Bunker

Taken from Fanatics Fest.

This is what AI thinks the blurry text says. It's not 100% accurate though:

Hartlepool United Football Club’s new stadium plans have been developed in line with our vision for 100 years. The proposals are exciting and represent an important milestone for the Club as it strives towards English Football League (EFL) status. It would see the team continue playing at its current ground until such time as it migrates. That said, multiple sites have now been identified as viable for a new multi-purpose stadium and associated development.

As well as increasing capacity, the new stadium will include a range of modern facilities that will create an enhanced matchday experience for supporters, including a business lounge, conference facilities, education, health, business and community engagement programmes that will include multi-use 3G pitch, commercial kitchens, banqueting suites and a range of food and beverage offerings.

The stadium development represents a significant opportunity for Hartlepool, including vitally important economic, ownership and long-term financial benefits.

AI talks balls.

If you look up Suzuki GT 250 (stopped production in about 1978, I bought one of the last ones, T Reg) it produces lots of videos relating to the new 2026 version, there are clips of the bike, someone walks around it, talking you through its new features, it all looks surprisingly real, good and feasible BUT, it’s all completely made up, by computers.

Clearer version here..

It says in the text that we can't be promoted to the EFL without a stadium upgrade. That's bollocks as we know we have a ground fit for L2 from the many years we have been in the league.

Depends how the regulations have moved on in the last few years and whether any of our facilities have decayed with the lack of maintenance that they had under Raj, and would no longer meet safety standards.

The capacity won’t be the issue, but there are loads of other regulations such as sufficient turnstiles, emergency exits, and designated broadcast areas.

The version mcatee has posted is AI upscaled and it’s imagined that sentence. The original says the stadium is EFL ready therefore no upgrade is needed if promoted but ‘multiple factors are now aligned to deliver a new iconic multi purpose stadium on an extended site’.

Wow, it did change it too! This is what the original actually says…

DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY
Hartlepool United Football Club and Victorla Park (the stadium site) have been synonymous with one another for 100 years. The stadium in current form represents an excellent town centre-based matchday experience that is already English Football League (EFL) ready i.e. the team could be promoted into the EFL without any facility cost or upgrade.
That said, multiple factors are now aligned to deliver a new iconic multi-purpose stadium on an extended site.

As well as becoming a best-in-class facilty for professional football with step change matchday and non-match commercial opportunities, the vision is to deliver a seven-day per week regional landmark that activates community sport, education, health, business and events.

Significant progress has been made including with land assembly, formal local authority support, partnership funding and completing a pre-application planning process.

The future stadium development represents a significant legacy opportunity for partners, including early-stage association, naming rights potential and long-term brand integration.

If the requirements ground wise for future entry into the EFL are upgraded, that means most clubs won’t qualify of using Pools a guideline.
It’s one for the future, getting out of this crap league has to be th first and only priority for now, the frills come later.

they will use that against the dissenters who do not want to move and stay where we are to re develop what we have.

Apart from what the club can make out of the facilities on non match days i feel there is very little in it for someone like me who classes a good match experiance as a good game with a pools win. all the rest as they say is propaganda. anyway the club will make sod all from selling the vic and i doubt the council would hand anything back to them from a sale.

There is no them and us anymore. The plans clearly show the intention to staying where we are and redeveloping what we’ve got.

even if we reached the championship a move would split the fanbase with both groups having legitimate claims that they are correct. anyway lets get out of this god damn awful league first before anything else is discussed. it might prove harder than we think.

Making money on non-Mach days is on of the main benefits. Having a facility in the centre of town that costs a significant amount to run and maintain, but which only makes money on 23-25 days per year is crazy.

I’m not sure where you’re getting this claim about a move from, nobody is suggesting that.

I'm sure all the concrete terracing was renewed under the Harold Hornsey Era.
Probably only the steelwork on the Millhouse seats needs renewing.

Somewhere down the line Smithy and the Council are going to have to come to an agreement.

I don't have a problem with Smithy having 100% control of the club and the ground.

It's not like we have benefited from a council owned ground.
FFS we a shit non league club.

But I'm confident that is about the change.

UTP and a revamp of the Vic.

Plans like this just show ho much ambition Smithy has.

Lets all be United and get behind this new era.

The Council do have have an issue with the ground belonging to the owners, no matter who they are as long as the Council still own the ground Hartlepool will still have a football team.
How many of our past owners would have bought the ground and used it as collateral to borrow money ?

exactly. having a shitty non league tem is far better than no team like new brighton. if mother theresa had bought pools i would not have wanted the ground sold to her either. do not know the percentage of which clubs own there ground but at a guess i,d say it will be les than half of them.

You need to raise your ambitions levels
Let our younger fans enjoy the journey to better times which I'm confident are on the way back.
UTP.

do not think the issue of ground ownership is a sign of lack of ambition. its something in its current state of ownership thats made it possible for us and those in the future of enjoying any journey now, in the past or the future. lets just call it an insurance policy on all that happening.

I would have agreed once, but times change. Council ownership of the ground has been a comfort blanket for older fans like me for decades, but now it's a tatty old thing clung to for sentimental reasons.

Pools have stagnated for the past 20 years. The state of the Vic's surroundings, owned by the same council, is a disgrace - any potential investors LS brings over from the USA are in for a hell of a shock when they see it.

As Landon recognises, HUFC's main asset isn't the ground, it's the fans. Time to move on. Kev's right when he says the younger generation of Poolies wouldn't hesitate. They're the future.

Ground Ownership under Sing not a chance.

Under Smithy yes yes yes.

I reckon his intentions are genuine.
Plus a wanna see us playing higher level football before I die.

Life's to short to keep a council owned non league ground /club.


We are better than that.
Together we rise.

UTP.

Smith is real estate developer ?

might be the most genuine guy known to man, but like us all he will not be around for ever. nobody knows whats around the corner and he could easily sell to to someon who makes coxhall look a benefactor. out ground happens to be council owned but many are owned by someone who does not own the rest of the club. this seems to work fine and it seems only the fans want the clubs themselves to own the ground.

Is there any other clubs have a council owned ground?

West Ham and Man City grounds are owned by the local councils.

stockport and oldham and others owned by a 3rd party who does not run or own the club. know bits of paper can be torn up but at least one council owned club has it written that the ground can never be used for anything but sporting events. better than nothing and an owner who can see a big profit for themselves.