The Mankover all action Thread.

Simon Hallett has insisted all Plymouth Argyle fans will benefit from the opening of the redeveloped Mayflower Grandstand towards the end of this year.

The League One club have already begun the marketing of the new banqueting and conferencing facilities.

They have described it ‘as the new jewel in the hospitality crown of the South West’.

However, Hallett was keen to emphasise that the rank and file members of the Green Army, and not just corporate clients, would be better off.

The United States-based businessman highlighted that the additional revenue raised would be used in two ways.

One would be to increase the first team budget for the manager and the other would be to invest in better facilities around the rest of Home Park.

Hallett said there had already been a good response to the marketing of the hospitality offering.

He told Plymouth Live: “I think it’s going to bring a level of quality at the top end that we have not seen before.

“It’s important for revenue raising, and important for the club brand to be able to cater for not just the fan who wants to come to the ground, have a pint and then sit in a seat, but also the people who want the more elaborate commercial offering.

“I think we have done a great job on the commercial offering with not very good resources in the old Tribute Lounge.

“So all credit to James Greenacre and the team for what they could offer under difficult circumstances.

“But we are now looking at an entirely different level of offering as far as hospitality goes, both in The Pioneers, which we have started to market pretty successfully, but also in the platinum and gold offering.

“I would just like to say the whole of the grandstand redevelopment is about revenue raising, ultimately for the first team.

“The hospitality offerings are for three different segments of our fanbase.

“But we are very keen that people understand that what we are trying to do, not just with the grandstand but elsewhere in the club, should benefit all our fans.

“We have already invested in better facilities in the ‘horseshoe’ (the other three stands).

“I think anybody who has been in the ‘horseshoe’ this season can see that the standards of service have improved and the terminal have improved.

“We still have a problem with queuing, which we are hoping to be able to work on further.

“But what we are doing for the grandstand is going to benefit all fans. It’s going to release revenue that is going to be available for the first team, and obviously that is going to benefit everybody.

“It’s also going to create revenue that we can use to invest in better facilities for all our fans.”

Hallett and his wife, Jane, have provided the funding for the Mayflower Grandstand, by way of long-term loan and share equity.

It is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2019 should all go according to plan.

Hallett said: “Jane and I did a tour of the grandstand last week with Jon Back (Argyle’s head of stadium redevelopment) and a couple of other people.

You are starting to see the bones of the new structure come on now.

“I guess the big question is ‘When is it going to be finished?’ We are still aiming for the fourth quarter.”

He continued: “I think we will start to see a bit more progress becoming evident.

“It was quite interesting that I did the tour on the Thursday, I think, and then on Saturday went to the match, and you couldn’t see any progress from the Lyndhurst. It just looked like a pile of rubble.

“But if you walk amongst it you can see where the seats are going to be and you can start to see the steel going in at the back.

“As I was saying to somebody the other day, it’s like making a cake.

“You get all the stuff ready and it’s only in the last 20 minutes that you start to see the finished form.

“So I think we are going to start to see progress in a very evident way over the next few weeks.”

Hallett admitted he was ‘extremely keen’ for the redeveloped Mayflower Grandstand to be up and running as soon as possible.

He said: “I want the project risk to be eliminated, and before it is finished there is always risk.

“The sooner we can get it done, the sooner the revenue is going to start rolling, and, in particular, we want it ready for the Christmas market.

“That means we have got to be absolutely confident it’s going to be ready so we can start taking bookings well before Christmas.”

Hallett said

"So I think we are going to start to see progress in a very evident way over the next few weeks.”

Would that be the upright steels for the Grandstand that your hapless project manager said on the 1st March would be in situ over the following week perhaps ??

Now you're further kicking the can down the road Hallett saying yesterday "over the next few weeks"

I've watched those webcams last 4 working days. Absolutely sod all evident is occuring. Thats the fault of having an absolute cretin in Jon Back overseeing this fiasco. Has he answered Graham Clarks question yet.....

harvetheslayer wrote:

Hallett said
I've watched those webcams last 4 working days. Absolutely sod all evident is occuring. Thats the fault of having an absolute cretin in Jon Back overseeing this fiasco. Has he answered Graham Clarks question yet.....

If you actually did some reading you would know that most of the work recently is being done on the inside at the stadium and therefore unlikely to be seen on the webcams. You also have apparently missed the six roof pillar extensions that have been put in place in the last two days....

You would also know that probably the reason Jon Back hasn't answered GC's question is that he is off from work with an illness.

But you carry on.. Don't let me stop you from making a fool of yourself.

You can't honestly look at the greensonscreen photos and claim nothing is happening seriously?

It may be slow progress compared to other projects but the place is definitely progressing.

It’s beyond me how all that steelwork and concreting inside and at the back of the grandstand has happened with nobody on site.

What’s those uprights two thirds down the rakers that have appeared today? Can’t figure out what they could be for!

Things are moving albeit at geological timescales.  And it's shaping up to look as shit as expected.  2/3 length stand with a tiny roof.  What a total waste of £6 million loan.

Apparently the tool from LA has squeaked. You know where to refer to

Freathy wrote:

Things are moving albeit at geological timescales.  And it's shaping up to look as shit as expected.  2/3 length stand with a tiny roof.  What a total waste of £6 million loan.

I think the term is called the camera never lies Freathy. No matter what time of day from 8am to 6pm I clock the webcams nobody or virtually nobody is on site. Must be pure coincidence 24/7 as far as I'm concerned according to others
Bit more concrete laid doubtless. Internal steels added maybe

How long ago did that roof come off ?? November ?? 150 people working on Bretonside. At Argo we got Darren his YTS boy and a couple of labourers.
If there is more than 4 where the hell are they all day long. In the interim the paid for GTs build continues to fly up

I guess they’re waiting for planning permission

Graiser wrote:

I guess they’re waiting for planning permission

No they've clearly got around that as previously stated doubtless by Bent "promising" the outstanding work will be completed prior to finish date
Suspect the real problem as others have also alluded to is they take the bunce from match days over and above season ticket sales and apply as much as possible to the mankover each time a bundle arrives at the box office.

In the interim they struggle. Going to be at least April and then probably later that we see any new roof arriving 6 months after the original came off. In the same period of time the horseshoe was completed. Farcical simple as

harvetheslayer wrote:

Apparently the tool from LA has squeaked. You know where to refer to

Nobody can be bothered to look there. There's only you talking to yourself, apart from one post mocking you.  

LOL.  I'm going to be arrested by armed police am I? What for exactly?  Taking the piss out of you?  How feckin stupid are you going to look when another of your stupid prophecies doesn't come true?

Truth is...  Can you actually look anymore stupid?

Well no...  But you carry on.. Don't let me stop you from making a fool of yourself.

Loads going on at HP, steels going in and roof started. Soon be finished.

Earwegoagain wrote:

Loads going on at HP, steels going in and roof started. Soon be finished.

Well, you only need Harve to pipe up and make one of his famously wrong predictions, and it's almost guaranteed to speed things up in the right direction.  

This from just a few days ago...

harvetheslayer wrote:

Going to be at least April and then probably later that we see any new roof arriving 6 months after the original came off.

No idea what the obnoxious twat from LA is gobbing off about above but there was no roof it situ at 10am yesterday but then as most but not all realise he's trolling as per normal
Wanker...

As the sun starts to rise magnificently over Home Park at 6.45 on a beautiful Wednesday morning the superb new roof can be fully observed on Webcam 2 for all to see and especially bellends from the States

PS Bungo clocks dont change till this weekend.......

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harvetheslayer wrote:

No idea what the obnoxious twat from LA is gobbing off about above but there was no roof it situ at 10am yesterday but then as most but not all realise he's trolling as per normal
Wanker...

I think as the ear has posted at 11-55 the steelwork for the roof is being installed and your earlier post that the roof installation wouldn’t start until April has perhaps provoked Ricklers response, rather revert to abuse, at the very least you could say you got it wrong.
Another thought those lazy anonymous workers certainly got a lot done from 10-00hrs

harvetheslayer wrote:

As the sun starts to rise magnificently over Home Park at 6.45 on a beautiful Wednesday morning the superb new roof can be fully observed on Webcam 2 for all to see and especially bellends from the States

PS Bungo clocks dont change till this weekend.......

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Looks great .lol. Whatever is the finished product there are no indications that the project will meet the footballing/spectator needs of the club for decades to come unless of course the aim is to provide excellent corporate catering at lower league level.

Somewhere new in Plymouth to enjoy Cornish ales and food is a good thing surely?

I think it's looking magnificent. A truly wonderful spectacle, and example of leading edge 21st century sporting architectural modernism.

OK, It's clear and obvious to all that things are happening. That can't be denied, and I think the main point of frustration with some fans is the actual pace in which things seem to be progressing.

I'm not sure the double or tripling the workforce would do much more to speed things up. I don't know, I know nothing of the building trade - but, I'm sure it could be progressing at a faster rate than it is now.

Who knows what's really going on? Rarely, builds of this size go without daily glitches, problems to solve and unexpected events. But, again. I don't know. The only thing I have ever built is a reputation as being a self deprecating, miserable, cynical and sceptical bastard of epic proportions with an irrational hate of the human race.

Oh, dogs. I like dogs. Duh ya loike me dags?

This raises a slight eyebrow. I was under the impression that the GT’s build was being conducted under their own steam. Obviously not.

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Czarcasm wrote:

This raises a slight eyebrow. I was under the impression that the GT’s build was being conducted under their own steam. Obviously not.

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News to me as well but it does explain the delay. A building firm has two jobs lined up, one the smaller one, has all planning in place and the client has the money in escrow awaiting completion of the project, the other client is well known for being a bad payer and uses amateurs to run the job resulting in many issues with planners. Which job do you start first?

Czarcasm wrote:

This raises a slight eyebrow. I was under the impression that the GT’s build was being conducted under their own steam. Obviously not.

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Ahhhhh, the limited workforce we see on the WC's are spread across two builds. That could explain the lest than furious pace of progress. Maybe!

harvetheslayer wrote:

No idea what the obnoxious twat from LA is gobbing off about above but there was no roof it situ at 10am yesterday but then as most but not all realise he's trolling as per normal
Wanker...

Oh dear...

You picked the one picture that didn't show the first truss in.. What a surprise you fecked up.

But here.. Just for you!


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