The BSG & the Pid Army launch joint consultation to shape the future of the Supporters Terrace The BSG & the Pid Army are joining forces to give all Rapids Rapids fans who grew to love the Supporters Terraces this year a chance to have input on their future. All fans are invited to send their comments, irrespective of whether they watch games from the terrace or are a member of the BSG or Pid Army. We would like anyone who is interested in improving the situation on the Supporters Terrace to be involved. The Rapids have repeatedly told us that they are open to ideas on how the terraces may be improved so it up to us as supporters to speak up & communicate what we like & dislike about the area. The plan will be to take all the comments received & draw common themes from them. These themes will then be presented by the supporters groups into their meetings with the Front Office where hopefully action will be taken. The feeling is that one person's views on the terrace can easily be ignored, but it becomes a little harder if hundreds of supporters are saying the same thing! Before sending us comments, we urge all fans to read the notes below & take the information into account in their response. A few notes on things you may want to consider: 1. Be creative! If money was no object, what would you build here? You never know, sometimes ideas which seem completely crazy can be turned into something that works. 2. Look at the routes used by players & fans on matchdays. Is there any reason why it might be useful to change them? How? 3. Think about how the actual terrraces themselves should be changed. For example, should they be extended back (i.e. made higher) or lengthways? 4. The capo stands are currently placed near the corners of each side of the terraces (shown with the two small black boxes). Would you change anything about them? 5. Think about whether you are prepared to sacrifice being so close to the players for an improvement in view. 6. Is there anything the Rapids could do to help make the terraces to feel more like the supporters home? Would you add or take anything away? Could the Rapids allow us to do some things differently with flags / banners etc.? To get more information or send us comments please either: - Go to http://www.bulldogsupporters.com/news/article.php?newsID=15 - Go to http://www.nofanalone.com/ - Post a reply to this thread.
A capo stand is where a person organizes the chants. A place for the "leaders" to get everything going in unison.
I'm not in the terraces but adding a section between the 2 current stands seems like a reasonable start. It would be a modest sized expansion and it leaves enough room for PA and BSG to expand. At least fill in the gap, that would be a huge improvement. Let the players come out of the corner. Not only is it safer for the players, but it also keeps those kids away from the profanity and other terrace antics.
I'd like to see the terraces combined, or at the very least pushed closer together. The contact with the players is cool but I'm willing to give that up for an easier time getting everybody on the same page. I'd like the stands themselves to be significantly steeper. Overhead banners suck right now, and I guess it'd be easier for people to see the game also. I think the capo stands are fine. I don't see why we can't hang banners on the front of the section where it says "Everyone Bleeds Burgundy" or "Supporters Terrace" or whatever.
I agree whole heartedly, if they are worried about negative player/ fan interactions b/c of a few peckerheads that are in the stands that can't control themselves. combining the stands woudl be a big bonus-there is definetly a divided feel. We can get more people into the stands and it allows for more room for me and my crew to pull a coctail table up to the railing to put our beers on on the east side.
Bring the terraces closer together, make them taller and steeper, like a wall of fans behind the goal as viewed from the pitch. Make it such that the fans appear to be imposing to the players on the field.
+2 It would be cool if security just stepped in for "creating an isle" duty durring the 4 times they go in and out. Then you guys came together to be as one. It would also add the element of security being right there if anything got tossed in anyones direction. And it may add an image of respect in the terrace. We respect the game enough to create an isle for the players.
Higher steps at each level. The current stands make it difficult for shorter fans to get a good view, a big problem that's going to lead to fans not wanting to be in the terraces. Keep the nice, wide, safe platforms, though, just raise each step, and maybe add aisles with stairs up the middle and at the sides to make it easier to ascend/descend the higher steps.
Most of these comments are dead on. I'd like to see a permanent structure, steeper/taller levels (deep enough for 1 person to stand with some walking room to get to the exits). If rails need to be placed at the front for safety (to keep people from falling 18" onto the person in front of them) so be it. For those that like to stand at field height, I'd recommend the terraces get pushed back a few feet, so people can stand along the entire length of the field. I'd like to see terrace combined into one long section. The players could either 1) enter the pitch from the ambulance entrance in the NE corner, or 2) enter under/through the middle of the terrace using something like this: http://images.travelpod.com/users/e...16.where-players-enter-and-exit-the-pitch.jpg Other ideas: Add some closer toilets. That walk sucks. Run some networking equipment down to the terrace so the beer vendor down there can take credit cards. Would love to see a small "beer garden" down there for the terrace folks. Seems like a lot of people like to gather around high-top tables. Maybe they could build a couple of levels into the terrace (on the far east and west sides) that have tables for people to gather around
also i agree with the steeper and taller terraces... and maybe a rail in front of each row with a lip for beers and food to sit on
I don't need a sticking lip to hold my beer, the chance of if getting spilled is high which would be a crime and then you have to fight the guy below becuase you spilt the beer on him. I would suggest a rail with cup holders and every one will be happy. (no food needed, if you can't hold it than don't buy it beer is another story) Agree with all the suggestions.
In my eyes, the biggest problem with the terraces is that anyone can buy a terrace ticket for the lowest price out there, then sit wherever they want in the stadium. While anyone who buys a non-terrace ticket cannot go down there. I think the terraces are more about an atmosphere than a ticket....there is no reason to have someone at the top checking for tickets....if someone wants to move to the terraces for a better atmosphere, they should be able to.... Imagine a first time 20-30 yr old something ticket purchaser. They see the terrace atmosphere vs the rest of the stadium, and want to go down there for the remainder of the game. Should a potential future season ticket holder be denied that access? Who are you really barring access for by having someone checking for tickets at the top of the steps?
Great comments guys - please keep them coming! Anyone who has a ticket (ST or gameday) for another part of the stadium can swap it for one in the terraces, subject to availability, for no charge at the Box Office. This allows seated ticket holders to try out the terraces. I will find out if you can swap your ticket midgame. The reason terrace tickets are checked at the top of the stairs is to ensure that only terrace ticket holders can get down there. The terraces currently have a capacity of 1000 & this is therefore how many tickets the Rapids sell there. If seated ticket holders were simply allowed to go down you could have a situation where the terraces become dangerously overcrowded & face serious crowd control issues.
Great input people. The majority these ideas are really good & we'll see what can get done. The Terraces are the new heartbeat of the Dick so hopefully they'll make some incremental improvements for us all. Cheers.
I think a storage unit down in the terrace area would be great to hold all the banners and drums. It's frustrating looking for them before every game and wondering why they were not brought down from the cage. Any chance of a smoke machine?
My grand vision is for the Rapids to eliminate the price difference between the south stands and the north. Just make the south stands a family section - with group sales it darn near is anyway. That should keep people from buying the terrace tickets and then moving. I've yet to see a really solid explanation for the number of different tickets the club tries to sell. It looks like an undergrad's marketing 101 project on market segmentation. It should be simplified.
I agree with simplfying the pricing structure but terraces should definitely be cheaper than south stands. Terraces should remain the cheapest tickets. Unless they put in a more permanent structure that significantly improves the view and other issues people have stated in this thread (access to beer, etc) I don't see how they could justify pricing them the same.
This. Can't count how many times a box of flags has been left upstairs with no way to get it down. Smoke is fun.
My understanding was the RFO provided the smoke machine on gameday. The reason why it was sometimes there and sometimes not was due to rain/bad weather because it needed to be plugged into an extension cord for power. Does anyone have the story as to why the smoke machine was taken away? If so, please explain. Usually Quinn 33 has this kind of information.