Anyone who has been to that truely awful soulless plastic shyte hole of a stadium will not be the slightest surprised at seeing that footage. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
I went there for the friendly in 2015.
Trust me, even being within two minutes walk of the ground you'd never think you were approaching a football ground.
Anyone who has been to that truely awful soulless plastic shyte hole of a stadium will not be the slightest surprised at seeing that footage. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
I went there for the friendly in 2015.
Trust me, even being within two minutes walk of the ground you'd never think you were approaching a football ground.
You are not, of course. You are approaching a leisure and business centre which also offers some football, for those who might be interested.
That attendance is a disgrace. It is more or less a local derby, and Standard remain one of the big clubs.
Only about 6,000 there with 2,000 from Liege, and this for one of the most attractive fixtures.
For years STVV's average attendance was always around 10,000. Last year 6,000, and with the Duchâtelet effect, I wonder if it might be even lower this season?
With the previous average attendance what division were they in , the top flight where they are now or a lower division ??
Same division - Belgian equiv of prem.
Oh I didn't realise They had been in top flight before , I thought Roly had taken them up to their highest league standings , hence the reluctance to join our protest . Or was it they'd had a few bad years and he got them back up so that was why they weren't so forthcoming in numbers
Only about 6,000 there with 2,000 from Liege, and this for one of the most attractive fixtures.
For years STVV's average attendance was always around 10,000. Last year 6,000, and with the Duchâtelet effect, I wonder if it might be even lower this season?
With the previous average attendance what division were they in , the top flight where they are now or a lower division ??
Same division - Belgian equiv of prem.
Oh I didn't realise They had been in top flight before , I thought Roly had taken them up to their highest league standings , hence the reluctance to join our protest . Or was it they'd had a few bad years and he got them back up so that was why they weren't so forthcoming in numbers
I have the impression- but people like @The_President and @Big_in_Brasov know the club much better - that there isn't a great deal of passion about the club's tradition and history. I suppose that isn't surprising when the town is about as big and important as Melton Mowbray. Standard and its home town is a completely different story.
Only about 6,000 there with 2,000 from Liege, and this for one of the most attractive fixtures.
For years STVV's average attendance was always around 10,000. Last year 6,000, and with the Duchâtelet effect, I wonder if it might be even lower this season?
With the previous average attendance what division were they in , the top flight where they are now or a lower division ??
Same division - Belgian equiv of prem.
Oh I didn't realise They had been in top flight before , I thought Roly had taken them up to their highest league standings , hence the reluctance to join our protest . Or was it they'd had a few bad years and he got them back up so that was why they weren't so forthcoming in numbers
I have the impression- but people like @The_President and @Big_in_Brasov know the club much better - that there isn't a great deal of passion about the club's tradition and history. I suppose that isn't surprising when the town is about as big and important as Melton Mowbray. Standard and its home town is a completely different story.
For any neutral attending Staaien (the spelling commonly used by the locals before Duchâtelet decided to change the spelling to Stayen), it is hard to imagine this was once a football club with a soul, a club that was a vital part of the community of Sint-Truiden, as well as the many outlying communities. Staaien was never an impressive stadium, it never had state-of-the-art facilities, but this was all part of it's "charm". Opposing teams didn't call it "Hel van Staaien" without reason.
Since first reaching the top division in Belgian football in 1957, the club has spent the majority of the intervening years in the top flight, regularly drawing crowds of around 10k, and even more for the most attractive fixtures. In the 1965-66 season STVV achieved their highest placing, finishing runners-up to Anderlecht. Early that season, in the home fixture against the eventual champions, a record crowd, estimated at around 22k, squeezed into the stadium to watch the Canaries defeat Anderlecht 2-0.
Think about these attendances for a moment. In the context of the size of the local population, - Sint-Truiden is a town of 40k people, - and with this in mind, to be able to regularly attract a number equal to 25% of the town population is phenomenal, and likely illustrates how much the people cared about their football club.
Over the years, lack of investment eventually led to a situation where Duchâtelet was able to take control of the club, by paying off debts of 700k Euros. In 2008 while himself a councillor on the town council, he bought the stadium from the council for NV KSTVV, in the sum of 551,500 Euros (I have seen a copy of the contract of sale and can guarantee this to be the exact figure). Within a year he established NV Stayen (his new property company), and then transferred ownership from the football club, before commencing development.
The rest is recent history.
BTW, if anyone would like an insight into what this football club once represented, this short documentary celebrating 75 years of STVV is well worth viewing:
Last season, Standard averaged 23,000 (capacity 28,000) - I thought they were all fanatical ultras? Anderlecht averaged 18,000 (capacity 28,000). The lowest gates were at Mouscron, several under 2,000 and average 3,600 in a stadium of 11,000.
To be fair, the whole JPL seems to be suffering a decline in attendances. I don't know how reliable this source is, but it appears to cover the whole of the regular home season: http:\\www.football-lineups.com/tourn/Jupiler_League_2016-2017/Stats/Home_Avg_Atte/
Last season, Standard averaged 23,000 (capacity 28,000) - I thought they were all fanatical ultras? Anderlecht averaged 18,000 (capacity 28,000). The lowest gates were at Mouscron, several under 2,000 and average 3,600 in a stadium of 11,000.
(PS: don't shoot me if the capacities are actually higher. One source says 28,000 for Standard, another says 30,000.)
Standard remain in dismal form though. Had a mail from the Standard journo Douglas last week, said they still haven't recovered from the mess RD left them in. Bound to be some disillusioned fans and in the context I reckon 23k was decent. Would have expected less than 20k. That they got a lot more than Anderlecht, who were in Europe last season, says a lot.
Only about 6,000 there with 2,000 from Liege, and this for one of the most attractive fixtures.
For years STVV's average attendance was always around 10,000. Last year 6,000, and with the Duchâtelet effect, I wonder if it might be even lower this season?
With the previous average attendance what division were they in , the top flight where they are now or a lower division ??
Same division - Belgian equiv of prem.
Oh I didn't realise They had been in top flight before , I thought Roly had taken them up to their highest league standings , hence the reluctance to join our protest . Or was it they'd had a few bad years and he got them back up so that was why they weren't so forthcoming in numbers
I have the impression- but people like @The_President and @Big_in_Brasov know the club much better - that there isn't a great deal of passion about the club's tradition and history. I suppose that isn't surprising when the town is about as big and important as Melton Mowbray. Standard and its home town is a completely different story.
Bit harsh on Melton Mowbray, what with its pies and all.
Only about 6,000 there with 2,000 from Liege, and this for one of the most attractive fixtures.
For years STVV's average attendance was always around 10,000. Last year 6,000, and with the Duchâtelet effect, I wonder if it might be even lower this season?
With the previous average attendance what division were they in , the top flight where they are now or a lower division ??
Same division - Belgian equiv of prem.
Oh I didn't realise They had been in top flight before , I thought Roly had taken them up to their highest league standings , hence the reluctance to join our protest . Or was it they'd had a few bad years and he got them back up so that was why they weren't so forthcoming in numbers
I have the impression- but people like @The_President and @Big_in_Brasov know the club much better - that there isn't a great deal of passion about the club's tradition and history. I suppose that isn't surprising when the town is about as big and important as Melton Mowbray. Standard and its home town is a completely different story.
For any neutral attending Staaien (the spelling commonly used by the locals before Duchâtelet decided to change the spelling to Stayen), it is hard to imagine this was once a football club with a soul, a club that was a vital part of the community of Sint-Truiden, as well as the many outlying communities. Staaien was never an impressive stadium, it never had state-of-the-art facilities, but this was all part of it's "charm". Opposing teams didn't call it "Hel van Staaien" without reason.
Since first reaching the top division in Belgian football in 1957, the club has spent the majority of the intervening years in the top flight, regularly drawing crowds of around 10k, and even more for the most attractive fixtures. In the 1965-66 season STVV achieved their highest placing, finishing runners-up to Anderlecht. Early that season, in the home fixture against the eventual champions, a record crowd, estimated at around 22k, squeezed into the stadium to watch the Canaries defeat Anderlecht 2-0.
Think about these attendances for a moment. In the context of the size of the local population, - Sint-Truiden is a town of 40k people, - and with this in mind, to be able to regularly attract a number equal to 25% of the town population is phenomenal, and likely illustrates how much the people cared about their football club.
Over the years, lack of investment eventually led to a situation where Duchâtelet was able to take control of the club, by paying off debts of 700k Euros. In 2008 while himself a councillor on the town council, he bought the stadium from the council for NV KSTVV, in the sum of 551,500 Euros (I have seen a copy of the contract of sale and can guarantee this to be the exact figure). Within a year he established NV Stayen (his new property company), and then transferred ownership from the football club, before commencing development.
The rest is recent history.
BTW, if anyone would like an insight into what this football club once represented, this short documentary celebrating 75 years of STVV is well worth viewing:
Fascinating old film that. Some of that footage like quite English in character (though maybe form the '30s rather than the '50s). Great post Big in Barsov. I'll never say Stayen again (not that it was tripping off my tongue anyway). For me it's Staaien from now on.
Comments
Trust me, even being within two minutes walk of the ground you'd never think you were approaching a football ground.
That attendance is a disgrace. It is more or less a local derby, and Standard remain one of the big clubs.
Or was it they'd had a few bad years and he got them back up so that was why they weren't so forthcoming in numbers
Since first reaching the top division in Belgian football in 1957, the club has spent the majority of the intervening years in the top flight, regularly drawing crowds of around 10k, and even more for the most attractive fixtures. In the 1965-66 season STVV achieved their highest placing, finishing runners-up to Anderlecht. Early that season, in the home fixture against the eventual champions, a record crowd, estimated at around 22k, squeezed into the stadium to watch the Canaries defeat Anderlecht 2-0.
Think about these attendances for a moment. In the context of the size of the local population, - Sint-Truiden is a town of 40k people, - and with this in mind, to be able to regularly attract a number equal to 25% of the town population is phenomenal, and likely illustrates how much the people cared about their football club.
Over the years, lack of investment eventually led to a situation where Duchâtelet was able to take control of the club, by paying off debts of 700k Euros. In 2008 while himself a councillor on the town council, he bought the stadium from the council for NV KSTVV, in the sum of 551,500 Euros (I have seen a copy of the contract of sale and can guarantee this to be the exact figure). Within a year he established NV Stayen (his new property company), and then transferred ownership from the football club, before commencing development.
The rest is recent history.
BTW, if anyone would like an insight into what this football club once represented, this short documentary celebrating 75 years of STVV is well worth viewing:
Last season, Standard averaged 23,000 (capacity 28,000) - I thought they were all fanatical ultras? Anderlecht averaged 18,000 (capacity 28,000). The lowest gates were at Mouscron, several under 2,000 and average 3,600 in a stadium of 11,000.
Compare that with 2010-11 season:
https://www.football-lineups.com/tourn/Jupiler_League_2010-2011/stats/home_avg_atte/
According to that site, STVV attendances have averaged somewhere about 8,500 in the last 10 years when in the JPL.
(PS: don't shoot me if the capacities are actually higher. One source says 28,000 for Standard, another says 30,000.)
OK, I've become a bit of a fan...:-)