The Condition Of The Plexi Glass in Sheffield

[PantherG]

Just finished watching the sky highlights show and I was shocked at how bad the plexi looked. I read the lower tier was sold out for this evenings match but surely with all he scuffs and scratches it would impede the viewing. I'm glad I'm sitting in the upper tier.

I'm surprised they spent money on a new clock prior to replacing the glass.

[tessier26]

I always thought the plexi was really bad there, was similar up in Newcastle. We all know the Steelers are'nt the brightest when it comes to financial matters Maybe they did'nt have enough cash left after replacing the scoreboard due to player wages ;D

[dreadface]

Sept 29, 2012 10:09:09 GMT PantherG said:

Just finished watching the sky highlights show and I was shocked at how bad the plexi looked. I read the lower tier was sold out for this evenings match but surely with all he scuffs and scratches it would impede the viewing. I'm glad I'm sitting in the upper tier.

I'm surprised they spent money on a new clock prior to replacing the glass.

If you think the Plexi is bad wait till you sit down, if youre in the least bit tall expect to be uncomfortable.

[james1977]

I'm sure I read somewhere that the plexi was owned by the arena but the scoreboard is and has always been owned by the Steelers.

Perhaps this is why, although the Steelers have decided to stump up for a nearly complete scoreboard, the arena is not too fussed about replacing the plexi, being as the only customer who uses it could, given their financial history, be regarded as strictly 'season to season'. Same reason I guess that the MRA were unhappy with fronting the cost of a new ice plant when Newcastle Vipers played there.

It is a pretty sad state of affairs though when a so-called 'big' team like Sheffield play behind worse plexi than many rink teams.

[sparkymark75]

I'm sure I read on the Steelers forum a while ago that the arena weren't prepared to replace it and that if the Steelers wanted it replaced, they'd have to stump up the £100k+ to do the job.

[GuinnessMan]

i thought they were looking to get a sponsor for each section of plexi to kelp fund its replacement. Seems not enough yorkshiremen willing to put their hands i their pockets on this occasion

[PantherG]

Well there is no way I would pay money to sit on the lower tier and attempt to watch a hockey match through that glass. I will see this evening if it is indeed as bad as it looks!

[james1977]

Sept 29, 2012 11:58:26 GMT sparkymark75 said:

I'm sure I read on the Steelers forum a while ago that the arena weren't prepared to replace it and that if the Steelers wanted it replaced, they'd have to stump up the £100k+ to do the job.

There is a plexi polishing/restoring product called Novus which is particularly good at cleaning up ice hockey plexi, indeed it is used by a fair few arenas across NA for just this job. It'd cost a lot less than '£100k+' and I'm sure a few people with rotary buffers could make a hell of a difference.

Perhaps they could tempt a few fans to do it in exchange for free season tickets or something?

[TheBeefBurger]

Sept 29, 2012 11:31:35 GMT @james1977 said:

I'm sure I read somewhere that the plexi was owned by the arena but the scoreboard is and has always been owned by the Steelers.

I believe that is the case but someone will have to correct if wrong.

If I remember right at a Q and A in the summer with Tony Smith the plexi was brought up and he said that the Arena owns the plexi and if the Steelers wanted to replace it they would have to buy the plexi themselves and then sell it to the arena for pretty much nothing.

I think he also mentioned that when Paul Regan took over he looked into replacing the plexi and the quote was quite pricey.

He said the club was looking at ways to finance new plexi such as sponsoring a pane and having some kind of sticker or message somewhere on the plexi located where it doesn't effect the view but I don't think I have heard or read anything more about this since that Q and A.

The plexi is poor but as it is still not in a condition where it is unusable I would be surprised to see it replaced anytime soon.

I would always recommend to new fans that they sit above plexi height not just to avoid the poor plexi but to be able to get a decent view in the corner at the other end of the rink but I guess some people will want to be as close as possible to the players and the action. I sit in the lower tier myself but always go for tickets from at least the middle of the block to the back.

[d]

Its not great and needs replacing I agree but it will always look worse when a camera lens is pushed up right next to it. I sit lower tier, granted a fair few rows up but it has never been an issue for me in terms of viewing the game. The metal stanchions along the side are more of an issue for people sitting near the front imo.

[Glynn M]

Not only is it very expensive to replace, which the Steelers or our sponsors would have to pay out for, there is also a major issue I believe with HOW the plexi is stored/moved by the people who run the Arena. Which means it wouldn't be long before the new stuff would be scratched to hell anyway.

Now thats something that the Steelers have no control over unfortunately, if you want to blame someone (as you do) then aim it at the Arena.

[tessier26]

Sept 29, 2012 11:58:26 GMT sparkymark75 said:

I'm sure I read on the Steelers forum a while ago that the arena weren't prepared to replace it and that if the Steelers wanted it replaced, they'd have to stump up the £100k+ to do the job.

£100k to replace sheets of plastic? Damn, im in the wrong business! Surely it can't cost that much!?

[Shaggy]

Sept 29, 2012 18:34:46 GMT tessier26 said:

Sept 29, 2012 11:58:26 GMT sparkymark75 said:

I'm sure I read on the Steelers forum a while ago that the arena weren't prepared to replace it and that if the Steelers wanted it replaced, they'd have to stump up the £100k+ to do the job.

£100k to replace sheets of plastic? Damn, im in the wrong business! Surely it can't cost that much!?

That does seem somewhat excessive, I agree. Maybe they're talking about replacing the whole lot - boards and supports as well as the actual sheets of plexi? Maybe they were looking at a different type of plexi that would require a complete replacement of the whole setup? Just guessing, you understand...

[bertmonkey]

It isn't just the plexi that is an issue at the arena, the whole building is grubby, sticky and well past it's 'best before' date. This isn't just the case on hockey nights, the arena looks like that on any event night. The seats are disgusting, floors can be sticky for weeks, a lack of venue competition has made the arena complacent.

[longjohn33]

The plexi and also the new clock are owned by the arena , they have to be for insurance reasons .

[james1977]

Sept 30, 2012 9:14:58 GMT bertmonkey said:

........a lack of venue competition has made the arena complacent.

Should be interesting to see what happens when the Leeds Arena opens. Whilst it can't host ice hockey it could certainly strip the Shuff Arena of most of the rest of their trade. If they do lose much of their work to the Leeds Arena then I wonder how long it will stay a viable business?

Could solve the Steelers attendance issues though, they usually sell-out Ice Sheffield.

[joesteeler]

The whole Arena needs a make over. Sticky floors, crap seats and the plexi tips it off.

Unfortunately, it's out of our hands. Unless Smith wins the lottery haha

[PantherG]

If the council own it then I don't think it will be closed anytime soon, they will just use tax payers money to keep it going! That said it it is in desperate need of a refurbishment as it is really looking run down and shabby.

[james1977]

Sept 30, 2012 12:04:05 GMT PantherG said:

If the council own it then I don't think it will be closed anytime soon, they will just use tax payers money to keep it going! That said it it is in desperate need of a refurbishment as it is really looking run down and shabby.

Council run or not, they still need to have promoters using it and given the poor quality of the Sheffield Arena as an venue, no matter what the event (been to a few concerts there as well), I really can't see how SIV will be able to compete with the Leeds Arena. I guess I'm not the only one who questions this either, given the amount of opposition SIV, Sheffield City Council and various Sheffield MPs had towards the use of Yorkshire First money to fund the Leeds Arena.

Its a Catch 22. SIV will need funds to renovate the arena to compete with the Leeds Arena but without promoters using the venue where is the funding going to come from? The public purse will only stretch so far and given the cry of "small government" which seems to be popular among the chattering classes at the moment I really can't see Sheffield City Council being able to throw money at the arena.

Of course the questions are whether SIV (although up to this point having little competition in the region) are making that much money out of the Sheffield Arena but if they are, are they having to subsidise the other venues they control? Given that the proposal to build a Leeds Arena has been a fairly drawn out affair, you'd have thought SIV would have taken advantage of what remaining time they had without a competitor venue and used any available funds to put themselves into a position to compete when the Leeds Arena opened. It might well be that SIV have been raking it in at the Sheffield Arena but have had to cover shortfalls elsewhere, SIV do have quite a venue portfolio after all.

[pantherdman]

The only way they'll change it is if people complain in writing and then stop going.

[james1977]

Sept 30, 2012 13:12:57 GMT pantherdman said:

The only way they'll change it is if people complain in writing and then stop going.

I guess that'll only work if they can link poor attendances to the plexi condition. How can they differentiate normal poor attendances from plexi-related ones?

[Caesar]

Perhaps they could get a car window tinting company to sponsor a refurbishment.
I`d rather see a black screen every week than watch Shuff! :-)