Why does Bristol punch below its weight?

It’s a question we’ve raised before: why does the city of Bristol punch below its weight in football terms? Here one has a city with a population of half a million if you count in the surrounding areas.   It’s a dynamic and innovative city, the only one to vote for its own elected mayor.   Yet the more successful of its two clubs is at the wrong end of the Championship.

It’s a question we’ve raised before: why does the city of Bristol punch below its weight in football terms? Here one has a city with a population of half a million if you count in the surrounding areas.   It’s a dynamic and innovative city, the only one to vote for its own elected mayor.   Yet the more successful of its two clubs is at the wrong end of the Championship.

This article takes a look at the lack of modern stadiums for the two clubs, although how much that has to do with success or failure is open to question.   It’s certainly not a magic formula for turning a club around and there have been cases where it has been disastrous.

In any event we may be able to judge its effects in Bristol before too long.   Wearied by its five year battle with the City Council (and assorted ‘nimbys’) over locating to a new stadium, Bristol City is now considering a plan to refurbish Ashton Gate at a cost of £40m.   Bristol Rovers have got approval for a new stadium in Stoke Gifford, the local authority in that case being South Gloucestershire.   They hope to move in by 2015.

Bristol City have lost £25m in the last two years, but they have a generous benefactor in the shape of Steve Lansdown whose money comes from funds supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown (of whom I am a satisfied customer).

Of course, in any other business the solution would be to merge the two rivals, but, as the article points out, if that was going to be done it should have happened when they were first formed.   The one point that the article does not mention is that Bristol is an area with a strong rugby tradition and some potential football supporters may be lost to egg chasing.