New stadium at the Lane?

[Sheffsteel]

of course its very cost effective , the massive square footage of useable space where a mound of rubble sits is a huge waste of potential

McCabe is a leading expert on property developement and he obviously thinks it's not cost effective to totally rebuild. Presumably there's not a massive waiting list and massive demand for meeting rooms, xmas parties and wedding dos at the Lane.

It would be really expensive to remove the mound of soil and if any chemicals, asbestos or bombs appear it could end up being even more expensive.

Also there is a limit to how many conference and catering facilities the club needs before it reaches saturation point. We already have money making facilities in the South stand and John Steet stand.

Another point is that the Kop is for people that prefer cheaper prices, so there will always be compromises.
So they're not going to give it better facilities and seating than the South stand.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

We are "massive" but not deluded like errrm........"The massive"
We won't need anymore than 40k seats.
OK so flatten the "slag heap" kop and join it to the south stand properly. Get rid of that "pork scratching" of corner stand and that should be it.
We just really want ground improvements, not necessarily ground expansion.

 

[metalblade]

Only if I've pissed on em

The pitfall of having a small dick

 

[JJBlade]

I don't believe in limitations.
Many clubs that couldn't have sold out 50,000 or 60,000 or even 75,000 seater stadiums in the 1980's are now doing so.

The lane has been a traditional 50000 capacity stadium for a sizeable portion of it's existence

 

[bladesmanluke]

the kop should never be expanded it should be flattened. anyone saying expand it obviously doesn't sit on it, it's fucking shit.

I stand at the back and would rather see it expanded than flattened and rebuilt. The rake isn't brilliant, but it adds to the atmosphere being tightly packed. Expand the back, new roof, remove the pillars and indoor facilities. Perfect.

Also as pointed out on here the other week, removing the giant soil heap beneath the kop for a rebuild would be a dangerous business given it hasn't been touched since sheffield was peppered with bombs in WWII

 

[Houston_Blade]

No, I'd rather have 32k sell outs each week and disappointed fans against the "big boys" than 5k empty seats in a 37-40k stadium. Let's face it we will never be a 20 year fixture in the PL and I'm happy with that, our place is flirtation with the play offs and top 2 in the Championship and the odd season in the PL, being another Premiership also ran would be dull.

 

[seanbeenstattoo]

the kop should never be expanded it should be flattened. anyone saying expand it obviously doesn't sit on it, it's fucking shit.

I think that's what folk mean. REBUILT.
And I speak as someone who has sat on the thing since the very first day it reopened as a seated stand.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

I do agree but having to wash your hands in cold water on the Kop on a freezing cold Tuesday night in 2017 is unbelievable. I've considered taking warm water in a flask just to wash my hands after the inevitable half time piss.

Just learn how to not piss on yer fingers.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Only if I've pissed on em

wear gloves.

 

[sitwell]

Only people who bite their nails wash their hands after a piss.

 

[snootyfenooty]

Is it just me but I'd be perfectly content with just removing those fucking pillars from the kop. OK this will result in the need for a cantilevered roof but total spend is unlikely to exceed a couple of million and shouldn't compromise team improvements too much. I can put up with an uncomfortable seat for 90 minutes just as I can do on a Ryanair flight of the same duration. Nobody forces you to sit on the kop and you get what you pay for.

 

[itsinyerblood]

I'd be interested to know where the figure of 50 thousand was arrived at? What statistical analysis managed to summarise that this missing support is out there, waiting to be encouraged to attend home games?

I know with success comes additional support, but as our current support is around the 18-20 thousand mark (not withstanding the gates for Scunny and Bolton) the suggestion is that there's a suggestion for an additional 30 thousand?!? Perhaps someone has managed to calculate that there's an untapped supporter base that we currently aren't attracting, but an additional 30 thousand? I can well imagine us getting somewhere between 12-18 thousand more if we continue to be successful, but even with opponent's bringing 5-8 thousand supporters, we'd be looking to accommodate 45 thousand maximum, which would still be superb and the ground would become a cauldron of Blade intensity.

Happy to be corrected, but it does seem fanciful, and the thought of an arena with empty seats doesn't inspire me.

 

[AlienWoodward]

I don't give two shits about the Premiership so I certainly have no time for this bizarre recent handwringing about our home which is widely acknowledged as being among the finest grounds in the country.

It has seats, it has kiosks, it has places to piss = facilities.

Yes but there's nowhere for potential Thai owners to land their helicopter.

 

[Rodley]

No one wants the Blades to leave Bramall Lane. But let’s say that we got back in the PL and managed to stay there. As much as we love BDTBL the facilities are poor, the kop is not fit for purpose and there’s no room to expand on two sides.

So we could make do with the same stadium with a rebuilt kop and possibly another tier on the South Stand, or we could rebuild from scratch, turning the pitch 45 or 90 degrees and constructing a completely new stadium around it. With the extra space behind the kop and the South Stand, there is the space to build a mega, 50k capacity stadium on the site.

Would that idea fly at all or are we too much in love with the Lane as it is now? If we do ever manage to establish ourselves in the PL, its a question that's bound to be asked.

TV money is far more important in the PL. Ground counts for fuck all.

 

[blade too long]

McCabe is a leading expert on property developement and he obviously thinks it's not cost effective to totally rebuild. Presumably there's not a massive waiting list and massive demand for meeting rooms, xmas parties and wedding dos at the Lane.

It would be really expensive to remove the mound of soil and if any chemicals, asbestos or bombs appear it could end up being even more expensive.

Also there is a limit to how many conference and catering facilities the club needs before it reaches saturation point. We already have money making facilities in the South stand and John Steet stand.

Another point is that the Kop is for people that prefer cheaper prices, so there will always be compromises.
So they're not going to give it better facilities and seating than the South stand.

totally the opposite , spoken to mccabe about it and its his intention to remove the mound . and its not the job it was 20 years ago to remove the mound ,
hes been on developments where theyved moved complete hills to build
theres hundreds of thousands of square footage going begging if we dont utilise it
be like having3 corner offic spaces under one stand
make a fortune from it


villa had a bigger mound to move when they rebuilt the Holte End

 

[derfblade.3]

Fuck Wednesday........nowt to do with this thread but.....Fuck Wednesday!

 

[Blade58]

the kop should never be expanded it should be flattened. anyone saying expand it obviously doesn't sit on it, it's fucking shit.

Anyone above 5ft 6" tall and weighing more than 10st are fked in those seats.

The leg room meant the Kop must have been designed exclusively for children

 

[Sheffsteel]

totally the opposite , spoken to mccabe about it and its his intention to remove the mound . and its not the job it was 20 years ago to remove the mound ,
hes been on developments where theyved moved complete hills to build
theres hundreds of thousands of square footage going begging if we dont utilise it
be like having3 corner offic spaces under one stand
make a fortune from it

Why does he keep renewing planning permission for something he doesn't intend to use.
Has Mcacabe changed his mind regards his intention from 10 year ago?

I suppose the market for lettings and office space changes over the years
But there loads of empty office space not being used in the shiny office blocks built just off The Wicker near the canal basin.

Also in order to attract businesses to use office space under the Kop stand there would need to loads of parking space but there's not much room.

McCabes primary intention will be to generate 365 days a year income streams using the land on Shorham Street. Increasing capacity and covering up the concourse areas is just a by product of that.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Anyone above 5ft 6" tall and weighing more than 10st are fked in those seats.

The leg room meant the Kop must have been designed exclusively for children

But they are the cheap seats and its often used as a standing area.
I accept I'm getting worse facilities because it's a lower cost but tend to stand half the time when I'm in there.

If you want proper seats everyone knows you go in the South stand or Westfield corner.

 

[Blade58]

Why does he keep renewing planning permission for something he doesn't intend to use.
Has Mcacabe changed his mind regards his intention from 10 year ago?

I suppose the market for lettings and office space changes over the years
But there loads of empty office space not being used in the shiny office blocks built just off The Wicker near the canal basin.

Also in order to attract businesses to use office space under the Kop stand there would need to loads of parking space but there's not much room.

McCabes primary intention will be to generate 365 days a year income streams using the land on Shorham Street. Increasing capacity and covering up the concourse areas is just a by product of that.

I think McCabe needs to sweet talk this Hualing Group and get them to fund the improvements and while he's at it, tell them to fkin hurry up

 

[Blade58]

But they are the cheap seats and its often used as a standing area.
I accept I'm getting worse facilities because it's a lower cost but tend to stand half the time when I'm in there.

If you want proper seats everyone knows you go in the South stand or Westfield corner.

Don't agree. Cheap or expensive with padded cushions should have nothing to do with leg room and whilst I acknowledgethe seat spacing has to be to the minimum legal requirement, as well as clubs wanting to fit as many seats into as limited space as possible, supporters rich or skint should be afforded the opportunity to sit down in "relative" comfort.

For me personally sheffsteel, it's irrelevant which stand, the kop seat leg room is piss poor

 

[awblade]

Anyone above 5ft 6" tall and weighing more than 10st are fked in those seats.

The leg room meant the Kop must have been designed exclusively for children

Im 6 foot tall and I'm fine on it. Never understood people saying how cramped it is on there!?

 

[scrap]

Expand the Lane end.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Im 6 foot tall and I'm fine on it. Never understood people saying how cramped it is on there!?

I'm 6 foot and fine too but you do have do place you knees permantly at the edges of the seat in front. It becomes compulsory to stand up every now and then just to give your legs some circulation.

 

[georgebernardshaw]

Im 6 foot tall and I'm fine on it. Never understood people saying how cramped it is on there!?

I'm 6'4" with dodgy hips and knees, I've not been on the kop for over 12 years, just impossible.

 

[FATTYFOULKE]

I'd be interested to know where the figure of 50 thousand was arrived at? What statistical analysis managed to summarise that this missing support is out there, waiting to be encouraged to attend home games?

I know with success comes additional support, but as our current support is around the 18-20 thousand mark (not withstanding the gates for Scunny and Bolton) the suggestion is that there's a suggestion for an additional 30 thousand?!? Perhaps someone has managed to calculate that there's an untapped supporter base that we currently aren't attracting, but an additional 30 thousand? I can well imagine us getting somewhere between 12-18 thousand more if we continue to be successful, but even with opponent's bringing 5-8 thousand supporters, we'd be looking to accommodate 45 thousand maximum, which would still be superb and the ground would become a cauldron of Blade intensity.

Happy to be corrected, but it does seem fanciful, and the thought of an arena with empty seats doesn't inspire me.

I think the Pl relegation season proved Bramall Lane isn't big enough as it is but agree 50,000 would be way too big unless something incredible happened over a sustained period. 36000 would be realistic for the forseeable, extra kop capacity for home fans freeing up a bigger away allocation.

If we baceme as successful as say a Southampton currently are then we could look at further expansion if it were needed.

The trick is to avoid having a ground too big for you like Wednesday. That isn't me having a dig at them just stating the obvious. It ruins the atmosphere playing in a half empty stadium. 22000 at the Lane looks reasonable and an atmosphere is created more easily. 22000 at Hillsborough and it's an half empty stadium and acres of empty blue seats.

I think the extra 3000 seats at the back of the kop with the supporting poles gone would be an incredibly awesome sight and would like to see it done. I'm 5'10 and have no issue with leg room. I'm at a football match and can cope not sitting in an armchair for 90 mins. Also don't forget steeper rake of kop and more leg room means less seats.

Regarding the kop corner the plan is to build some boxes at the back where the unsighted area is. It'll do, there's not much else can be done with it due to restricted space.

It should be done and I'm hoping for an announcement when promotion is confirmed. It would be great to have it already in place when we get to the Prem the season after next

 

[blade too long]

Why does he keep renewing planning permission for something he doesn't intend to use.
Has Mcacabe changed his mind regards his intention from 10 year ago?

I suppose the market for lettings and office space changes over the years
But there loads of empty office space not being used in the shiny office blocks built just off The Wicker near the canal basin.

Also in order to attract businesses to use office space under the Kop stand there would need to loads of parking space but there's not much room.

McCabes primary intention will be to generate 365 days a year income streams using the land on Shorham Street. Increasing capacity and covering up the concourse areas is just a by product of that.

the planning permission is to build a two tier stand , the dimensions are the same the interior will be different
most large scale development specs change over 10 years , building regs will need up dating too

they are unlikely not to give the go ahead if its basically the same edifice but with an altered interior, which could be explained as better fire escape routes
and safer passageways offering greater safety for the fans

 

[wizadry]

Just have your legs chopped off, take some angled binoculars and don't attempt to buy any food or drinks and the Kop is just fine.

 

[Sheffsteel]

I think the Pl relegation season proved Bramall Lane isn't big enough as it is but agree 50,000 would be way too big unless something incredible happened over a sustained period. 36000 would be realistic for the forseeable, extra kop capacity for home fans freeing up a bigger away allocation.

If we baceme as successful as say a Southampton currently are then we could look at further expansion if it were needed.

The trick is to avoid having a ground too big for you like Wednesday. That isn't me having a dig at them just stating the obvious. It ruins the atmosphere playing in a half empty stadium. 22000 at the Lane looks reasonable and an atmosphere is created more easily. 22000 at Hillsborough and it's an half empty stadium and acres of empty blue seats.

I think the extra 3000 seats at the back of the kop with the supporting poles gone would be an incredibly awesome sight and would like to see it done. I'm 5'10 and have no issue with leg room. I'm at a football match and can cope not sitting in an armchair for 90 mins. Also don't forget steeper rake of kop and more leg room means less seats.

Regarding the kop corner the plan is to build some boxes at the back where the unsighted area is. It'll do, there's not much else can be done with it due to restricted space.

It should be done and I'm hoping for an announcement when promotion is confirmed. It would be great to have it already in place when we get to the Prem the season after next

That's exactly how I see it.
We DO need a slightly bigger capacity in the PL and 36.6K is a sensible figure.
Also we do need to come up with a solution to how many we give the away fans
Knowing the SY Police if we did expand to 36.5K then the usuable capacity would probably be 33K.

I remember when we initially built the Westfield corner stand McCabe was talking about the versatility of being able to give away fans in the upper tier almost any amount dependant on sales.

I think the plan was to give away fans the lower tier, then we can also give them what ever we want in the upper tier and still keep segregation because the doors in the concourse areas would be sectioned off

Agree would love to see an extended full Kop. What a site that would be?

 

[Blade58]

I'm 6'4" with dodgy hips and knees, I've not been on the kop for over 12 years, just impossible.

As much as it pains me to say, statistically over the last 20 years or whatever, we've got fatter as a nation. Needs confirming, but aren't we also getting taller in terms of average height?

Seats need to be fit for purpose and those seats may well have run their course