Stadium Development

[Trigger Blade]

I have just got back from a night at reebok stadium Hotel. I think the bit that would help the club most is making it a genuine venue for day to day use. Meetings, conferences etc. People are regularly at the ground and it's bringing in consistent income. Not really sure what we currently have and what the facilities are like but that wouldn't cost a fortune and helps with income and getting more people into the club.

P.s. I know its not called reebok anymore, I can't remember it's new name

I don’t know how much of a problem it is for people staying at the Bolton stadium, but you can really only walk to the retail park next door, which has eating places, but it’s all a bit soulless. Our hotel is much better located (even though it’s not right in the city centre).

Toughsheet’s it’s third name by the way, it had a few seasons as the Macron Stadium after Reebook, some of the signage locally still hasn’t caught up

 

[Houston_Blade]

I don’t know how much of a problem it is for people staying at the Bolton stadium, but you can really only walk to the retail park next door, which has eating places, but it’s all a bit soulless. Our hotel is much better located (even though it’s not right in the city centre).

Toughsheet’s it’s third name by the way, it had a few seasons as the Macron Stadium after Reebook, some of the signage locally still hasn’t caught up

It was the ‘University of Bolton Stadium’ as well recently.

 

[Westran]

I think it's a question of routine maintenance, we're going to have to upgrade and improve facilities at some point, otherwise we end up with a Hillsborough, left to rust and hugely expensive to repair and improve. Whilst we're updating facilities, we might as well upgrade and improve.

 

[Trigger Blade]

It was the ‘University of Bolton Stadium’ as well recently.

So it was, how quickly I forget these days!

 

[SRA76]

We’ll become another Preston or Blackburn!

Can’t sell out so give away fans 7k seats and let them make a lot of noise.

Bingo. And that is my worse nightmare used by all the big clubs as a away day to take over a city like some clubs use Blackburn Preston Wigan Barnsley etc

 

[FATTYFOULKE]

I seriously haven’t got a clue where some people think another 7-8k will suddenly come from just like that. Building support takes years when your in a 2 club city because your literally fighting the other half for the younger generation which is not easy because it’s usually in bedded in family blood if your going to be Red or blue. So that takes years. But we are actually winning in getting kids over from the dark side for a change and that’s becuse of the recent premier league stints. However untill we get there consistently we won’t ever have the support to fill a 40k seater week in week out. 1. Build a competent premiership team 2. Get more kids following us and parents bringing em 3. Extend stadium. Simple really

When we were getting around 10k, 15k on a good day and 18k was considered a very good gate. Could you ever imagine us averaging 28k in the 2nd tier and 30k plus in the top? Limited only by the size of the stadium.

Because that’s what happened but some think that’s our ceiling. I don’t understand why United fans don’t think the fanbase can grow any more than it is now.

One thing is for sure, it won’t while our capacity is stuck at 31k with only 28k for home fans.

 

[SRA76]

When we were getting around 10k, 15k on a good day and 18k was considered a very good gate. Could you ever imagine us averaging 28k in the 2nd tier and 30k plus in the top? Limited only by the size of the stadium.

Because that’s what happened but some think that’s our ceiling. I don’t understand why United fans don’t think the fanbase can grow any more than it is now.

One thing is for sure, it won’t while our capacity is stuck at 31k with only 28k for home fans.

Fair points. It can grow over time I agree. But last season the attendances were not limited by the side of the stadium. Becuse it was very rarely sold out of at all. That’s the point I’m making. Build a successful team on it and the rest will follow. We have just fucked up ( again) the chance to really kick on and be not only Sheffields top dog but Yorkshires. Swear only we could fuck things up so bad

 

[The Fox]

Just reading the views on attendance and capacity , I'm not sure of how the dynamic works that more seats = more attendance however its interesting that Sheffield FC have an average attendance of 433 and are planning a 5000 capacity stadium .
I admire thier ambition.

 

[JJBlade]

When we were getting around 10k, 15k on a good day and 18k was considered a very good gate. Could you ever imagine us averaging 28k in the 2nd tier and 30k plus in the top? Limited only by the size of the stadium.

Because that’s what happened but some think that’s our ceiling. I don’t understand why United fans don’t think the fanbase can grow any more than it is now.

One thing is for sure, it won’t while our capacity is stuck at 31k with only 28k for home fans.

The ceiling won't stick at 28,000 for very long either. Just imagine what's going to happen when our 50,000 and 40,000 and 30,000 + loyalty points holders die.

As they are the only fans that matter and their points haul grows every season where are the next generation coming from?

 

[Silent Blade]

Just reading the views on attendance and capacity , I'm not sure of how the dynamic works that more seats = more attendance however its interesting that Sheffield FC have an average attendance of 433 and are planning a 5000 capacity stadium .
I admire thier ambition.

I lost count of the new projects to bring Sheffield FC back to Sheffield in some new developed ground. Usually disappears because there is no cash to actually do it until a new load of bollocks is announced. Anyway good luck

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

Well, with the takeover I guess this thread is somewhat moot.

 

[stringjunior]

There's a theory (which I can't remember the name of) that says as a venue reaches it's limit it becomes off-putting to visitors and therefore the capacity is never reached. That isn't to say that a 50,000 capacity ground will immediately be filled, but the current ground being so full will be off-putting to some. It wouldn't suprise me if we expanded the ground to 40k that another 5k people showed up regularly within a year or two. And with sustained success (yeh, I know) it could be more.

But I'm not expert.

 

[Bladeloyal]

There's a theory (which I can't remember the name of) that says as a venue reaches it's limit it becomes off-putting to visitors and therefore the capacity is never reached. That isn't to say that a 50,000 capacity ground will immediately be filled, but the current ground being so full will be off-putting to some. It wouldn't suprise me if we expanded the ground to 40k that another 5k people showed up regularly within a year or two. And with sustained success (yeh, I know) it could be more.

But I'm not expert.

With clever ticketing we could expand to over 35k

 

[Blade for Sale]

I'd love some rich mentalist to chuck a few hundred million at us, rotate the pitch round 90⁰ and build a steep sided 45k thunderbastard. Like Mestalla but with a roof and a separate kop like Spurs did.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

I'd love some rich mentalist to chuck a few hundred million at us, rotate the pitch round 90⁰ and build a steep sided 45k thunderbastard. Like Mestalla but with a roof and a separate kop like Spurs did.
View attachment 186414

Ground share with Wednesday while it gets built?

 

[stringjunior]

I'd love some rich mentalist to chuck a few hundred million at us, rotate the pitch round 90⁰ and build a steep sided 45k thunderbastard. Like Mestalla but with a roof and a separate kop like Spurs did.
View attachment 186414

Sadly I imagine that rake wouldn't meet current building regs. But I agree about spinning the ground round. It'll never happen of course, unless the takeover delivers people with billions just burning a hole in their trousers

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Sadly I imagine that rake wouldn't meet current building regs. But I agree about spinning the ground round. It'll never happen of course, unless the takeover delivers people with billions just burning a hole in their trousers

Why would you want our stadium to be demolished?

That'd seriously be me done with the club if it ever happened.

 

[FATTYFOULKE]

Sadly I imagine that rake wouldn't meet current building regs. But I agree about spinning the ground round. It'll never happen of course, unless the takeover delivers people with billions just burning a hole in their trousers

My Dad said for years that once the South Stand was built they should have rotated the stadium first.

 

[Tom Bott]

It was the ‘University of Bolton Stadium’ as well recently.

How about The Beautiful Downtown Bramall Lane- toughsheet if you don't like it Stadium.

Has a good ring to it methinks.

 

[Tom Bott]

But last season the attendances were not limited by the side of the stadium.

Maybe by the quality of the football on offer ?

 

[VictoryBlade]

I don’t know how much of a problem it is for people staying at the Bolton stadium, but you can really only walk to the retail park next door, which has eating places, but it’s all a bit soulless. Our hotel is much better located (even though it’s not right in the city centre).

Toughsheet’s it’s third name by the way, it had a few seasons as the Macron Stadium after Reebook, some of the signage locally still hasn’t caught up

I know its seems a bit soulless but deffo an improvement on Burnden Park?

 

[Blade for Sale]

Ground share with Wednesday while it gets built?

Not only would our billionaire mentalist make them an offer they couldn't refuse (about £50k), he'd also subsidise our tickets so we got a higher average attendance than them in the same season in their stadium. The indignity would power the national grid for several weeks.

 

[JJBlade]

Why would you want our stadium to be demolished?

That'd seriously be me done with the club if it ever happened.

It's called progress, it's what's happening all over the world .........except in Sheffield of course.

 

[Upton_Blade]

Start with the South stand first.....the motivation for this isn't so much to increase capacity.
It's to give the VIP people (the owners and their friends) coming to the Lane top class/ posh facilities, bringing Sheffield into the modern world, massively improving our reputation. We can have a large state of the art media room, top class catering facilities, much larger and much more modern changing rooms for the players, top class executive boxes and a fancy modern directors box. Visitors with influence will be leaving our ground very impressed, really enjoying the experience, feeding back to other around the country.

I'm lucky enough, through work, to have access to tickets in the director's suite pretty much whenever I want.

I also attend a lot of work conferences at other stadiums around the country and after the refurb of the 1889 suite last summer it's up there with most of the equivalent area's elsewhere already.

The only one that stands out as far superior is the most exclusive suite at The Etihad which is in effect where the Sheik goes when he attends. Haven't been to the new Spurs stadium in that capacity but would imagine that's pretty good as well.

The boxes could probably do with an upgrade as not sure they're up to the gold standard but our facilities on the corporate side are pretty good already.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

It’s still bigger even with restrictions they had a couple of crowds over 32/33k so it’s definitely bigger than lane still. But bigger doesn’t have to be better. I think there’s nothing so wanker than a stadium with empty seats all Orr shop. Keep lane as it is and keep it full. Extend it when / if we get a team to sustain premier league status THEN build on that. Other wise we would be looking at a a 40k seater stadium with 28k in it in. Whats point in that ?

Yes, I just want a better stadium, not necessarily a bigger stadium. If they brought the kop up to the same standards (posts removed, better access and proper concourse etc) as the rest of the ground…I’d be happy.

 

[BladeInIreland]

Selling out a stadium is no indication of not needing a bigger stadium
Sunderland never sold out Roker Park
Newcastle hardly ever sold out St James before redevelopment
West Ham hardly ever sold out Upton Park
Brighton couldn't even sell out the Withdean
Southampton couldn't sell out The Dell
Leicester couldn't sell out Filbert Street
Man City couldn't sell out Maine Road
Hull City couldn't sell out Boothferry Park
Bristol City could barely get 10,000 before redevelopment
Rotherham could barely get 3,000 at Millmoor.

Every single stadium has some empty seats at every game for whatever reason, otherwise every attendance would be exactly the same, Liverpool's stadium holds 61,276 but they have not had a single 61,276 attendance since it was expanded. If they expanded it to 80,000 they would average 79,000, and if they increased it again to 90,000 they would average 89,000, it's just the way it is.

It's also about organisation to sell the tickets, United would expand to 50,000 and still have it's one ticket per person policy meaning a family of six would have to jump through hoops to all get tickets together to do something that they've lived without doing their entire lives and that they're not all that bothered about doing anyway

Just giving your post a bump here. I think it argues the point really well which is getting ignored by repeating we don't need it because we didn't sell out last season.

 

[BladeInIreland]

None of the suggestions for stadium development actually consider how we will pay for it. Meandering thoughts about a state of the art stadium as things stand is pure fantasy. Okay if that’s how you want to spend your time but pretty useless for information purposes.

Could we not pay for it with the premier league money? (The next time we are back obviously).

 

[stringjunior]

Could we not pay for it with the premier league money? (The next time we are back obviously).

Premier League money is eaten by Premier League wages.

New stadia are financed by other money.

 

[YES Blade]

I'm lucky enough, through work, to have access to tickets in the director's suite pretty much whenever I want.

I also attend a lot of work conferences at other stadiums around the country and after the refurb of the 1889 suite last summer it's up there with most of the equivalent area's elsewhere already.

The only one that stands out as far superior is the most exclusive suite at The Etihad which is in effect where the Sheik goes when he attends. Haven't been to the new Spurs stadium in that capacity but would imagine that's pretty good as well.

The boxes could probably do with an upgrade as not sure they're up to the gold standard but our facilities on the corporate side are pretty good already.

I’d say our issue on the corporate side isn’t the quality, it’s the quantity! A big reason clubs like Arsenal and Spurs built new stadiums is that the revenue from corporate facilities can be massive. It’s certainly an area where we’ve not maximise our revenue potential, especially during the Premier League seasons.

 

[JJBlade]

I’d say our issue on the corporate side isn’t the quality, it’s the quantity! A big reason clubs like Arsenal and Spurs built new stadiums is that the revenue from corporate facilities can be massive. It’s certainly an area where we’ve not maximise our revenue potential, especially during the Premier League seasons.

Sponsorship is the big earner.

Companies wanting to be associated with Arsenal and Spurs are not going to be interested in United, it's an image thing.

These clubs have turnovers of £500 million - £600 million each year and even in a good year only about £200 million of it comes from tv and season ticket sales

They don't get that by flogging a dozen snot pies and four bottles of beer during half time because the catering staff can't be arsed