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SOL expansion

Ohnonotagain said:
You don’t get one without the other though.

A 60,000 seater stadium in the Championship isn’t really a good idea.

Success on the pitch attracts players. Good players attract more fans.

Good facilities and bigger crowds attract bigger sponsors, more television exposure.

I suppose it’s a balancing act unless you have copious amounts of moolah.
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"A 60,000 seater stadium in the Championship isn’t really a good idea."i dont fear empty seats mate and most big clubs on the continent dont either it appears to be a British thingI i really dont get your logic tbh ..KLD clearly has a long term plan for the team and the club and he wants to return us to where we belong in the top ten of the football pyramid and more importantly stay there ....to do that the stadium needs to be improved especially for the corporate offerings and that will involve extra seats and your just going to have to get some outside help with your fears as the club wont care a jot!

...Aston villa have had a couple of years of success and are extending their stadium ,are their owners worried about future relegation? no they are not they are improving their facilities ..it really is as simple as that and if you make you always decisions based on lean times only you are never ever going to improve ever!
Football Dinosaur said:
People need to realise nothing is impossible.

planning has been posted here previously. If your asking if I've checked myself. The answer would be the same as if I asked you I guess.
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I wasnt getting out the torture equipment mate i was just wondering if your info was new? the planning data (not the recent stuff ,or the letter from the club to the council with the diagram of the build)has been on the website for years and i think is obsolete ..I dont think the club have actually put in a new planning application for the south stand but just a inquiring proposal to the council sorta a "im planning to do this in the future sort of thing and heres an example of my general design"!I am happy to be proved wrong and i dont get offended by anything said on a footy forum!
 
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DiscopantsSoL said:
This is Homes Miller Architects Planning Statement for the new South Stand Extension which is added within the clubs objection to the Sheepfolds Development along with the cross sectional plans.
A Pre application was submitted to the Council in July.

Holmes Miller
11th August 2025
1

Sunderland AFC – Stadium of Light
South Stand Expansion – Planning Statement
My name is Robert Kennedy. I am a Director of Holmes Miller Architects, a firm that specialises in stadia and sports venue design amongst other things. I was part of the team that designed the Stadium of Light in the 1990s and the North Stand extension that was approved in 1999 and opened a couple of years later. More recently I led the team that designed the proposals to redevelop the South Stand, the details of which were submitted to Sunderland City Council as a pre-application enquiry on 25 July 2026.

From its inception, the Stadium of Light was conceived as a modern arena designed to amplify crowd energy and passion. The bowl-shaped design was intentionally developed to create an intense matchday atmosphere and to allow for phased expansion, particularly through the introduction of upper tiers.
With increasing demand for matchday tickets and only the West Stand featuring two tiers, the decision was taken to expand the North Stand. This project successfully delivered an upper tier and additional facilities, meeting the club’s ambition at that time to increase capacity for home supporters. Naturally, attention then turned to the South Stand, with initial proposals developed and finalised for planning following the completion of the North Stand expansion.
Whilst planning permission for the South Stand was granted, the development was not pursued at the time, although the expansion of the South Stand has remained a long-term ambition of the club.

In 2025, Sunderland AFC re-engaged architects Holmes Miller to revisit the South Stand expansion with a renewed brief—one that reflects not only the club’s evolving needs but also its civic responsibility. The new design aims to enhance the stadium’s relationship with the city, particularly in light of improved access from the city centre via the pedestrian bridge.
A key component of this vision was the creation of a vibrant public square next to the Stadium, immediately to the south — an active and welcoming space for supporters and visitors alike, forming a natural terminus for the city-to-stadium route. Unfortunately, whilst this element of the scheme was discussed with the planners, the concept did not gain traction.
Holmes Miller’s current proposal sets out a public realm strategy that ought to be able to integrate with the upcoming Sheepfolds development to the south, providing that development was to accord with the Riverside Sunderland Supplementary Planning Document. This area should act as a buffer between the new South Stand and future mixed-use developments, while also offering
a dynamic, interactive commercial zone that aligns with wider regeneration plans.

The South Stand expansion includes a fully glazed upper façade, providing panoramic views towards Sheepfolds from the rear of the new stand, across the new public square, the bridge, and towards the city centre. The design includes facilities that are accessible to the wider community, featuring a flexible first-floor function suite and a large, ground-floor marketplace with potential for spill-out activity into the adjacent square.

Appendix 1 is a drawing which was submitted as part of the Club’s pre-application enquiry showing ‘sketch views’ of the proposed new South Stand in comparison with the existing stand together with the public realm area as envisaged.

From a construction perspective, buildability is a key consideration. Delivering a major engineering project within an active stadium environment—and a city centre context—requires careful planning. Maintaining a live venue on matchdays throughout the construction period is essential, with crowd safety remaining the highest priority.
To this end, the construction strategy includes the provision of structural crash decks. Crowd safety is the prime consideration during the construction phase and so with this live stadium scenario these temporary works, consisting of steel and concrete tunnel structures along the south elevation, allow for the safe movement of the crowd through designated routes during the build phase; with construction activities resuming between events. This approach has been proven successful in similar high-profile engineering projects.
To facilitate safe and efficient construction, a temporary working area of approximately 30 metres in depth from the edge of the proposed South Stand development will be required. This zone will accommodate cranage, equipment, and access routes, and is considered critical to the successful delivery of the scheme. Such arrangements always present organisational challenges, but with an apartment block located so close by, those challenges whilst manageable would be greatly increased. Furthermore, the impacts on the amenity of residents during the construction phase (traffic noise, construction noise, dust, lighting) would be massive.

2
Relationship with the Sheepfolds Development

According to current council proposals, the Sheepfolds development includes a 25m-high mixed-use commercial and residential block located within 23m of the proposed South Stand expansion (this distance reducing at higher levels due to the cantilever design of the new stand). Appendix 2 attached comprises
two drawings which provide an indication of the close relationship between the proposed mixed use block, both in plan and section form.
This proximity presents several planning and technical challenges for both developments.

Locating residential accommodation so close to the stadium’s principal public-facing elevation will almost certainly result in operational and amenity conflicts. Matchdays bring high volumes of pedestrian traffic and increased noise, whilst the proposed function facilities would be used at other times, including evenings. These activities would be likely to impact future residents in two main ways – noise emanating from the function suite in the evenings, and in particular light spillage from the extensive glazed areas that are a key design feature of the scheme. In this latter regard, lighting and glazing are used in modern stadia design to provide a welcoming ambiance and to accentuate design features. Without them, stands remain functional, but often bland and drab.

Similarly, the construction and operational viability of the South Stand expansion will be affected by the neighbouring development. While it is technically possible to build in close proximity to residential structures, it will likely increase construction complexity, particularly in terms of access, cranage, and site logistics.
Whether the development of the two areas proceeds concurrently or sequentially, cross-party collaboration between each development area will be essential. Shared objectives must prioritise public safety, accessibility, and minimal disruption, ensuring the successful delivery of both schemes within a cohesive urban framework.
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Thanks for posting this. That is brilliant and I think it’s happening and I hope soon so we can get access to tickets more readily. I’m going to Brentford today but I only got one as a kind poster on here informed us that Brentford hadn’t sold all of theirs and more became available. We need more seats
 
ENDON said:
Negativity from some fans blow my mind , 32 years of supporting Sunderland , the lows out weigh the highs ten fold and more , selling 46 thousands tickets this season at home games is absolutely amazing, give us hope and we will back the lads , if we pushed on into the top ten, we would absolutely sell another 6 thousands seats !
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It's not being negative, it's just not being deluded. Some of the deluded lot in this thread have been calling for an expansion since League One and have a different reason every week, the latest one is because a Champions League team in Spain has done it.

A negative view would be to downsize the stadium.
 
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sunlun_1973 said:
Ive just bought one of the tickets but no instructions on how to get to it - do you know which turnstile i'll need to use or is there a different entrance?
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Turnstiles 24-32 for the £36 tickets. If you bought the 76 Yards hospitality ticket with bar access its accessed from the Old BCB entrance on the end of the North Stand.
 
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AndrewP said:
Except some things are. We already have banqueting facilities anyway. Any extension is going to be primarily for match days and the odd concert.
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Look at other clubs doing this. Our stadium, thanks to the bridge us now pretty much ij the city centre. Access is great.
oddbod said:
"A 60,000 seater stadium in the Championship isn’t really a good idea."i dont fear empty seats mate and most big clubs on the continent dont either it appears to be a British thingI i really dont get your logic tbh ..KLD clearly has a long term plan for the team and the club and he wants to return us to where we belong in the top ten of the football pyramid and more importantly stay there ....to do that the stadium needs to be improved especially for the corporate offerings and that will involve extra seats and your just going to have to get some outside help with your fears as the club wont care a jot!

...Aston villa have had a couple of years of success and are extending their stadium ,are their owners worried about future relegation? no they are not they are improving their facilities ..it really is as simple as that and if you make you always decisions based on lean times only you are never ever going to improve ever!

I wasnt getting out the torture equipment mate i was just wondering if your info was new? the planning data (not the recent stuff ,or the letter from the club to the council with the diagram of the build)has been on the website for years and i think is obsolete ..I dont think the club have actually put in a new planning application for the south stand but just a inquiring proposal to the council sorta a "im planning to do this in the future sort of thing and heres an example of my general design"!I am happy to be proved wrong and i dont get offended by anything said on a footy forum!
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Ah OK. If the club haven't renewed planning. Which we're led to believe they have then they've been negligent. Looking at boys recent book he certainly thinks it's still in place and has contacts in the club at the highest level.
 
Football Dinosaur said:
Look at other clubs doing this. Our stadium, thanks to the bridge us now pretty much ij the city centre. Access is great.
Ah OK. If the club haven't renewed planning. Which we're led to believe they have then they've been negligent. Looking at boys recent book he certainly thinks it's still in place and has contacts in the club at the highest level.
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They renewed planning in march this year
 
Football Dinosaur said:
Look at other clubs doing this. Our stadium, thanks to the bridge us now pretty much ij the city centre. Access is great.
Ah OK. If the club haven't renewed planning. Which we're led to believe they have then they've been negligent. Looking at boys recent book he certainly thinks it's still in place and has contacts in the club at the highest level.
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ok mate if your sure!
Weststand said:
They renewed planning in march this year
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Isnt all planning permissions open to public view and the plans have to be detailed? and all approvals logged and available for view? sorry im asking for a friend?also which plans have been renewed?the old that had lapsed or the new version?
 
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oddbod said:
ok mate if your sure!

Isnt all planning permissions open to public view and the plans have to be detailed? and all approvals logged and available for view? sorry im asking for a friend?also which plans have been renewed?the old that had lapsed or the new version?
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Not sure if open to view if they've just renewed what was already agreed. This issue may be when they want a bigger better extension
 
Football Dinosaur said:
Look at other clubs doing this. Our stadium, thanks to the bridge us now pretty much ij the city centre. Access is great.
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It's brilliant, but I think we're maybe talking about different things.
Football Dinosaur said:
Not sure if open to view if they've just renewed what was already agreed. This issue may be when they want a bigger better extension
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The existing planning permission lapsed, I believe. No new plans submitted to planning although the club have released their plans as part of the objection.
 
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AndrewP said:
The existing planning permission lapsed, I believe. No new plans submitted to planning although the club have released their plans as part of the objection.
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I'm sure I read somewhere, probably on here, that the club had commenced work on the extension. Effectively dug a trench , looked at the state of the piles and then filled the trench in. This would mean that the planning permission was in place.
I've not seen anything anywhere else so probably a load of rubbish, but someone might know.
 
OldNewtown said:
I'm sure I read somewhere, probably on here, that the club had commenced work on the extension. Effectively dug a trench , looked at the state of the piles and then filled the trench in. This would mean that the planning permission was in place.
I've not seen anything anywhere else so probably a load of rubbish, but someone might know.
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That might do it. Hopefully that's true.
 
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