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SOL expansion

I might be proved wrong but I don’t think the Saudis have any interest in spunking 1.5bn on a new stadium. I’m not even that convinced they now even have long term plans for the mags.

I do think, however, they will spend perhaps £400m on a gallowgate extension as a goodbye (basically leaving on good terms)
They're pulling back money and building work on that big massive city in the desert called NEOM, there's no way their are spending any large amount of money in a area thousands of miles away. They have the ears of FIFA now they don't need a piddley little football club to do the talking for them
 

Why not build a new stadium?
A lot of NFL teams have replaced their stadiums which hadn’t reached 30 years off age.Reason being the need for better corporate facilities and fan experience.Plus there life expectancy of the stadiums are only between 30/50 years before they need to have massive upgrades or build new ones.
Well apart from the exorbitant cost, and the fact that the SoL is nowhere near the end of its lifespan, and that it can be expanded to meet our needs through the original design and with space around it for that purpose, and the need to either ground share while a new stadium is built (with who? 🤢), or find an alternative location for a new one when we have the best one available already (and a newly opened footbridge connecting it to the city centre)....no, I can't think of any reasons not to build a new stadium.
 
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They're pulling back money and building work on that big massive city in the desert called NEOM, there's no way their are spending any large amount of money in a area thousands of miles away. They have the ears of FIFA now they don't need a piddley little football club to do the talking for them

The Saudi's own international club football now and are the major financial backer of FIFA for the foreseeable. The club world cup will probably be held every two years, after 2030. Be expanded to at least 48 teams. Be covered by DAZN which by then will likely be controlled by PIF or be covered by a newly created Saudi sports broadcaster. The competition will include at least one Saudi team but probably more.

In addition

Neom
Trojena (winter Olympics 2029/30)
2030/31 - World Expo
2034 - World Cup

Just a few of the bone crushingly expensive matters on Saudi minds in the coming years. PIF have confirmed (as the geo political think tanks have increasingly observed) that the investment strategy has pivoted and is now internally focused.

Could be wrong but spending $2.5B or whatever on a stadium on the town moor or leazes park doesn't appear to tie in with the above. Also quite convenient that complex planning wrangles will delay any potential plans up there by years.
 
I hear report that the Mags have 100k members in their lottery ticket scam ( a bit annoyed that a school in Dundee got tickets). I also know that some of those are lapsed season ticket holders who want back so they have demand well over 52k. I’m sure if we did well for a few years our appeal would be higher than now (the interest is higher than 15 years ago as has been discussed on this thread already and we’d get lapsed people back too. Expanding now funded by corporate may not be such a daft idea after all.
 
I hear report that the Mags have 100k members in their lottery ticket scam ( a bit annoyed that a school in Dundee got tickets). I also know that some of those are lapsed season ticket holders who want back so they have demand well over 52k. I’m sure if we did well for a few years our appeal would be higher than now (the interest is higher than 15 years ago as has been discussed on this thread already and we’d get lapsed people back too. Expanding now funded by corporate may not be such a daft idea after all.
Whilst they do have over 100k 'members, the majority are multiple accounts from the same person. There was one bloke moaning on twitter he couldn't get a ticket for any of his 8 accounts, one of which was his 4 month old son.
 
I would put Newcastle's potential support in a higher bracket than ours. They've got an enormous catchment area. Leeds could be huge if they could really capture the interest of a larger percentage of their catchment area.


I can think of about a billion reasons. Unless we end up with a rich benefactor, it's not going to happen any time soon.

Where was Newcastle's enormous catchment area when they were giving away 10,000 free season tickets?
 
Cheaper?

Everton have just spent £800m on a 52k seater
Revenues produced from new stadium will far exceed a patchwork on an old stadium if you take all the US data on new stadium’s you might change your mind. It’s Spend more get a lot more choice is yours? If you have the money spend it but in Sunderland case new stadium would mean increased prices across the board which would not sit well in the region..
 
Where was Newcastle's enormous catchment area when they were giving away 10,000 free season tickets?
In the same place it is now, they are just a fickle bunch. This is evidenced by their crowds when they struggle in the medium term.

Similar story for Leeds, except for whatever reason they've never attracted regular high crowds.
 
Why not build a new stadium?
A lot of NFL teams have replaced their stadiums which hadn’t reached 30 years off age.Reason being the need for better corporate facilities and fan experience.Plus there life expectancy of the stadiums are only between 30/50 years before they need to have massive upgrades or build new ones.
They get someone else to pay for them as well.
In the same place it is now, they are just a fickle bunch. This is evidenced by their crowds when they struggle in the medium term.

Similar story for Leeds, except for whatever reason they've never attracted regular high crowds.
Rugby, I expect.
 
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In the same place it is now, they are just a fickle bunch. This is evidenced by their crowds when they struggle in the medium term.

Similar story for Leeds, except for whatever reason they've never attracted regular high crowds.
I live down here. I think they're finally waking up tbh.
 
I live down here. I think they're finally waking up tbh.
Yeah, they seem interested in large numbers these days. They've got a huge catchment area
I think if an extension happens then transport options have to improve. It's a piece of piss getting out of SJP to Durham, Berwick, Darlington etc but even just to get to Hetton, Washington or Durham on a matchday from Sunderland is hell.
I think the new bridge is going to help.
 
It'll probably improve the public transport offering in that everyone won't be trying to get on in the same area at least.
We've got 2 metro stations next to the ground but after the the match the system is useless waiting for over half an hour after the Brentford match. Gaps in service missing metros. They can't even organise extra metros to get people home after a half hour wait at the stadium of light station you couldn't get o because it was already full. Its not rocket science to have extra metros waiting at full time
 
Probably been said but some bars etc in the extension that can be accessed on a none match day for regular income. Especially with the new bridge linking stadium to city centre and the investment in sheep folds
 
Think with attendances people often jump to a conclusion that Stadium Capacity is a defining indictor of a clubs potential fanbase but West Ham are an example to show how that isn't really the case as Capacity often limits potential.

They only used to get mid 30K crowds at Upton Park and their record crowd was 42K. Their new stadium has shown that they had the potential for far bigger crowds when I bet a lot of people would have dimissed them being able to get over 60K week in week out. Man Uniteds near 75K Capacity is nowhere near their potential.

I reckon approx potential for most weeks for the following:

100K+ = Man United and Liverpool
80-100K = Arsenal
65K - 80K = Tottenham, Chelsea, Man City, West Ham
50K - 65K = Newcastle, Everton, Villa, Sunderland, Leeds

Then circumstances come in to it. Challenging for honours, expensive ticket prices etc. Clubs could move up or down categories based on those 2 factors because West Ham and even Man City wouldn't be in the category they are now with mediocrity or relegation battles for a prolonged period.
Depends on ticket prices. Loads of lads I work with havent been to Chelsea, Spurs, Arsenal, WHU for ten years or more becos they just can’t afford it.
 
You think im wrong for essentially quoting what the club said they will do in terms of expanding the ground? Aye OK mate.
Its your interpretation of the timeline mate i dont agree with !and the comment from the club are just general stock answer pr bollocks ..Bob in his book said he was shown plans of an extension last year or so by kld himself so they have obviously developed an expansion strategy!... if your right it will be t least 5 years of his mythical sustained success before anything happens ,if im right they will announce a development at the end of next season or the next! Just a question :did you think at the end of last season we would spend 150 million on players over the summer?I would have called you a fantasist if you did ,so the same goes for the extension as they obviously had a well developed plan for when we got promoted and in the same vain i think they have a plan to extend the stadium and the unknown element is what triggers its deployment!
Out of interest are there any restrictions preventing an expansion of the east stand (I assume there aren’t for the south stand given the plans that were revealed recently) but is there anything for east stand expansion? Appreciate that would be much further down the line. Presumably assuming there wouldn’t be any restrictions capacity potential if east stand replicated or were similar to west stand would be 60-65k..
Personally i think physically there is room to extend the east stand but once all these homes are built and folk are living there they will object on nuisance grounds(nobody can stop them objecting) and the scuffers will be concerned with sub standard transport links and footfall.Realistically they need to get the south stand extended before the housing development is completed as assurances from the council are not worth the paper they are written on!

The new extension plans have 5500 seats rather than 7500 so it will take the capacity to around 53500 and i think the east would add another 9 thousand (going of old estimates)so that would give a final capacity of approx 62500?
 
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