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SOL expansion

RedandWhiteRebel said:
I always assumed an extension to the East and South would pretty much mirror the West and North with some tweaks here and there.

But if estimated costs are pushing £250 million it suggests they have bigger plans than what I first thought.

Maybe it includes full stadium redevelopment with retractable roof. Who knows how big these owners are aiming.

Exciting times.
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I think people are massively overestimating what £250m worth of construction would buy you in 2026. I think Leeds are spending £200m for their stand expansion.
 

Father Larry Duff said:
I reckon they’ll build the south stand as a huge single tier. The east stand will be where all the new corporate goes. Would make sense as that would be used for gigs too. The stage is always south stand end.
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If they're talking £250m then you're probably right. The current "easy"/cheap plans would cost nowhere near that so if they're thinking £250m it must be a total stand rebuild.
Dog in a pram said:
I think people are massively overestimating what £250m worth of construction would buy you in 2026. I think Leeds are spending £200m for their stand expansion.
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It would cost nowhere near that to make the South and East stands a mirror of the North and West stands. Costs have gone up massive amounts since then, but not that much.

I'm guessing if they're talking £250m then they've got other plans. That or there's no plans and they're using huge figures to stop talk of imminent expansion.

What's odd is things must have changed recently as one poster on here said it was happening in September iirc.
 
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Geppetto said:
It'll be well over 60k, 59k is conservative.
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Could be. It’s good to hear the club leadership thinking big. I do think any expansion will lean heavy on high revenue space, meaning more boxes, more concession concourses, which would mean less capacity to just jam in seating. This is the right approach IMHO because it can help subsidize affordable tickets for everyone else.
 
AndrewP said:
If they're talking £250m then you're probably right. The current "easy"/cheap plans would cost nowhere near that so if they're thinking £250m it must be a total stand rebuild.

It would cost nowhere near that to make the South and East stands a mirror of the North and West stands. Costs have gone up massive amounts since then, but not that much.

I'm guessing if they're talking £250m then they've got other plans. That or there's no plans and they're using huge figures to stop talk of imminent expansion.

What's odd is things must have changed recently as one poster on here said it was happening in September iirc.
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Nail on head. Viewed alongside imminent legends way work i think it's just a throwaway figure pulled out of someone's hole, or from very high level feasibility studies and comparisons with other current expansions.

Be happy to be wrong but I get the feeling this is just a thing that owners of reasonably successful clubs with full grounds need to pay lip service to so they don't get criticised for being unambitious.
 
Dog in a pram said:
Nail on head. Viewed alongside imminent legends way work i think it's just a throwaway figure pulled out of someone's hole, or from very high level feasibility studies and comparisons with other current expansions.

Be happy to be wrong but I get the feeling this is just a thing that owners of reasonably successful clubs with full grounds need to pay lip service to so they don't get criticised for being unambitious.
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I think its more likely they sell for huge profit rather than hoy 250m on an extension.
 
AndrewP said:
If they're talking £250m then you're probably right. The current "easy"/cheap plans would cost nowhere near that so if they're thinking £250m it must be a total stand rebuild.

It would cost nowhere near that to make the South and East stands a mirror of the North and West stands. Costs have gone up massive amounts since then, but not that much.

I'm guessing if they're talking £250m then they've got other plans. That or there's no plans and they're using huge figures to stop talk of imminent expansion.

What's odd is things must have changed recently as one poster on here said it was happening in September iirc.
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They won’t want to mirror the old stands though. Goals and design norms have change. The old expansion was fine but was focused on maximum seating at lowest cost. The club need to build contemporary space like you would see at Spurs or Wembley. Will be a different design and cost point.
 
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Mowgli said:
I think its more likely they sell for huge profit rather than hoy 250m on an extension.
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Definitely, they probably have some feasibility studies and financial forecasting to tell a good story to a buyer on long term growth potential.

If we get an announcement of a stadium expansion it would mean KLD is in for the long haul as who would buy when such a big financial risk has been taken and we've only had the fucker full for a year and a half.
 
Southern Monkey said:
I’d it’s extending out the concourses and providing a lot of space in the ground for lounges and break out areas and the like it will cost a lot. It won’t be like Wembley but consider that as an example where you enter and enter is lots of space to drink/eat inside with seating. With that people will spend a lot more money in the ground and turn up earlier, the scrum like concourses in existing grounds are not longer fit for commercial purpose.
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I disagree with this mind. The ground is in close proximity to a lot of amenities including a city centre. You’ve mentioned seating, which I’ve never noticed in my 5 trips to the new Wembley, but apart from that I turn up early(ish) to the SoL & it’s easy enough to get food & drink & find space. Half time is a different thing, but opportunity is extremely limited for that 15min period.
 
Mowgli said:
I think its more likely they sell for huge profit rather than hoy 250m on an extension.
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They're not a nation with endless cash. If they're going to spend £250m then they'd want a return in a reasonable time.

I can't see any way of that happening with the current ownership. If the extension isn't going to happen on the cheap then it's probably never going to happen.
 
Longy said:
I disagree with this mind. The ground is in close proximity to a lot of amenities including a city centre. You’ve mentioned seating, which I’ve never noticed in my 5 trips to the new Wembley, but apart from that I turn up early(ish) to the SoL & it’s easy enough to get food & drink & find space. Half time is a different thing, but opportunity is extremely limited for that 15min period.
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If we are still top half in 10 years with huge demonstrable latent demand then i'd be all for it, but it just strikes me as a willy waving exercise that is as likely to financially stuff us than take us to the next level.

For what it would cost to expand the concourse out i think you could break even very quickly in increased food and drink sales and enhanced corporate offer. That seems like the logical next step to me.

Are there any detailed plans for legends way that might offer any clues on areas left clear for a concourse expansion? That will be the first tangible evidence of their short term plans for me.
 
AndrewP said:
They're not a nation with endless cash. If they're going to spend £250m then they'd want a return in a reasonable time.

I can't see any way of that happening with the current ownership. If the extension isn't going to happen on the cheap then it's probably never going to happen.
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Agreed.

Theres clearly appetite for selling shares/investment or a sale too. So can't see this happening at all.
 
dvcnnyc said:
Could be. It’s good to hear the club leadership thinking big. I do think any expansion will lean heavy on high revenue space, meaning more boxes, more concession concourses, which would mean less capacity to just jam in seating. This is the right approach IMHO because it can help subsidize affordable tickets for everyone else.
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Unsure, heard murmurings of an epic standing section with crazy acoustics to help elevate the atmosphere even further.

Think the seats seats seats lads at Roker amplified by ten.
 
dvcnnyc said:
They won’t want to mirror the old stands though. Goals and design norms have change. The old expansion was fine but was focused on maximum seating at lowest cost. The club need to build contemporary space like you would see at Spurs or Wembley. Will be a different design and cost point.
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Listened to Tom Burwell on that podcast. We’ll be looking to make a higher percentage of the ground admissions of a corporate/premium nature.
 
poolie said:
Not sure how increasing the south stand & south west corner gets us an additional, roughly 6-7k seats and then the east stand plus two corners is only 8k?

When we increased the capacity last time giving us the north west corner upper and north upper that was 6-7k seats.

I personally believe that if/when we expand next it should be the north east corner and the east stand which has surely got to me more than only 8k seats and more likely to be around 10k?
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It’s not gonna be about numbers it’s gonna be about “quality experiences for high paying one off visitors”
 
Paul3845 said:
It's absolutely not mental. Just a 10 year mortgage / loan for an increased income in the meantime.
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What's the payback time for that? Payments of about £30-£35m per year. How much extra revenue would it bring in?
not spavin said:
Wonder if you could make the Roker end more of a steep, Kop-type stand using a similar footprint. Might be the best way to increase capacity (and atmosphere), potentially then making it possible to surrender some more of the Premier Concourse for corporate.

Knocked this up in MS Paint to show you what I mean.

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Wouldn't bring in the corporate coin.
 
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