SOL expansion

[Mowgli]

100% mate and it’s a major reason why the club are probably happy to accept the empty seats.

Those screaming for the away fans to be in the lower bowl should consider if they'd be willing to swap their seats with them.

Hopefully we get a PL exception

 

[Weststand]

100% mate and it’s a major reason why the club are probably happy to accept the empty seats.

I really cant believe the club are indefinitely going to have 1K seats unoccupied especially in the premier league...in addition those seats are prime position for premium level prices....If they moved the aways and stuck home support up there, them 1k empty seats would definitely be £300+ each..Surely the club are working on a way round this to get them occupied somehow

 

[JackL]

Moving the away fans is going to be a huge issue if we have to do it or choose to do it.

The season ticket holders that get displaced are basically going to have to be told to sit where the away fans are now.

They'd have to like it or lump it. Will be people happy to take their place if they don't want to sit up there

 

[Hank Scorpio]

I really cant believe the club are indefinitely going to have 1K seats unoccupied especially in the premier league...in addition those seats are prime position for premium level prices....If they moved the aways and stuck home support up there, them 1k empty seats would definitely be £300+ each..Surely the club are working on a way round this to get them occupied somehow

At present mate, there’s not much the club can do. The only location the aways can go is the NEC and that would mean shifting 3000+ season card holders.

If the South Stand does get expanded that could help though

They'd have to like it or lump it. Will be people happy to take their place if they don't want to sit up there

It probably wouldn’t make a huge amount of difference to the amount of tickets available though.

As you’d need segregation on both sides (rather than one at present), you might only see a couple of hundred seats more being made available.

 

[JackL]

At present mate, there’s not much the club can do. The only location the aways can go is the NEC and that would mean shifting 3000+ season card holders.

If the South Stand does get expanded that could help though


It probably wouldn’t make a huge amount of difference to the amount of tickets available though.

As you’d need segregation on both sides (rather than one at present), you might only see a couple of hundred seats more being made available.

I'm not advocating it as such, just saying its not as bad a problem as some would make out having to sit up there. First obvious solution is open up those seats at the front of the north stand upper. Its not a problem at the Mags so it shouldn't be here. If they don't then they should move the away fans downstairs

 

[Mowgli]

I'm not advocating it as such, just saying its not as bad a problem as some would make out having to sit up there. First obvious solution is open up those seats at the front of the north stand upper. Its not a problem at the Mags so it shouldn't be here. If they don't then they should move the away fans downstairs

You say its not a big problem but it absolutely will be to loads of the 3.5k who are told to move and don't want to sit there. 'I've sat here for 20 years and been told to move up to the gods etc etc'. Can see the hell on coming a mile off.

I hope the club get an exception from the PL about the away fans at pitchside rule.

 

[riffraff]

The seats at the front aren’t being used as its part of the security protocols put in place after the club got bollocked by SAG.

The club could push to reopen them but if anything does get thrown, the club will be told to shift the away fans into the NEC.

As said earlier, we are paying the price for the previous regimes utterly appalling management of the away end in L1.


It comes down to the risk appetite of the club. At best, those empty seats are costing us c£570k a year. If, however, we reopen them and something is thrown, the club are likely looking at a bill of a couple of million to shift the aways into the NEC.

The clubs appealing management of the away end since the stadium was at the design stage more like. Murray fucked up. Everyone knows it but few will say it.

 

[shootsitgoeswide]

I understand concerns about the sheepfolds development potentially causing issues about the South stand being expanded in the future, but wouldn’t a better plan be to expand the East stand so it’s a mirror image of the West Stand, extra boxes and corporate in the new upper tier, I would guess the new capacity would be about 580000, and how much better would the ground look both from the outside and inside, and when the building work is being done make the current concourse wider, in fact much wider.

I understand what you are saying but we have just started selling out 46k to jump 12,000 is a massive step.


doing the south stand first would be the more sensible idea IMO

there's no reason that I know of why we cant extend the VIP boxes round from the south west corner all the way around the south stand as part of the extension

 

[riffraff]

You say its not a big problem but it absolutely will be to loads of the 3.5k who are told to move and don't want to sit there. 'I've sat here for 20 years and been told to move up to the gods etc etc'. Can see the hell on coming a mile off.

I hope the club get an exception from the PL about the away fans at pitchside rule.

It’ll be a problem to the poor sods who get stuff thrown down at them anarl. Hopefully not and if it is hopefully it’s a small problem. The owners though only care about the financial side not the safety side.

 

[JackL]

You say its not a big problem but it absolutely will be to loads of the 3.5k who are told to move and don't want to sit there. 'I've sat here for 20 years and been told to move up to the gods etc etc'. Can see the hell on coming a mile off.

I hope the club get an exception from the PL about the away fans at pitchside rule.

Yeah I appreciate some won't be happy, but if that situation arises it would be tough shit unfortunately. We're selling out every week so the club need to find a way of getting those seats in the NSU open now tbh

 

[riffraff]

I understand what you are saying but we have just started selling out 46k to jump 12,000 is a massive step.


doing the south stand first would be the more sensible idea IMO

there's no reason that I know of why we cant extend the VIP boxes round from the south west corner all the way around the south stand as part of the extension

I’ve viewed the match from both the north upper and the concourse. There’s no comparison. The south upper would prove as unpopular as the North upper was. Plus the club could charge a lot more for East Upper tickets AND have more hostility boxes.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

I'm not advocating it as such, just saying its not as bad a problem as some would make out having to sit up there. First obvious solution is open up those seats at the front of the north stand upper. Its not a problem at the Mags so it shouldn't be here. If they don't then they should move the away fans downstairs

Although away fans are hosted in the upper tier at both the SOL and SJP, we are in a very different situation mate.

The mags ultimately didn’t have the entire security of their away enclosure fail like ours did against Coventry. It’s easy to forget now but at half time, the club were sacking stewards as things were out of control. The police were even being stopped accessing the stand by Coventry fans. It was a total shitshow.

Unfortunately even after that day, we continued to give tinpot clubs big allocations, so their fans could have a big day out and we could cash in a bit. Sadly this meant there was still issues with objects being chucked.

By the time we got promoted back to the championship, SAG had put us on warning.

 

[Mowgli]

Yeah I appreciate some won't be happy, but if that situation arises it would be tough shit unfortunately. We're selling out every week so the club need to find a way of getting those seats in the NSU open now tbh

Their first port of call should be sorting the ticketing out. Its 'sold out' until we release block after block 2 days before the game of unused staff tickets.

Thats a simpler fix and needs sorting sooner.

 

[shootsitgoeswide]

I’ve viewed the match from both the north upper and the concourse. There’s no comparison. The south upper would prove as unpopular as the North upper was. Plus the club could charge a lot more for East Upper tickets AND have more hostility boxes.

oh you right there's no comparison view wise but jumping the capacity up by 12k is a lot of fans buying expensive tickets every week. I'm not sure we have that demand at the moment.

as unpopular as the north stand upper was people would snap your hands off for a £36 ticket in the new south stand upper now as you cant get a seat anywhere else these days.

 

[Wrenthorpe Mackem]

I’ve viewed the match from both the north upper and the concourse. There’s no comparison. The south upper would prove as unpopular as the North upper was. Plus the club could charge a lot more for East Upper tickets AND have more hostility boxes.

Woukd certainly be a better view from West Stand extension than South....

 

[Julio Mackemo]

I understand concerns about the sheepfolds development potentially causing issues about the South stand being expanded in the future, but wouldn’t a better plan be to expand the East stand so it’s a mirror image of the West Stand, extra boxes and corporate in the new upper tier, I would guess the new capacity would be about 580000, and how much better would the ground look both from the outside and inside, and when the building work is being done make the current concourse wider, in fact much wider.

Maybe but i doubt we do that at the moment, we wouldn't fill it. South stand aye, 54kish makes sense. We'd get the spare seats back probably too.

 

[OldNewtown]

Woukd certainly be a better view from West Stand extension than South....

West?
Surely you mean East
Still early like

 

[Jasper]

I understand concerns about the sheepfolds development potentially causing issues about the South stand being expanded in the future, but wouldn’t a better plan be to expand the East stand so it’s a mirror image of the West Stand, extra boxes and corporate in the new upper tier, I would guess the new capacity would be about 580000, and how much better would the ground look both from the outside and inside, and when the building work is being done make the current concourse wider, in fact much wider.

Expand the east stand in a mirror image of the west stand, so there is continuity on three sides, and then extend the south stand into one big single tier stand.

 

[Disco_Pants93]

Staggers me how people genuinely believe we need the stadium expanding. We need years of it selling out to even consider it.

 

[Hot Since 82]

I understand what you are saying but we have just started selling out 46k to jump 12,000 is a massive step.


doing the south stand first would be the more sensible idea IMO

there's no reason that I know of why we cant extend the VIP boxes round from the south west corner all the way around the south stand as part of the extension

As things stand I would expect the club to try and keep the away fans exactly where they are. The South Stand extension will be the priority, probably for the reason you mention coupled with external pressures. I'd also expect more hospitality seating, as you say likely to be exec boxes extending around. Eventually the sag enforced issue will pass and those seats in the north upper will be filled again.

Demand is there right now to sell out an extended south stand. KLD is very ambitious and wants the club playing in Europe asap, maybe if we can consolidate and push and build the demand further then the East stand will follow. I was told he wants to build a large music and conference type venue on Sheepfolds (and get it done and running before the Gateshead one which appears to be totally stalled again). This is apparently why the council are trying to force his hand to see actions to the words.

Staggers me how people genuinely believe we need the stadium expanding. We need years of it selling out to even consider it.

Check out what happened in the summer to understand KLDs ambitions for Safc.