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SoL To Undergo Multi-Million-Pound Investment Programme


BarnesPark said:
F@&kin hell man.

Still donā€™t get it.

What has made the difference over the last 4 years of this ownership is well planned incremental investment across all aspects of the club. All of these things that people say ā€œdonā€™t matterā€ form part of the butterfly effect that has taken onto the Prem.

We didnā€™t need to spend money on taking digital advertising boards in London. We donā€™t need to hire advertising vans to drive round Trafalgar Square. We didnā€™t need flags. We didnā€™t need Tifos. We didnā€™t need new floodlights and sound system. The list is endless.

All of these things make a difference.
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It's like 'soft power', all those small aspects don't mean much individually but together give the impression of a club on the up and it helps make the club more attractive to players & investors and give the fans a bit mroe pride. On the other side look at Old Trafford, everyone knows it's falling apart which plays massively into the narrative that the club is in a total tailspin.
Lord Potts said:
I heard that the only way they could expand the SoL was by building on Mowbray Park . It shouldn't be a problem to get planning approval to do that. šŸ˜‰
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Small price to pay for the billions in regional investment that as come with it:rolleyes:
 
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Jabberwocky said:
It's like 'soft power', all those small aspects don't mean much individually but together give the impression of a club on the up and it helps make the club more attractive to players & investors and give the fans a bit mroe pride. On the other side look at Old Trafford, everyone knows it's falling apart which plays massively into the narrative that the club is in a total tailspin.
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This exactly- I was thinking Man Utd. In my mind.

The whole campaign around ā€œTil the Endā€ was full of amazing surprise and delight moments. The attention to detail was superb.
 
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MadMackem10 said:
East stand concourse should be a fairly simple extension. The wall isn't structural and you could just bring the sheet metal straight down instead of having it tuck back in. I wouldn't even move the bars inside as it could be possible to make them double sided with the extra space created. The main issue will be that you will lose massive amounts of space outside for queuing which would likely upset the council as fans would be stood on the car park.
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If a full ground expansion isnā€™t going to happen then I agree that a simple cheaper solution is to push out the walls to at least the line of the higher overhang, the current concourses are not fit for purpose and it needs to be done. Like all footprints increases however a big factor is what utility services are in the extension footprint and can they be left in place or have to be moved as costs can be eye watering. Only hope the original designers took this into account for future expansion.
 
On a slightly related topic, a lot of away fans visiting us next season for potentially the first time in 7-8 years or more should be pleasantly surprised at how much the place has come on in those years. All the stuff happening around Sheepfolds and The Stables, Keel Square now having bars and restaurants, The Engine Room area and that part of town in general, the sea front improvements. All of these things either hadnā€™t been done or were just works in progress last time we were a Premier League team. The timing of the new footbridge couldnā€™t be better either.
 
Sgt Pepper said:
On a slightly related topic, a lot of away fans visiting us next season for potentially the first time in 7-8 years or more should be pleasantly surprised at how much the place has come on in those years. All the stuff happening around Sheepfolds and The Stables, Keel Square now having bars and restaurants, The Engine Room area and that part of town in general, the sea front improvements. All of these things either hadnā€™t been done or were just works in progress last time we were a Premier League team. The timing of the new footbridge couldnā€™t be better either.
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Yup need to get some sort of campaign to show off these things to away fans and get them visiting those areas
 
Sgt Pepper said:
On a slightly related topic, a lot of away fans visiting us next season for potentially the first time in 7-8 years or more should be pleasantly surprised at how much the place has come on in those years. All the stuff happening around Sheepfolds and The Stables, Keel Square now having bars and restaurants, The Engine Room area and that part of town in general, the sea front improvements. All of these things either hadnā€™t been done or were just works in progress last time we were a Premier League team. The timing of the new footbridge couldnā€™t be better either.
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They'll think they have arrived in a different place!
 
Rob the Ref said:
If a full ground expansion isnā€™t going to happen then I agree that a simple cheaper solution is to push out the walls to at least the line of the higher overhang, the current concourses are not fit for purpose and it needs to be done. Like all footprints increases however a big factor is what utility services are in the extension footprint and can they be left in place or have to be moved as costs can be eye watering. Only hope the original designers took this into account for future expansion.
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If I was a billionaire, was in charge of the club and Sunderland were really competitive in the top flight, Iā€™d reconfigure the stadium.

South stand extension but a big single tier like the Spurs one. Iā€™d knock a bit of capacity off the east stand and add corporate to the back of the stand and make the facilities spot on. 52-55k capacity.

Weā€™re only three steps away from that.
 
dancingradio said:
Yup need to get some sort of campaign to show off these things to away fans and get them visiting those areas
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Just looked on Google Maps street view previous date history and even the Spire Bridge wasnā€™t even done when we got relegated. The spire section itself only went up in the February the season we went down and had scaffolding on it for a while. Much better access to the centre now and then with the footbridge much better access to and from the ground.

Shows how long weā€™ve been away for when all these things have happened. :lol:
 
dancingradio said:
Yup need to get some sort of campaign to show off these things to away fans and get them visiting those areas
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Sadly, most of them will still stay in Newcastle, obsessed by the Bigg Market and Quayside. Up to now, it's been older, more sensible fans staying in Sunderland (the Hilton gets plenty, and presumably the Holiday Inn will.
Sea to Shining Sea said:
If I was a billionaire, was in charge of the club and Sunderland were really competitive in the top flight, Iā€™d reconfigure the stadium.

South stand extension but a big single tier like the Spurs one. Iā€™d knock a bit of capacity off the east stand and add corporate to the back of the stand and make the facilities spot on. 52-55k capacity.

Weā€™re only three steps away from that.
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Dortmund style red wall.
 
Alfies Hat said:
Expansion to 63,000 was factored into the original build.
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We can also put a further tier on the west stand if needs be. Obviously thatā€™s after our champions league triumph.

Given how football is expanding, 63,000 may well be needed if we progress.

Thanks to Sir Bobs foresight, with the SOL, we are the most perfect club for investment in world football at the moment.
 
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