Saints 25th richest club in world

We have made massive and fast progress on the pitch...I would expect the club to be concentrating on maintaining that and doing as well as possible in Europe if we achieve that target. Stadium extension may be on the agenda in the sense of investigating the possibility...probably a case of updating previous data, but I don't expect it is at the forefront of plans. If we get into Europe, are doing well financially, why the rush when televised matches are lucrative enough. All the boards decisions have worked so far...I'll trust them to get the timing right.

 

My prediction, for what it's worth, is a new stadium rather than expansion. It can't be only the fans who have noticed how hard it is to get to St Mary's Stadium. Now that Ford is winding down, I think it could well be bought and developed.

Pros: Without any knowledge of the details, I wouldn't be surprised if the cost of a new stadium was in the same region as ground expansion. A rail station eight minutes walk from the stadium and a motorway junction even closer would expand the catchment area. Zero disruption of existing games while the change is made. Bigger site than St Marys.

Cons: I might be very wrong on costs. Travel for fans actually living in Southampton more difficult (though the train station would help). No nearby pubs.

Vin

 

Crap for those from the IOW, though we can't expect that to be a major consideration. Special bus would sort that.

 

Oh, and easier access for Portsmouth fans who want to see some decent football.

Vin

 

That would depend on what you would expect to be your average season in the Prem. You are having a great season this year and of course you could sell out on several occasions, but there were plenty of empty seats last season.

 

Valid point taken.

Perhaps a little history. The Dell capacity was 30,000, but since the 1980's, this was reduced due to safety and seating, gradually down to 15,575. Even at that reduced capacity the stadium was sometimes not full. Nobody could get a ticket, but there would still be spaces every home game. When St Mary's was built with 32,683 capacity, people said we wouldn't fill, forgetting that The Dell was occasionally filled at it's maximum size, back in the 1960's and 70's, and these days, Southampton had a significantly larger population anyway. Besides, by 2001, football had a much higher public profile, and although a sizeable amount of Saints fans had never had a regular opportunity to see the team, most didn't forget. Naturally, St Mary's was filled on day one. Thereafter, during any Premier League years, good or bad, the average attendance was always around 27-30,000. It takes a while to generate new fans, especially when the club decides to spend 7 years away from the top division.

Saints have had plenty of average seasons at St Mary's in the Premier League. Most of those were during an era where the fans knew that they would be cannon fodder in the division, with no real expectation other than a battle for PL survival every season. These days, the fans know that is not the case anymore. We haven't had an average season since July 2009. Every season the attendances have been growing [during a recession, I might add], but they simply can't grow anymore. And the club has no intention of stopping the ambition, and they've done the survey number crunching. Which is why a previous chairman said 50K would be a proper capacity to look at eventually. He was looking at the future.

 

A larger stadium would mean it would be easier to book seats for groups (at the moment you would be scattered), be easier to offer some cheaper seats/special offers (including free ones to school kids which can no longer happen), and help fans who can't plan ahead but would be walk-ups. The ability to offer free seats and special offers would result in an increased fan base (IMO). However, difficult number crunching needed before such a thing could happen.

 

Of course it is. That is what 'financial consultancy' companies do: prevaricate and claim they add value.

 

I agree with you on 99% of that Fran. However, the number crunching was already done in Cortese's era, if you remember. He talked about the number and demographic spread of the ABC1/C2/D/Es in the catchment area, saying they had the data. Which is how he came to be able to reliably estimate his maximum figure for a Saints stadium, and how to price it up.

 

hmm

 

Hmm? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth_Dockland_Stadium
Aaagh!