From what I was told a while back from someone I know who works at the council, SAFC and the council were surprised that we weren't selected as a venue. Apparently was a very good bid, not just the stadium, but other things involved as well (access and transport, media, hospitality etc.). Considering the bid included Casement Park gaelic football ground, which hasn't even been built and is miles (almost 4 times over) over budget and has now been dropped as a venue it was a surprise. The working theory is that if it had just been England, we'd have been included, but because it's the 4 home nations plus the Republic of Ireland, we had to miss out along with some other teams/cities, like Leeds and Nottingham who'd been interested in being hosts. It's apparently why we were given that England v Scotland lionesses match a couple of years ago, as some compensation for not being included.
I'm increasingly starting to believe the SOL will be extended and improved at the end of the season, I don't think it's automatically linked to our finishing place. Little clues are starting to appear and KLD/SAFC have shown how dynamic they are and how things are, all of a sudden, done. I doubt there's any thoughts of waiting a few seasons to see how we do. I don't believe the club will delay the work to move the away supporters only to go through more upheaval a season or two later. Money for such work is no longer simply taken from the transfer budget pot. There'll be supporters 'locked out' of the ground for many of our home matches and kids, on the cusp of attending their first games, simply won't be able to go. It must be seriously annoying to KLD that a rotten old ground, up the road, is hosting Euro 2028, when the SOL could be, and should be, easily modernised and extended. I don't believe the club will be left in that position again and we'll all just have to accept being moved around the ground ... ... just like the club shop, hospitality, and other changes, once it's done it's done and we'll quickly forget how it was before. IMO it's happening and pointless hanging around, clubs like Fulham, Villa, Leeds, etc are all going for it ... so should we.
To be fair with an extension worst case scenario, once away fans are moved, they could close top tier and actually not compromise atmosphere and have multiple empty seats in lower bowl. Would also of course grow commercial revenue and the corporate element which the club clearly have a vision for. I can see something being done with the LED screens after the season as well, they could absolutely transform the look of the stadium and really make it look like a brand new venue with some screens, the scoreboard upgrades were excellent as were the second tier LED boards but there’s a lot more you can do now, especially playing on the ‘Light’ element of the name. The plans that show a glass facade could be stunning and also would encourage more people into the ground earlier, and to maybe stay after, Spurs have maximised this. I can see the club being on the balm with this for sure. Every game released is selling out in minutes an extension would likely take it to 55k as a large chunk would be corporate, and clearly the demand is there we could easily have sold 55k for the home games released so far this season. I know lads without season cards who haven’t had a sniff of getting to the 2 league games so far, there’s a real belief this time around that it’s for keeps and built on solid foundations. Demand should grow now lower. I’d love to see them then reduce some of the upper tier seat prices as even though the club are great on prices. I know lads who despite working and wanting to go, still can’t quite managed the match regularly do to lower income and cost of living. We can win generations of fans from these demographics, lads with families who take their bairns then they on the hook for life. I dunno what the lowest price adult ticket is for an individual game now but I’m sure it’s north of £30 which if you’ve got 2 bairns is £80-100 before you start. Realistically, you get that down and they will spend in the club shop and inside the stadium, might spend same amount so club benefits, but will be easier for the fan to justify if the young un has a top or a hat etc. I do agree, and I didn’t at the start of summer, that it might be time to strike while iron is hot and ride the wave of positivity around the club and city. If we can do that and make it accessible for lower income families then I’d endorse that 100 times over. The bones of the stadium remain modern and it’s a credit to the foresight of Sir Bob that there are so many ways to develop the area even now (as long as the council don’t hamstring it with over development next door)
Been thinking about this today and it may be a case. Realistically if they want a new ground and it to be ready in time to stage matches at Euro 2028, they need to have started now, as it takes about 3-4 years to build a 60k+ seat stadium on average. It's also why Casement Park was knocked out, massive cost over runs and not going to be ready in time and that was only going to be 34k. To be included it would have to be ready and open by summer 2027 for test events etc. so that pretty much rules out a new ground. If Sid James' is in as bad a shape as is rumoured, they might have to start renovations/improvements now to make sure things are ready in time, especially if the concrete cancer is as bad as rumoured. Any delays or newly discovered problems risk it not being ready or suitable in time. As the decision about either redeveloping Sid James' or building a new ground drag on at best you might see some tarting up of the place, but they aren't giving themselves much time for anything major. So it's not out of the realms of possibility that the mags could drop out/be removed as a host venue. Unless the organisers decide to go with one less venue, we'd be the most likely to be able to step in a short notice as a replacement. It would cause the minimum of disruption to any plans. Allegedly, this is what happened in 1966 which is why Ayresome Park was used instead of Sid James. Now, I'm not saying it's the case or it's going to happen, but you could understand if SAFC were aware of any issues and wanted to be in a position to benefit. Add in the current demand for tickets and you can see an extension being likely. Imagining if it happens, the sound of the collective explosion of all those magpie heads combusting in rage at the same time will be the biggest bang heard since Hiroshima was nuked.
It absolutely was! The Mags couldn't believe it!..... wonderful to see.........Roker and Ayresome were preferred to them.....drove home to the entire country what a ****hole SJP was!
On the subject of stadium extensions, if you've been to the West Ham ground you'll know size isn't everything. Getting away from there is a dreadful experience as are other grounds in London like Arsenal, Palace, etc. Anyway my point is that, if we extend the SOL, there needs to be attention to the traffic situation, Metro, trains, etc. I don't know about Newcastle ... ... I've only ever left there under a police escort straight to Central Station
A little bit about the transfer window . Our net spend over the last 5 years comes in at £151M . Can't be sure but this appears why we've managed to do so much good business..? https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G0Q6HzwWwAAZY1T?format=jpg&name=small Article about the recent window , fees and agents fees etc. https://swissramble.substack.com/p/the-premier-leagues-record-transfer
Getting away from the match now on a north bound metro is a disgrace. Lord help us if we do increase the size of the ground. in my opinion sufficient metro trains should be lined up ready for the game finishing for a quick crowd dispersal.
i love the old 'new stadium' patter...much like luton it seems endless with no immediate plans, apart from various guesses from certain writers (i refuse to call them journos) but surely the owners knew all of this before buying, surely they did some work into the history but right now it is looking like a bad choice to buy and repeating myself again, 'fat fred' tried hard thinking his jordy nayshun would welcome a stadium anywhere he wanted, only to find there were no valid sites anywhere near the city. i am fairly sure with the last add-on at the SoL there was minimal disruption to attendance (apart from the waterproofs that were handed out) simply because the stadium was built for easy expansion and it made it abetter buy for future owners. think we can all see the difference
Totally agree, not that I used the metro on a match day, but the metro itself is rubbish. Most of the stations (apart from the old Victorian ones like Whitley Bay and Tynemouth, which have been tarted up a bit) are in poor condition. There aren't enough trains and they're still mostly using ones that are over 40 years old. Honestly in my opinion we'd be better off running more heavy rail on the line and utilising more custom park and ride sites. Specialist busses on match days all ready for full time taking you to designated park and ride or bus terminals would be better. But, that relies on the bus companies and Tyne and Wear PTE working together on it.
Amen to that brother, it's a nightmare getting to Newcastle for my onward travel. The Brentford and other club's supporters need an hour, at least, to make a very short journey ... ... as you say there should be trains waiting for people, not the other way round. I'd love a pint after the game but just can't risk it, must cost the town a lot of money.
Its not too great when your heading southbound either. It was absolutely bedlam after the West Ham game. The Grand Central must've been late getting into Sunderland and instead of heading up to Newcastle to be cleaned and ready for the return to London, it came straight into Sunderland, people were trying to jump on and the police got involved to try and sort it out. Patterned were allowed on but according to the announcement, there were passengers who were supposed to get the train up to Newcastle and then the LNER down to Kings Cross from there and they had also jumped on - the train was totally overcrowded. They even threatened not to pull away until the LNER people had got off. Luckily they relented and it pulled away but they were going to make people pay off they didn't have the proper ticket after they dropped off at Hartlepool. Not looking forward to when I have to drive up to the match - it was bad enough at 39,000 attending!
My dad told me about it as a kid. They just naturally assumed they'd be picked and expected a load of money from the FA/government to upgrade the ground. When they were told they'd only get so much and would have to fund things themselves they oohed and aahed and argued for more money, so Middlesbrough got selected instead. The fact the place was a dump and in very poor condition didn't enter into their heads until it was too late.
I love the new metros. I rely on the things myself but them old ones need torching. It’s right about match days though. They need to alter them for the games so there are bigger ones and more regular
https://x.com/RedAndWhite2017/status/1965429121137480056 Supporters Collective meeting happening on the 25th Sept. It's now called the fan advisory board. If anyone has anything they want bringing up, let me know and I'll add it to the SMB list.
This and how are the club working with/discussing things with the council about the Sheepfolds and extending the South Stand? Both can be linked, dispersing fans leaving the ground without causing bottlenecks and jams, improving transport or new park and ride pick up/drop off points/hubs.
I think that's everywhere! Getting out of Burnley was ok but we got stuck in nearby Colne for ages. It took ages getting out of Edinburgh after Hearts match. Off the top of my head, getting in and out of Sheffield for United was horrendous last season and we got stuck for ages on the M6 around Stoke. I agree they could make improvements with what we have though. My son gets frustrated that he can't get on the Metro at St Peters and has to walk into town to catch it.
