Haven't a clue on that. But do know we would have to reinforce/ change all the old structure as it wouldn't take the weight. So not just a simple slap some more seats on job.
I feel we could expand to around 38k - 40k and still fill 99% of it. But we are very close to the max I think we can get. Unless ticket prices are reduced etc.
We could probably do with a slightly bigger ground....allowing for bigger crowds for the more attractive games and reduced prices for less interesting games, but each seat would be very expensive....take years to get money back. And probably would make little sense to do a small extension.
I agree with those who say that the income from tickets is nowadays of minor significance compared to the TV money, and also that if we sold family tickets cheap we could fill a much bigger stadium than SMS. The problem with both those conditions is that they are both dependent on us staying in the Premier League and achieving European football on a regular basis. Sustainability is still a bit of a gamble!
Foundations were laid for an increased capacity of 10000. The ground was built with future expansion in mind. Edit..........my understanding of new BR's is that the stadium foundations are ok for original plans for expansion. There is however some new stadium safety regs that can easily be added at the time of the rebuild However it could mean we would not be able to expand as far as thought so maybe a max expansion of about 5/6000 is all we could do.
Increased ticket revenues do count for FFP, however, so if the end goal for a new owner was to push the limits, an extra few million pounds wouldn't hurt matters. Same thing with Europey...the money is a drop in the bucket, relatively speaking, but the further we get, the more money we could conceivably allocate to wages next season as the ticket revenue/European prize and TV money can serve as an offset for such.
It didn't work out that way is what a lot of people at St Marys are saying. We took short cuts to get the stadium so cheap.
It was the mortgage on SMS that drove us into administration (or rather a bank pulling the plug) so I suspect we spent all we could.
Probably true.......except you could not take short cuts on the foundation itself. So at least they can expand the weight bearing beams.
I did some of the design for the external infrastructure around the Stadium, suffice to say I was very interested in what was going on. It was my understanding at the time that the foundations and the columns to the structure was overdesigned designed such that the additional capacity could be added at a later date, but the capacity increase was very limited; although it was reported at the time at 10-12,000 could be achieved: the number was nearer 6-7,000.
That rather confirms my understanding of what is achievable with the stadium. Although the numbers bandied around about increased capacity did I agree differ a lot. Anything from 6-10000.. in the short term that would possibly be enough. If we want to be a major force though we may have to move to another Stadium. Although I can't see that happening in my lifetime. Turn of the next century perhaps?
The last major rumour about a Chinese takeover (I believe it was the owners of Sunseekers) there was a link to the purchase of the old Ford site next to the airport for a new stadium with hotel, leisure and retail outlets to support the investment. Anyone who has been to StadiumMK in the last couple of years will have seen the model in action
Cortese's idea also involved development around SMS....I think an ancillary scheme around the ground is essential to make it worthwhile. I still want Katharina to stay for the stability of our team....as I do not want any major changes whist we are doing well...but massive investment (like Nicola's fantasy) might mean I give permission.
The problem with SMS is that the location is highly congested and any increase in capacity would bring into question the available access and egress through the adjacent communities. It is highly questionable therefore, as to the viability of increasing the capacity by any significant amount should we wish to increase capacity in the first instance. Even an increase of 10K (were it possible) effectively increased vehicular and pedestrian numbers by 30% over what we have currently (sorry getting into my day-job here). It would seem likely that a stadium of say 45,000 (I would point out that I am not advocating such a stadium BTW) would need to be relocated elsewhere.
Out of the city...nearer to a transport hub would be best. Great for some fans...bad news for others....though that would be ameliorated by transport laid on by the club. So we are decided....we can only be sold to squillionaires with plans to redevelop half of Hampshire.
But I do like the ground where it is Fran - so close to the church which founded our beloved club and its great to have it in the City itself where so much of the fan base live close by. I would be sad to see it move out of the City. Were it possible to somehow regenerate the locality and have a bigger ground and amenities around it - that would be brilliant - so also agree we would need someone with an obscene amount of money...
The original proposed site was a good shout. Airport,railway, buses all within a short distance not forgetting the motor ways being close. Road traffic might be a problem though although if memory serves they were going to do some thing about parking opposite. We can dream I suppose................would piss Pompey off a bit though if they still train near there......Lol.
