The Pozzos know that it will need to be done eventually - the same as the SW Corner. I think it's a case of doing it when we need it. If we don't go up this season, then it can wait this summer, but would expect work to be started towards the end of next season. They have stated that when it's Premiership football or an average gate of 15k, and they will build At the moment, this season's average attendance (not including Bradford) is 13,007. It has been increasing throughout the season though. The average since December is 13,513 and Janaury is 13,895, so it is steadily going up. The last two matches have been 15,079 and 14,425, so we are nearing the 15k target! The new Main Stand must be in their thoughts - and it's probably a season or two earlier than expected - which is a very good thing! What would people say if they helped fund the new stadium with a sponsor of the ground/new stand? If we don't go up, would we accept the new stand this summer but with a corporate name? Ideally I think most would like it called the Graham Taylor stand, but if it means not having to sell to build, then not sure I would mind a short-term sponsorship to get it built.
Don't forget that the clubs we would play against in the Prem have much larger away followings than most of the clubs in the Championship. I new or temporary stand where the East Stand currently is could allow us to sell the entire Vicarage Road end to away fans if we wanted to, and still accomodate our own fans. When we were last in the Prem, our average attendance was just under 19,000. That was for a club that was rock bottom for pretty much the whole season. If we go up (and that is still very much and if), with our current resources, we may at least have a shout of 17th, which would bring in more fans than just seeing us lose every week.
According to the football ground guide website, the capacity of the Vic is 19,900. According to Wikipedia, it's 17,477. For once, I'd say that Wikipedia is more believable. I'm guessing that neither figure allows for the seats lost due to the segregation in the Vic Rd End.
Is that relic of a stand on thr east side condemed or could it be refurbished as a temp measure. Anyone know?
Hate to rain on the parade but there is no way that a new stand could be constructed in the timescales some are suggesting, let alone between seasons. The current construction is riddled with concrete cancer and a whole host of other serious structural problems - hence it is unsafe for use except by the severely limited nmbers (ie the press) plus the entire infrastructure for the club (changing rooms, showers, baths, treatment rooms etc) are all housed under the main stand. First things first... the new changing rooms etc need to be installed. That is a big job in itself which is why it still remains undone despite the best efforts of previous owners. The SW corner has a long long way to go. The Rous Stand was built quite quickly and very cheaply because it is founded on top of the old terracing pretty much. There was minimum piling for the cantelever sections and so the whole thing could be thrown up in a few months. This is just not possible for the East Stand. The whole lot needs to come out and the piling and ground works are an immense task because of the existing ground conditions (built on an exhausted gravel pit so certainly clay and made ground possibly) and that is not even to begin to consider access due to the houses backing onto Occupation Road. A minimum of 9 months with everything going well and a following breeze, some extraordinary project management and a bit of luck even! Realistically 18months, maybe longer if there are unforseen problems. It is not a simple job... it would be quicker to up sticks and start afresh somewhere else assuming we already had planning approval (which we don't), the land, a benevolent council and residents (yeah, riiiiight) and the wherewithal to leave The Vic (Ahem!).
Fez , No what your suggesting is plain wrong , there are enough new soulless bowls around , 3 sides we have are up to standard if it takes 2 yrs to build a 4rth then so be it, No way we should leave the Vic .The Vic is a dump but at least its our dump , we own it ,dont lease it a la coventry.
I have almost lost track of the number of attempts that we have seen to progress something new over there. There was the ring fenced Simpson stand, the pared down cheaper version favoured by the Russos, the renewed planning permission one from Baz complete with a financial advice centre and easy access lawyers chambers. None of them are any nearer to being built than they were 10 years ago. Fez is right about the construction difficulties, but would the Pozzos want to go with any of the previous schemes? Clearly something went wrong with the proposed venture scheme they had in mind for the SW Corner or the build would have been underway by now. The changing rooms have to be moved over there before much can be done. The Main Stand extension is no longer usable as there is no proper access to it and there are no other facilities available. If you take the price of land in that part of Hertforshire and building costs you could well be looking at £50m to re-locate. £8-10m depending on what you go for might see a new stand on the club's own land. Even on gates of 20,000 you might never see a return on the new site unless it becomes part of something else. Could we survive for any length of time in the PL without a new stand? Probably not these days! The financing of a football club is very far removed now from even the GT/EJ days. You need to be able to get people to follow their teams away from home and hand over the entrance money to you. A couple of thousand travelling PL fans is hardly enough, more space is required for them. It has been a problem for years and sometimes I wonder if it will ever happen. Probably with the Pozzos around it has the best chance yet.
They would have to consider the cost of building such a stand against the chances of making enough money to pay for it as such. Ofcourse Ashton and co orginally wanted to use the stand all week for various events..would the same happen under the Pozzos. My only worry is we will see it built but hardly fill it...even in the Premiership season under Boothroyd we only sold out a game once I think. Mind you the season was a lost cause after a whille and the football not very attractive to as Mitch suggests the many fairweather fans we probably have (like all clubs of our standing) Zola's style would be different ofcourse and I think if we kept most of the loan players we'd compete much more than last time...
We should never move. Even though parking and the traffic are a pain, the only possible move would be to a "out of town" souless concrete dump attached to a ****ty retail park. Just look at the mess that is Coventry as 1 example. I have no idea about construction and the problems with developing the East Side of the ground, but I am sure there are less ambitious options that would suit the size of club we are and will probably remain even in The Prem if we get and stay there. A small stand with perhaps just a single tier and no corporate or other non match day facilities would be more realistic and cost effective. There is plenty of space in The Rous for these. Let's focus on improving what we have both on and off the pitch and fans will start coming and we will start to fill the ground again.
