Stadium Expansion update July 2021

[SpacedX]

1 minute ago, fox_up_north said:

it's mad to think when I was younger you could just pop down Filbo and walk in. 

Or turn up to watch them play away at any ground in the country on a whim. 

[ealingfox]

9 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

Oh I'm absolutely not suggesting at all that we should go above 40k.

 

I'm genuinely baffled, as I've said before, watching Everton pay extraordinary money for a white elephant having seen what's happened to Arsenal and Tottenham. 

 

A stadium is just a container for seats, get it done as affordable and sensible as possible and take it slow. Definitely. 

 

It just sounded a little bit like Babs was being cynical about the prospects of even filling 40 but apparently the waiting list for STs is something absurd like 16k atm. 

 

I know this because I'm at risk of losing mine and having to reapply (long story.)

 

 

There isn't a waiting list is there? They open applications and ballot off the spares each summer. Guessing there were 16k surplus applications - but then not all 16k of them would have gone through with it.

Edited 29 July 2021 by ealingfox

[MarriedaLeicesterGirl]

2 minutes ago, ealingfox said:

 

There isn't a waiting list is there? They open applications and ballot off the spares each summer. Guessing there were 16k surplus applications - but then not all 16k of them would have gone through with it.

I got ST this year -- I lost on the ballot, but was called a week later because several people didn't end up purchasing after winning the ballot (the only seats were in the Family Stand, though)

[Spudulike]

The area is going to need a name once the hotel, arena, multi-storey car park, pathways etc and associated works is complete. 

 

It's being built on Freeman's Wharf and adjacent to the Raw Dykes monument but I expect it will be given some sort of commercial reference unless the council insist on something else. 

[Babylon]

15 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

Oh I'm absolutely not suggesting at all that we should go above 40k.

 

I'm genuinely baffled, as I've said before, watching Everton pay extraordinary money for a white elephant having seen what's happened to Arsenal and Tottenham. 

 

A stadium is just a container for seats, get it done as affordable and sensible as possible and take it slow. Definitely. 

 

It just sounded a little bit like Babs was being cynical about the prospects of even filling 40 but apparently the waiting list for STs is something absurd like 16k atm. 

 

I know this because I'm at risk of losing mine and having to reapply (long story.)

 

No I think we’ll fill it plenty when things are going well. We are just a shit decision away from not doing well, and thus I prefer the slowly slowly catchy monkey approach we take as a club, rather than screaming about us making it 50,000.
 

If that’s true about 16k it’s impressive, but being on a list and actually committing to a year of going down are two different things. I’d imagine a huge number of those are kids though, who bring in a fraction of the revenue of a normal season ticket and the club won’t be keen to fill the seats with them. 

[dmayne7]

12 minutes ago, fox_up_north said:

If I lived closer, I'd be all over an ST but I'm 2 and a bit hours away on a good day. Add to that some weekend jobs and other stuff, I am one of the many who really struggles to get to games. Best chance I've got is either away in the north and have had to chance it in a home end once or twice.

 

Increased capacity is fantastic. I've got a little local non league club near me who I've seen a few times but there's nothing compared to your hometown club.

 

This is where I think safe standing is necessary. I can stand for hours at a gig and it's mad to think when I was younger you could just pop down Filbo and walk in. 

This is the thing. Somebody said about more tickets for locals which I appreciate, especially if we're talking about younger fans or different communities that the Football club hasn't been able to penetrate.

 

But you have to balance that against the many fans who have moved away or never lived near enough to get a season ticket. In many cases these people are amongst some of the most loyal fans because they don't have that ability to identify with others in the city so it brings your passion for the club under the lens a bit more 

 

It's all semantics though. The important thing is that there is more space to both satisfy demand and therefore increase revenue, but also to allow us to bring more new fans in to continue to grow the club.

[KrefelderFox666]

4 minutes ago, Spudulike said:

The area is going to need a name once the hotel, arena, multi-storey car park, pathways etc and associated works is complete. 

 

It's being built on Freeman's Wharf and adjacent to the Raw Dykes monument but I expect it will be given some sort of commercial reference unless the council insist on something else. 

Freeman's Dyke?

[leicesterseddon]

Personally I think 40,000 is sensible. Presumably more than this would have required a more extensive rebuild too.

 

Without wanting to reopen the Kop/Family Stand debate, this is a good chance to think again about some issues e.g. where should the away fans go.

 

Also it’s the perfect opportunity to install rail seating/a standing area and give people the chance to relocate etc 

 

I’m also interested in what they do with the outside of ground. Although we now have the memorial garden it would be good to do something more extensive and link it all together 

[Sublime_Coatsworth]

This is probably been asked earlier, but presumably 40,000 Means a number more like 40,250 so we still get >40k in official attendance for most games?

[sacreblueits442]

3 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

They aren't signing up for more than a year though are they?  The club will be paying this off for 10-25 years I guess.

...with interest rates being so low, it would be prudent to pay over a long term say five years!!!

   I always believed we were using revenue from our final league position, in order to finance these projects.

 Another couple of years in the Premiership and we will have no further longterm, infrastructure developments to be done, and therefore can apply the revenue to acquiring players to vastly improve the team.

   We are on the way to becoming a big team in this league and the mentality of a provincial, family club, can become easily distorted. 

[Mullet1]

2 hours ago, Snik-Snok said:

When they reduced the family end and made the blocks nearest to the away end available to everyone, I felt at the time that this was being done so it would be easy to shift the away section along a bit once the east stand is revamped. Wouldn't surprise me if it happened.

Stick the away fans in the west stand next to the kop. 

[foxile5]

2 hours ago, Spudulike said:

The area is going to need a name once the hotel, arena, multi-storey car park, pathways etc and associated works is complete. 

 

It's being built on Freeman's Wharf and adjacent to the Raw Dykes monument but I expect it will be given some sort of commercial reference unless the council insist on something else. 

Free Dykes

[foxile5]

8 minutes ago, Mullet1 said:

Stick the away fans in the west stand next to the kop. 

Or swap the kop and the family stand, eh? 

[Bob Weasel Fox]

35 minutes ago, foxile5 said:

Or swap the kop and the family stand, eh? 

That is an awesome suggestion 👀

[foxile5]

8 minutes ago, Bob Weasel Fox said:

That is an awesome suggestion 👀

Baffling it hasn't been raised before. 

[DoveValleyFox]

2 hours ago, Sublime_Coatsworth said:

This is probably been asked earlier, but presumably 40,000 Means a number more like 40,250 so we still get >40k in official attendance for most games?

I agree. When I was young I always wanted to be in a 30000 crowd at Filbert Street, but this never happened for me, only reaching 29000 odd.. Now I would love to be in a 40000+ crowd at the KP. It would be even better if it were 40500+ because that might mean us regularly having crowds with that magical 40 in front of it.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

Not looking forward to the first 6000 away fan allocation in the FA Cup 

[Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo]

2 hours ago, foxile5 said:

Free Dykes

Free Wharfman's Dyke

[Tielemans63]

8 hours ago, Daggers said:

I’ve never been more wrong than I was about them. I was convinced they were going to be equal to or worse than Mandaric. Just shows what my opinions are worth. 

Fair do's. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned when they first bought the club. I think that was a pretty rational opinion when you look at what had happened at clubs like Portsmouth and Cardiff at the time.

[Spudulike]

Surprised the plans haven't been leaked by now. 

 

 

[urban.spaceman]

1 hour ago, Spudulike said:

Surprised the plans haven't been leaked by now. 

 

 

19 hours ago, BlueSi13 said:

Have to admit, like a few on here I was a bit underwhelmed at a rise of just 8,000. 

 

I'm keen to see the plans because if it's anything like the leaked "plans" then surely that would rule out an expansion to the Kop and Family Stands as the East would wrap around them to a significant degree:

 

 

That leaves a potential expansion to the West Stand but as others have said that will be difficult due to its current construction and the canal behind it.

 

I honestly hope there's a long term plan here because at 40k this would take us from 13th to 10th in the current Premier League stadium table, leapfrogging Southampton, Leeds and Everton.  However Everton are now building a 53,000 seater stadium and Leeds are developing plans to expand Elland Road to 55,000.  Therefore we'd be spending a lot of money to just leapfrog Southampton.  I'm doubtful this would move the needle in terms of how we are viewed by the neutral in relation to the size of the football club.

 

Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing the plans.

18 hours ago, BlueSi13 said:

Which, once again IF the leaks are correct that would A) cost an absolute fortune to reconfigure the new East Stand to accommodate expansions to the Kop and Family Stand or B) look an absolute mess trying to squeeze an expansion along side the wrap around:

 

 

Let's see what the club shows us.  I'm personally hoping we're going down the Molineux route.

[Plastik Man]

10 hours ago, Daggers said:

But STs provide guaranteed income - It only takes a run of poor form and empty seats will start building without increasing the ST base. 
 

The stronger argument is that day trippers spend more in the club shop than ST holders and gripe less about the queue for a partially cooked pie. 

Yes, but I was just highlighting why so many want to upgrade from membership to season ticket holder. 

[Daggers]

5 minutes ago, Plastik Man said:

Yes, but I was just highlighting why so many want to upgrade from membership to season ticket holder. 

Aha, so what you’re saying is that those of us who pay full price for our tickets are proper supporters 

[SpacedX]

20 hours ago, BlueSi13 said:

Have to admit, like a few on here I was a bit underwhelmed at a rise of just 8,000. 

 

I agree entirely.

 

I haven't had a season ticket for years now. I hate being herded and confined and into a particular part of the ground each week, am not in Leicester enough to warrant one and when I've needed a ticket I've used several contacts or bought one off here/paid to use a ST. Seldom struggled. Having said that, the option of sauntering up and buying one on the day is still a distant memory and looks set to remain that way. 

 

I detest the modern trammelled match day experience;  the points, the organised travel, the restrictions, the regimentation, but fully appreciate why the change had to come. That's the world we live in.

 

Even loyalty for any one sports team is now questionable. The players, the management and often the ownership are always changing - and in America, they **** off and move to another city...Imagine that here? (cough, MK Dons). Ultimately, the only thing you're rooting for is the clothing (and our new away strip looks like a ****ing 1970s tablecloth). That, and some tenuous anachronistic notion of local identity in an increasingly Americanised England. 

 

Cue inevitable indignant responses. 

[Strokes]

I’d upgrade from membership to season ticket holder in a heartbeat. With both my kids.

I find it difficult to get down unless it’s already in the diary, as plans get made early in our house (not by me). All of us want season tickets so hopefully members will get first refusal. Does anyone know how many members we have?