Thoughts on a new North Stand.
The problem with having an entire two tiered end to the stadium dedicated to kids is that it leads to many fans there not coming to night games because they don't want to keep their kids up late etc. There's a number of parents in there who aren't even into football but bring their football loving kids due to the relatively cheap ticket prices. That stance means it's quite easy for them not to come when there's a bit of rain or it's a late KO.
To a lesser extent this does impact other parts of the ground, but from someone overlooking the whole ground, and knowing people in the Family Stand, it's clear we need to do something about this end of the stadium when redevelopment starts.
At the end of the day, a two tiered family stand covering the whole area behind the goals is never going to be good for atmosphere or aesthetics, and I say this as a former Family Stand graduate! :)
What I would like to see from a redeveloped North Stand:
- Make the entire lower tier safe standing when the legislation changes.
- Redevelop the upper tier into a larger single tier as per the below images.
- Allocate some seats to the family stand lower tier movers to the current family stand upper tier.
- Allocate 3-4 family blocks in another area of the ground for the majority of the family stand lower tier movers, or put them at the front of the newly expanded 2nd tier.
- Offer movers family stand priced tickets in any area of the ground.
Some people will obviously be unhappy with the re-shuffle but it's definitely required to improve atmosphere and we need to take it on the chin while making sure the movers are looked after with cheaper tickets for a year or two, and with first choice as to where they sit.
