North Stand Construction Discussion

[Gone for a Burton]

I remember Franny Lee stating after he'd rebuilt the 15,000 seater Kippax, he would replace the North Stand and Platt Lane in the same way and fill in the corners to take the capacity to 60,000. There were loads of people whinging then that we'd never fill it. The same arguments were made when we moved from Maine Road. We'll never fill it.

I would rather we played in a bigger stadium which was full for the big games and less full for the average ones. You want the bigger matches to be special and have a better atmosphere, so the more the merrier.

One thing is certain, the current demand for Premier League matches and some Champions League matches far outstrips supply.

It will be interesting to see how they actually do the new roof on the North Stand.

If you imagine you took the whole roof off the stadium. Then added seats in the 3rd tier to extend the East Stand and Colin Bell to the same depth for their full length and filled in the corners to meet the North and South stands, ( ie have a full bowl all the way round at the top) it would probably hold 90,000-100,000. These seats would effectively be an extension on each stand, adding more hospitality.

If you look at the way the South Stand has been done, it would be easy to extend this round. So the major work would be taking the roof off each side and replacing it. However you could stagger it and do one corner at a time.

I think this is the long term intention. Mubarek hinted at a 90,000+ capacity in the future when they first planned the South Stand expansion.

If the capacity ever surpasses Old Trafford, and we fill it, then we truly have eclipsed them in every way. So I'm all for making it as big as possible!

This is broadly what I've described on here on several occasions but with a capacity (I believe) of twixt 77/85k.

A 'bowl',encompassing the spirals & with an adjusted rake, is built on land currently owned (which is a philosophy in UAE) and provides a huge amount of potential corporate space.

One elevation at a time consecutively.

 

[jrb]

The logical next step after expanding the North stand would be to expand the East stand as there is a lot more open land at the back of it. Expanding the Colin Bell Stand, is obviously doable, but it would be a lot more challenging and expendive due to the lack of space behind the stand, and what that space currently encompasses.

 

[Bournemouth Blue]

The logical next step after expanding the North stand would be to expand the East stand as there is a lot more open land at the back of it. Expanding the Colin Bell Stand, is obviously doable, but it would be a lot more challenging and expansive due to the lack of space behind the stand, and what that space currently encompasses.

They could build up though, maybe not so much as the East, but I reckon the stadium in situ could get maybe 75k punters in on matchday. Not bad, considering Huddersfield fans think we play in front of an empty stadium most weeks

 

[TonyM]

 

[jrb]

They could build up though, maybe not so much as the East, but I reckon the stadium in situ could get maybe 75k punters in on matchday. Not bad, considering Huddersfield fans think we play in front of an empty stadium most weeks

20,000 empty seats, are you f*cking sure? ;-)

 

[Gone for a Burton]

They could build up though, maybe not so much as the East, but I reckon the stadium in situ could get maybe 75k punters in on matchday. Not bad, considering Huddersfield fans think we play in front of an empty stadium most weeks

Hudd don't have fans ,they have FA Cup glory seeking,thick,no marks who are nowhere to be seen for 99%of games.

Irrelevant !!

 

[jrb]

Increasing match day revenues.

Something we’ve discussed at length on this thread.

Ayaan Sheikh - Ernest Young - Linkedin

The Venue War Heats Up Amongst Football’s Greatest Rivals:

After 4 years of intensive work, renovations of Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium are almost complete. These renovations include a retractable roof, in order to accommodate concerts from the likes of Taylor Swift, as well as underground pitch storage and maintenance facilities and a new museum to hold the huge collection of silverware the club has accumulated.

This is not merely representative of a giant of the game capitalising on an advantage awarded to it due to size, but is indicative of a sport-wide arms race as owners set to outdo each other with ‘institutional investors and commercial banks lining up to finance it all.’ As one senior club executive states, ‘the concept is clear, convert a football stadium that is used 25 days a year into a multipurpose entertainment venue that’s busy every day of the year.’

This is a phenomenon which can be referred to as the ‘Spurs Model,’ as no club has been able to capitalise quite as effectively after the £1bn construction project completed in 2019. Average match-day spend has increased from £2 a fan to £16 thanks to an array of new facilities. As well as the increase in income in relation to football activities, commercial income has seen an increase from €117mn in 2018 to €215mn in 2022 with the club ‘hosting Beyoncé for 5 nights on her global Renaissance tour, two NFL matches as well as rugby games and heavyweight boxing bouts.’

Spurs’ revenue has surged by 50% in the past 5 years whilst rivals Arsenal and Manchester United have stagnated. It is not surprising therefore that a whole host of clubs are following suit. It seems inevitable that footballing giants across Europe will continue to be drawn to the lucrative stadium arms war in bids to cash into the phenomenon.

 

[Gordyola]

Besides the cost of a new roof.

City have a 250 year lease on the stadium. Think the annual Council House ;-) rent is in the region of £4mill a year? I stand corrected on that. If City see out the lease they will probably pay close to or over £1bill for leasing the stadium over 250 years, depending on increasing rental agreements with MCC. Sadly, we won’t see the stadium lease out. :-( But we’ve seen a treble! :-)

City can buy the stadium if they want to buy it. Up to now City are happy to pay the annual lease. There has been no indication City want to buy the stadium. Maybe City see the annual £4mill lease as a good will gesture to MCC and the people of MCR, as the lease money goes back to the people of MCR. It’s good PR for the club and something City can be proud of.

It would be interesting to know if the club has an agreement to buy the stadium at the original price offered to City, minus the work City have done to the stadium, or if it‘s a comparable future rolling stadium price, which wouldn’t be great, as the cost of building a new stadium has rocketed over the last 10 years. On the off chance, does anyone know?

Also if City bought the stadium the proceeds go to Sport England as you say the £4M goes to City of Manchester and is ring fenced for sport. The payment is actually more as we also pay for any game over and above the 19 PL games and I think other events When the Etihad sponsorship was announced a percentage of that goes to the council City contribution a considerable amount to the confers of the City unlike the rags who will only pay council tax to Trafford Brough Council

 

[Gordyola]

I remember Franny Lee stating after he'd rebuilt the 15,000 seater Kippax, he would replace the North Stand and Platt Lane in the same way and fill in the corners to take the capacity to 60,000. There were loads of people whinging then that we'd never fill it. The same arguments were made when we moved from Maine Road. We'll never fill it.

I would rather we played in a bigger stadium which was full for the big games and less full for the average ones. You want the bigger matches to be special and have a better atmosphere, so the more the merrier.

One thing is certain, the current demand for Premier League matches and some Champions League matches far outstrips supply.

It will be interesting to see how they actually do the new roof on the North Stand.

If you imagine you took the whole roof off the stadium. Then added seats in the 3rd tier to extend the East Stand and Colin Bell to the same depth for their full length and filled in the corners to meet the North and South stands, ( ie have a full bowl all the way round at the top) it would probably hold 90,000-100,000. These seats would effectively be an extension on each stand, adding more hospitality.

If you look at the way the South Stand has been done, it would be easy to extend this round. So the major work would be taking the roof off each side and replacing it. However you could stagger it and do one corner at a time.

I think this is the long term intention. Mubarek hinted at a 90,000+ capacity in the future when they first planned the South Stand expansion.

If the capacity ever surpasses Old Trafford, and we fill it, then we truly have eclipsed them in every way. So I'm all for making it as big as possible!

The stadium would need to be shut for a least one season removing the current roof and building a new one would be a substantial project Omar the COO has car doubts on any further development after the South Stand

 

[jrb]

The stadium would need to be shut for a least one season removing the current roof and building a new one would be a substantial project Omar the COO has car doubts on any further development after the South Stand

I think once the NS is completed that will be the stadium finished. I’m not saying forever, but certainly for the majority of our lifetimes. Once the NS expansion is completed, including the hotel, fanzone, etc, City will move on to the Collar site proposal. It really wouldn’t surprise me if plans were already in place and signed off by Sheikh Mansour so it’s ready to go in 3 to 4 years time. The Collar site will probably be the last piece of the Etihad Campus jigsaw unless there are plans to do something with the back car parks?