-
Welcome to the ShrimperZone forums.
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which only gives you limited access.
Existing Users:.
Please log-in using your existing username and password. If you have any problems, please see below.
New Users:
Join our free community now and gain access to post topics, communicate privately with other members, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and free. Click here to join.
Fans from other clubs
We welcome and appreciate supporters from other clubs who wish to engage in sensible discussion. Please feel free to join as above but understand that this is a moderated site and those who cannot play nicely will be quickly removed.
Assistance Required
For help with the registration process or accessing your account, please send a note using the Contact us link in the footer, please include your account name. We can then provide you with a new password and verification to get you on the site.
New ground update?
- Thread starter shrimperjon
- Start date
C'mon you Shrimpers
Manager
The away fans are in the east. Excellent planning.
shrimper61
So say we all⭐
Have you lot notice the Echo reporters description of the new stadium as STUNNING and she is right looks amazing to me..
A stadium fit for 21 century unlike Roots hall.
A stadium fit for 21 century unlike Roots hall.
Kat_r
Striker
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2022
- Messages
- 1,207
Do we actually believe he’ll be successful in all this building?
kentblues
Director⭐
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2009
- Messages
- 9,490
Hi should have said “try” - in the end as we discover we don’t really get a sayJust as we’ve kept rm accountable
Wise Head
Youth Team⭐⭐
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2010
- Messages
- 334
The new proposed smaller stadium is a disgrace and an insult. The space allocated to the stadium was already tight despite being a new stadium on greenbelt. The flats in the main stand crept in a few years back and now are the main feature of that stand. There is little or no room for expanding the stadium to meet any ambition in the future. It is so different from what we were promised and was passed back in 2007 by the council.
E for B and Billy Best
Coach
Love this. Couldn't agree more if I tried.
E for B and Billy Best
Coach
All part of the masterplan.
kentblues
Director⭐
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2009
- Messages
- 9,490
You can hardly expect him to commit to building a lavish high capacity 4th side, that a buyer may or may not want, two years after he has sold up for someone else. It’s the someone else now who will need to satisfy the fans expectations on this. It makes sense to go down a route initially to keep the investment down to ensure there is a buyer and go from there.
More South East corner isn't it, the away section? with our lot either side of them.
Well it was initially, not sure if that's changed now?
C'mon you Shrimpers
Manager
Hyperbole is not dead. Just had a look when we last had a 16,000 plus crowd. The answer is not very often and you need to go back 60, 70 years to find a regular run of high attendance. I'm sure the statos will be able to help OK the seated Roots Hall cannot take that number but apart from games against premiership clubs in cups I doubt if we'd come near in recent years.
I do think though thinking about the future that the planners could be asked about how easy or not would expansion be.
It’s crazy that when this project was first mooted the capacity was about 6 times what we were getting and we were worried about rattling around in an empty stadium.
Fast forward 25 years and we’re in the Conference getting bigger gates and worried that the now reduced capacity won’t be enough.
Fast forward 25 years and we’re in the Conference getting bigger gates and worried that the now reduced capacity won’t be enough.
hlane17
⭐
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2020
- Messages
- 4,299
Slapping flats on the main stand makes it essentially impossible to expand it. The cost alone to reimburse those who have to move out would be huge.
Not to mention the increased complexity, danger and costs involved in demolishing the flats right on top of a football stadium that we hope will be in 24/7 use in some capacity.
Unless we are owned by some Sheikh with infinite oil money, we can forget it IMO.
One day in the far future when FF is no longer fit for purpose, we will be in the exact same position we are today with RH. Unable to redevelop our current ground because it's attached to a tower block and banking on yet another stadium move.
the_forgotten_man
First XI
In some respects not surprising given the saga we've all had to endure to get to this point, but most of the objections raised in this thread are either from a position of ignorance or simply a matter of personal taste (which I imagine has been somewhat clouded by the all-consuming hatred some espouse for Ron).
Firstly, this is absolutely nothing new. For anyone who has been paying attention (and thanks to a few dedicated posters who go through each iteration of the planning docs, and contribute to some v interesting discussions in the Fossets section of the forum), the news of a reduced capacity and flats replacing the hotel was thoroughly discussed back in September of last year.
A capacity of over 16,000 will absolutely be more than sufficient for us in almost every conceivable future scenario. We can, with good new ownership, strong management, and some luck establish ourselves as a L1 club with championship ambitions with the stadium as proposed in these plans. Anything higher than that is a) pretty damn unlikely - honestly go and look at the names of the clubs at the top of L1 right now and tell me which ones you think we ought to be competing with; and b) attendance numbers start to diminish in importance given the obscene TV deals in the Prem and filtering down to the Championship. 16k+ is more than enough.
Secondly, complaints over the phasing are, as far as I can tell, driven by a blind pessimistic presumption that nothing good can ever come of this development (understandable given the tribulations over the years). But things have changed. The training ground has been developed. The club is for sale. The council want their thousands of new homes. This is going to happen now. And the idea that any new owner waiting in the wings to buy us because of our potential is going to be happy to plod along with us in a 3-sided stadium with its main stand and revenue generator missing in perpetuity seems a bit unlikely. Even after phase 1, the 3 stands will give us significantly more revenue streams, fewer overheads and a much more pleasant experience than the current state of Roots Hall.
And please, if you are still talking about us having no revenue streams because the hotel has been dropped, do yourself and everyone else a favour and find some of @C'mon you Shrimpers posts in the stadium section, because he has done the work for you. There are bars, cafes, food outlets, boxes, ballrooms, and space that can be tailored for whatever the new owners have in mind (office space etc.).
In terms of the design of the stadium itself - it looks pretty good to me, but appreciate that is down to personal taste. Safe standing to create a proper home end will be great, and I actually don't mind the flats built into the main stand. It gives a sense of scale to the ground that we could never achieve through seating alone as we'll never need a 40/50k stadium.
Finally, and probably most disappointingly, the frequent complaints in this thread about this being a housing development with a stadium built on, or us being stuck in a 'ghetto' (from posters with a dubious history of talking about ethnicity of our prospective new neighbours). Honestly, get a ****ing grip. We're currently sitting on a former rubbish dump down Vic Avenue, it's hardly the Ritz. Football stadiums should be in amongst housing, it's where up until 20 years ago, they've always been. Give me this over a stadium attached to a drab and dying retail park any day.
Having lived for a few years in the Olympic Village in Stratford, and actually looked at the Residential plans for this development unlike some of the critics, these modern developments really aren't this eyesore people are thinking of. They are generally quite well designed, have cafes/shops on the ground level and multiple green spaces. I genuinely think in 5/10 years time this will be a desirable part of Southend to be in, and with the right ownership we will be able to take advantage of thousands of new prospective fans right on our doorstep.
I know the last few years have been incredibly depressing for all of us, but really please do try to tone down the 'everything is **** and I hate it' stuff around the stadium. Provided the sale of the club goes well, we've got plans in place for a really bright future, and when we eventually get there I do think the vast majority will be delighted with it.
Firstly, this is absolutely nothing new. For anyone who has been paying attention (and thanks to a few dedicated posters who go through each iteration of the planning docs, and contribute to some v interesting discussions in the Fossets section of the forum), the news of a reduced capacity and flats replacing the hotel was thoroughly discussed back in September of last year.
A capacity of over 16,000 will absolutely be more than sufficient for us in almost every conceivable future scenario. We can, with good new ownership, strong management, and some luck establish ourselves as a L1 club with championship ambitions with the stadium as proposed in these plans. Anything higher than that is a) pretty damn unlikely - honestly go and look at the names of the clubs at the top of L1 right now and tell me which ones you think we ought to be competing with; and b) attendance numbers start to diminish in importance given the obscene TV deals in the Prem and filtering down to the Championship. 16k+ is more than enough.
Secondly, complaints over the phasing are, as far as I can tell, driven by a blind pessimistic presumption that nothing good can ever come of this development (understandable given the tribulations over the years). But things have changed. The training ground has been developed. The club is for sale. The council want their thousands of new homes. This is going to happen now. And the idea that any new owner waiting in the wings to buy us because of our potential is going to be happy to plod along with us in a 3-sided stadium with its main stand and revenue generator missing in perpetuity seems a bit unlikely. Even after phase 1, the 3 stands will give us significantly more revenue streams, fewer overheads and a much more pleasant experience than the current state of Roots Hall.
And please, if you are still talking about us having no revenue streams because the hotel has been dropped, do yourself and everyone else a favour and find some of @C'mon you Shrimpers posts in the stadium section, because he has done the work for you. There are bars, cafes, food outlets, boxes, ballrooms, and space that can be tailored for whatever the new owners have in mind (office space etc.).
In terms of the design of the stadium itself - it looks pretty good to me, but appreciate that is down to personal taste. Safe standing to create a proper home end will be great, and I actually don't mind the flats built into the main stand. It gives a sense of scale to the ground that we could never achieve through seating alone as we'll never need a 40/50k stadium.
Finally, and probably most disappointingly, the frequent complaints in this thread about this being a housing development with a stadium built on, or us being stuck in a 'ghetto' (from posters with a dubious history of talking about ethnicity of our prospective new neighbours). Honestly, get a ****ing grip. We're currently sitting on a former rubbish dump down Vic Avenue, it's hardly the Ritz. Football stadiums should be in amongst housing, it's where up until 20 years ago, they've always been. Give me this over a stadium attached to a drab and dying retail park any day.
Having lived for a few years in the Olympic Village in Stratford, and actually looked at the Residential plans for this development unlike some of the critics, these modern developments really aren't this eyesore people are thinking of. They are generally quite well designed, have cafes/shops on the ground level and multiple green spaces. I genuinely think in 5/10 years time this will be a desirable part of Southend to be in, and with the right ownership we will be able to take advantage of thousands of new prospective fans right on our doorstep.
I know the last few years have been incredibly depressing for all of us, but really please do try to tone down the 'everything is **** and I hate it' stuff around the stadium. Provided the sale of the club goes well, we've got plans in place for a really bright future, and when we eventually get there I do think the vast majority will be delighted with it.
North Banker
First XI
My understanding was east in phase 1, extending around the north east corner once the north stand is open. The hope seems to be that away coaches will park on Fossetts Way and most away fans will go around the east side without interacting with home fans around the rest of the ground.
Thanks for adding a bit of perspective on this. The number of homes on site gives us the potential to attract some new fans as well and the fact that the council needs homes I think adds to the drive to complete the 4th stand as well.
Ahh yes, I got my North and South confused!
So they are tucked away right in the corner and next to the mudbank, until such time the main stand appears.
That should keep them cold and quiet for a few years.
…and looking directly into the setting sun!
That may well be the case, but stadia are not designed and built based on a business case from historic data - they will be assessed (amongst a plethora of other categories) on future potential.
There is a well documented new-stadium bounce for the majority of Clubs. For every Darlington (which was merely a vanity project of a completely unjustifiable scale), I give you a Reading, Swansea, Rotherham and Doncaster - all Clubs who were fluctuating around the lower leagues with comparable gates to Southend historically, but all of whom have experienced sell out crowds and a steady increase in average attendance with the inception of a new stadium.
ShrimperZone Sponsors
ShrimperZone - Player Sponsorship
Southend United Away Travel
All At Sea Fanzine
