New ground update?

[Sherif H]

Our stadium was built with stronger foundations under 3 sides to enable the capacity to be increased from 10100 to 18000 if required by putting extra tiers on those areas and filling in the corners. It is not very likely we will need that any time in the near future but if we do, it can be relatively easily achieved without having to move.

It was a long time ago now, but I'll be honest, I can't recall the Contractor installing additional piles to accommodate an extension of each stand.
You have the space at the CCS, so that is the biggest hurdle, but make no mistake, expanding a structure is a big and expensive job - as you add rows above a certain height, the costs start multiplying (obviously, the further back you go, the higher you go, and the more weight of steel you are adding).

 

[Sherif H]

I absolutely respect your expertise on stadia development, but I was curious about the list of clubs you compare us to there as a warning sign that these plans may be too small...

Reading are in a 24k stadium and are currently pulling in 12k a week whilst in the championship, Swansea have had huge success in recent years and are averaging just around 16,5k in their 21k stadium, and both Rotherham and Doncaster play in stadiums that are smaller than our latest plans, and can't fill those despite having historically successful runs in recent years.

I really don't think any act as a cautionary tale that we need to be aiming higher at 20k+, if anything they suggest that around 16k is about right and would probably sufficient right up to the championship, at which point potential TV money of the prem is probably more of a defining factor.

The point being that all four of these Clubs enjoyed promotion (and in some cases multiple promotions) in the early years following the move to their new venues.
The stadium therefore helped grow the fanbase organically, and the theory goes that you then retain a higher proportion of these new 'floating' supporters at the point at which the Club drifts down the pyramid again, so there is a definite residual benefit.
The other certain benefit is that you attract more women and children ./ full families to a stadium which is clean, safe, well stocked and accessible.
Combine these factors with our growing population and a metropolitan area which is arguably larger than the likes of Reading and Swansea and we make a good candidate for a stadium with a potential capacity of around 20k.

 

[rshepp]

I understand that RM will own the stadium.
Will the new owners be expected to maintain and insure it? Will non football income come to the club?
Let's be frank.
At our level any owner must expect to loose a £million a year.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

Does any know where I can get a good look at the plans?

 

[CRATE]

Am I being daft, by saying I can't find any photos without subscribing to the Echo

 

[C'mon you Shrimpers]

Does any know where I can get a good look at the plans?

It's all online Matty. By the way another 5 rows of seats would take capacity above 20,000.

 

[shrimper61]

Am I being daft, by saying I can't find any photos without subscribing to the Echo

Go on the main Southend web site then click on Fossetts its all there with photos and information.

 

[North Banker]

In Pictures: Grand vision for proposed 16,000 seat Fossetts Farm stadium

SPECTACULAR images of the vision for the new Southend United stadium have been unveiled as the plans are officially submitted to the council.

www.echo-news.co.uk

Photos have also been here for some time: https://fossetts.co.uk/the-stadium

 

[meerkat54]

Think new stadium looks ok to me. I can’t believe so many posters are being critical and over fussy.
We ( the club) don’t even have a pot to **** in at present.
My personal view and I have no evidence, just an inkling. That our buyers will buy the club and stadium outright. And build all 4 sides.
Who knows really, but we are long overdue a piece of luck .

 

[hlane17]

Think new stadium looks ok to me. I can’t believe so many posters are being critical and over fussy.
We ( the club) don’t even have a pot to **** in at present.
My personal view and I have no evidence, just an inkling. That our buyers will buy the club and stadium outright. And build all 4 sides.
Who knows really, but we are long overdue a piece of luck .

I really hope you're right even though I don't share that level of optimism.

 

[E for B and Billy Best]

Will any investors want this version of Ron's world.Seems like Ron wants to hold all the cards while somebody else finances the build because he's skint.After all this time find the latest version depressing and have lost any enthusiasm remaining as the ambition which was there in 2008 has totally gone to be replaced by a overcrowded poorly designed cramped housing estate to fulfill the council's quota's

In a nutshell.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

IF those predictions for average attendances are spot on, FF will be perfectly fine for our return to the Championship.

Only once we get to the Premier League, and then start our European tours do we need worry.

16k is about right.

I’d suggest though that having our potential effectively capped at Championship level makes us less likely to return to the Championship as it makes us a less attractive investment opportunity.

Having permission for up to 24,000 seats would be more of a pull.

A shame Ron didn’t sell up when that was the plan.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

It's all online Matty. By the way another 5 rows of seats would take capacity above 20,000.

I was wondering if anyone had a link perhaps?

 

[Smiffy]

I was wondering if anyone had a link perhaps?

http://publicedrms.southend.gov.uk/Planning/lg/dialog.page?Param=lg.Planning&org.apache.shale.dialog.DIALOG_NAME=gfplanningsearch&viewdocs=true&SDescription=23/00419/FULM

 

[LeedsSUFC]

Hence why in the same post I said I see us getting about 20k max, not 30k.

Edit: Southend also has a University of Essex campus in the main city centre.

University of Essex has 18k students. 15k of whom attend on the Colchester campus...

The Southend campus of the University of Essex isn't noteworthy at all really when compared to most universities in the country.

 

[Sherif H]

University of Essex has 18k students. 15k of whom attend on the Colchester campus...

The Southend campus of the University of Essex isn't noteworthy at all really when compared to most universities in the country.

I question the relevance of high student populations. Different demographic potentially, but 50% of the Cities of Oxford and Cambridge are basically dominated by their respective Universities, and both of the football clubs do not see any discernible benefit to their attendances. Students are a red herring - the vast majority will not be local and will already have a football club (if indeed they are football fans).

 

[North Banker]

Worth noting - if, like me, you hadn't kept up with this before - the extent to which facilities have been moved out of the main stand.

Previously, the phase one plans showed the players changing in "temporary facilities" (i.e. portacabins) accessed via a service tunnel in the southwest corner until the north stand is complete:



Now they show what looks like permanent changing facilities built into the corner (semi-underground in what was previously maintenance/plant space), along with a player's entrance and car park.



A TV studio, other press facilities and the control room are all above the west stand. The club shop and a restaurant are in the south stand. The only unique facilities now in the main stand are a huge ballroom (able to be split into three rooms), executive boxes, a board room and club offices.

This is now a stadium built to function - not perfectly, by any means, but function - with just three sides. This crosses off some of the reasons I gave in the other thread for being optimistic about the fourth side needing to be finished. It shouldn't be surprising given the 3 year opening gap though - there's no reason why changing rooms or any of these facilities have to be in the main stand (can it even be called a main stand?), so if there's room available why not put them in properly from the start. The hospitality facilities and the flats should, surely to god, be enough to make Ron/the new owners build the fourth side though.

 

[gpd]

As I understand it, and this is actually explained in the D&A statement, the combination of the location of an underground sewer, and the proximity to the scheduled ancient monument, meant there was no choice but to have an East-West design unfortunately.

I know I am old but there's no need for ageist remarks. I might not be able to make it to every game :-)

 

[Ramsdenblue]

I know there are flats built into the ground design, but are there persons out there who would want to live in them during match days.
I would have thought that it would have been to noisy.
My other sort of concern would be,
Would it be possible for the owners or tenants of the flats to put an injunction on the ground or club, complaining that it is to noisy for them.
Or
Complain that at every home game there is foul industrial language coming up from the ground / terraces and into their properties, and they would want it stopped.
They want the crowd to stop singing, chanting, and or using industrial language.
Could that actually happen in the real world.

 

[Sparte]

Eastern Avenue and the roads around Priory Park are already snarled up most of the time... this is only going to make it a lot worse!