Extra seats work

[MACROBLUE]

I still cannot understand why all the work that has been done could not have been incorporated in the initial build. Surely everything could have been installed bar the actual fitting of seats. The work being done now would not have affected the initial planning for 22,500 seats. Maybe not so much the corners, but the East Stand was designed to have that upper tier at a later date and would have saved milions had the pre-cast concrete etc already been in place.

 

[bravohotelalpha]

I am guessing it was due to the complex technicalities of the planning permission - Martin Perry is the man to ask

 

[Mutts Nuts]

I still cannot understand why all the work that has been done could not have been incorporated in the initial build. Surely everything could have been installed bar the actual fitting of seats. The work being done now would not have affected the initial planning for 22,500 seats. Maybe not so much the corners, but the East Stand was designed to have that upper tier at a later date and would have saved milions had the pre-cast concrete etc already been in place.

it would have been more cost effective to build the east upper and the corners at the time of the main build, leaving only the bolting in of seats but not by millions

 

[we hate palace]

I still cannot understand why all the work that has been done could not have been incorporated in the initial build. Surely everything could have been installed bar the actual fitting of seats. The work being done now would not have affected the initial planning for 22,500 seats. Maybe not so much the corners, but the East Stand was designed to have that upper tier at a later date and would have saved milions had the pre-cast concrete etc already been in place.

because they only got planning permission for 22500 the expansion depended on how well the club coped with that many fans at a match before the capacity could be increased

 

[Rugrat]

because they only got planning permission for 22500 the expansion depended on how well the club coped with that many fans at a match before the capacity could be increased

Surprised they didn't take a risk. The incremental cost of the expansion work must be several £million. Even if there had of been initial problems with transport I'd have thought they would have had the confidence to know they could successfully tackle it.

I'm more of a view that they were just caught completely by surprise with the demand and were probably reckoning on getting crowds of 15-18,000 and only more if the Prem came along

 

[Return of the Rev]

I still cannot understand why all the work that has been done could not have been incorporated in the initial build. Surely everything could have been installed bar the actual fitting of seats. The work being done now would not have affected the initial planning for 22,500 seats. Maybe not so much the corners, but the East Stand was designed to have that upper tier at a later date and would have saved milions had the pre-cast concrete etc already been in place.

Plus why have the not raised the roof already for the 40,000+ build on! blooming bloom
The old west stand lego did not take this long

 

[MACROBLUE]

Surprised they didn't take a risk. The incremental cost of the expansion work must be several £million. Even if there had of been initial problems with transport I'd have thought they would have had the confidence to know they could successfully tackle it.

I'm more of a view that they were just caught completely by surprise with the demand and were probably reckoning on getting crowds of 15-18,000 and only more if the Prem came along

Good explanation

 

[drew]

Just remember that when the planning application was being prepared, we were a league One club and finance would have to be raised commercially from banks with the obvious cost of interest payable. Once the application was finally approved for the 22,500k capacity, it might have been tempting fate and playing into the hands of Lewes Council to then try and increase the capacity to 30,500, bearing in mind that all the traffic reports at the time were for the lower capacity. We are in an enviable position with our 25 year interest free loan from Tony Bloom. If it wasn't for him, then I think we can safely say we probably would still be playing at Withdean.

 

[BRIGHT ON Q]

I think it is a credit to the club for thinking ahead.they could of easily thought 25,000 would do(and most of us would have agreed) and we would be stuck with a ground like Hull or Reading.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Plus why have the not raised the roof already for the 40,000+ build on! blooming bloom
The old west stand lego did not take this long

Lol

 

[Daffy Duck]

The old west stand lego did not take this long

Maybe that's because it was held together with a few rubber bands, some paperclips and a piece of string. It used to sway like mad in a strong wind.

 

[bravohotelalpha]

because they only got planning permission for 22500 the expansion depended on how well the club coped with that many fans at a match before the capacity could be increased

This is exactly what it is all about

 

[Vegas Seagull]

I think it is a credit to the club for thinking ahead.they could of easily thought 25,000 would do(and most of us would have agreed) and we would be stuck with a ground like Hull or Reading.

Indeed, the opposite to Arsenal who had a call to make between 60k & 70k bottled it & went for the lower, which has sold out every game, & their income is too low to stop them being a 'selling club'

 

[Lincoln Imp]

because they only got planning permission for 22500 the expansion depended on how well the club coped with that many fans at a match before the capacity could be increased

Ideally, this will be the end of the thread. The club and its supporters had the most god almighty job getting planning permission as it was. If the original application had been for 30,000-plus seats it would have been far less likely that permission would have been achieved. The application was therefore for the lower figure, but with the level of discreet future-proofing a major investor - a bank or, as it happened, an individual - would naturally desire. It is yet another example of the fact that three great heros of the Albion are, in order of appearance, Dick Knight, Martin Perry and Tony Bloom.

 

[Wardy]

because they only got planning permission for 22500 the expansion depended on how well the club coped with that many fans at a match before the capacity could be increased

Thread closed.

 

[pasty]

Would be interesting to know if the expansion would still have gone ahead had we got relegated back to L1 last season.

 

[drew]

Indeed, the opposite to Arsenal who had a call to make between 60k & 70k bottled it & went for the lower, which has sold out every game, & their income is too low to stop them being a 'selling club'

I don't believe that is the reason they have sold players. The main reason is that they don't break their wage structure and won't match the money that Man City in particular will throw at players. The probable reason for this is that they are still paying off the cost of the stadium which they would have been doing even if it was 70k! Man Utd have paid a fortune to RVP. We all know that they are heavily in debt but they have to keep up with the noisy neighbours.

 

[Diego Napier]

because they only got planning permission for 22500 the expansion depended on how well the club coped with that many fans at a match before the capacity could be increased

This is it exactly whp.

Sakes! It's been explained on here many time before that with all the planning and legal hoops to jump through it was difficult enough getting permission for the 22 1/2k (or have some of us forgotten?). The club needed to demonstrate that it could cope with the initial crowds and then show how the additional numbers would be handled.

TB was obviously happy with the stadium's development approach, why keep worrying about it?

 

[Everest]

why keep worrying about it?

Because some people ALWAYS need something to MOAN about. Simples