Future Capacity at Falmer?

[gollum]

I've noticed a fair few questions on the Falmer Project Team thread asking about future expansion. This is a fairly pointless exercise as the club will not admit that further expansion has been catered for without massive structural alterations due to the hoops they have already had to jump through just to get permission for 22,500.

However it looks fairly obvious that the corners could be filled in, say 1,000 each and an upper tier on the East stand at about 3,000. So with a bit of good planning we could probably get up to about 30,000. Any further expansion would probably mean the removal of the entire roof as it basically holds itself up which I doubt I shall see in my lifetime.

Given the fact that we never once got a 30,000 plus crowd in the old Division One days this could well prove sufficient for our needs.

 

[burrish-gull]

I've noticed a fair few questions on the Falmer Project Team thread asking about future expansion. This is a fairly pointless exercise as the club will not admit that further expansion has been catered for without massive structural alterations due to the hoops they have already had to jump through just to get permission for 22,500.

However it looks fairly obvious that the corners could be filled in, say 1,000 each and an upper tier on the East stand at about 3,000. So with a bit of good planning we could probably get up to about 30,000. Any further expansion would probably mean the removal of the entire roof as it basically holds itself up which I doubt I shall see in my lifetime.

Given the fact that we never once got a 30,000 plus crowd in the old Division One days this could well prove sufficient for our needs.

I was told 'unofficially' 35,000 by the architect (from KSS Design) at the official Falmer ceremony day, I was lucky enough to attend in 2008. He told me planning would again need to be sought but the East, North and South Stands are designed to have the roofs raised to accommodate extra seating.

He also told me the stadium is going to be one THE best in the country when finished.

 

[strings]

Well said. I think unofficial sources have hinted that it could potentially hold 30,000 with relative ease. Of course the club aren't going to confirm any expansion plans. And, for the time being, I doubt there are any plans.

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

An UBSUBSTANTIATED guess of at least another 10,000 so 35,000+.

 

[burrish-gull]

Well said. I think unofficial sources have hinted that it could potentially hold 30,000 with relative ease. Of course the club aren't going to confirm any expansion plans. And, for the time being, I doubt there are any plans.

He also told me the original design for the Stadium was better but new laws forced them to change it. I think the arches were alot bigger and the design was even more unique than what we'll eventually get.

Funny thing was I was chatting to him for 20 minutes before he mentioned who he was, I got as much info out of him as I could!

 

[dougdeep]

It's the access that will decide how big it can get. I can't see the rail company being very helpful.

 

[The Grockle]

I was told 'unofficially' 35,000 by the architect (from KSS Design) at the official Falmer ceremony day, I was lucky enough to attend in 2008. He told me planning would again need to be sought but the East, North and South Stands are designed to have the roofs raised to accommodate extra seating.

He also told me the stadium is going to be one THE best in the country when finished.

I don't know the facts but surely to add an additional tier to the east stand and to fill the corners in thus increasing the capacity to approx 30,000 wouldn't require any adjustments to the roof?

 

[burrish-gull]

I don't know the facts but surely to add an additional tier to the east stand and to fill the corners in thus increasing the capacity to approx 30,000 wouldn't require any adjustments to the roof?

I'm sure he said the roofs would need to be raised, i.e the east stand would mirror the west stand in size.

 

[The Grockle]

I'm sure he said the roofs would need to be raised, i.e the east stand would mirror the west stand in size.

Fair enough, you'd know better than me given the chat you had. Corners filled or not, it is going to be an impressive arena and given the current financal climate in football I can't see another ground of comparable quality being built for sometime outside of the top two divisions.

 

[burrish-gull]

Fair enough, you'd know better than me given the chat you had. Corners filled or not, it is going to be an impressive arena and given the current financal climate in football I can't see another ground of comparable quality being built for sometime outside of the top two divisions.

Thats pretty much what he said, he also told me he's working on the new redevelopment of White Hart Lane, which again is pretty impressive. He was really exicted about Falmer though as he considered it his 'pride and joy' in that its so unique and the trouble the clubs had to get it built.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

It's the access that will decide how big it can get. I can't see the rail company being very helpful.

I was musing about this this morning. Are there four, four carriage trains an hour? Presumably the capacity is around 80-100 per carriage. So the maximum shipping would be 1,600 fans per hour. I assume upgrading Falmer Station is out of the question.

Do we have access to 2,500 car parking spaces on matchdays?

Presumably Roger French will be keen to get involved and there will be a caravan of buses heading that way.

Walkable from much of Brighton.

Hopefully they will have some decent cycle storage facilities.

I suspect a lot of it will boil down to how well the stadium can cope with 23,000 fans.

 

[dougdeep]

What a lot of people don't take into consideration is that those trains are pretty packed now.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

What a lot of people don't take into consideration is that those trains are pretty packed now.

I would imagine that people taking non-essential journeys will find an alternative rather than being rammed in with a large amount of football fans.

I think it is going to be quite chaotic for the first few months, at least!

 

[palace2]

5k MAX

 

[Billy the Fish]

Have I imagined it, or did someone say on here recently that one of the train companies were going to put on an extra couple of shuttle trains to Brighton and lewes after matches?

 

[The Grockle]

I would imagine that people taking non-essential journeys will find an alternative rather than being rammed in with a large amount of football fans.

I think it is going to be quite chaotic for the first few months, at least!

Is there any area within a quick stroll from Falmer with plenty of pubs? I only ask because I feel if there was, a good chunk of the crowd would feel inclined to walk to the nearest 'fan friendly' drinking hole? This would reduce some of the immediate congestion.

 

[Billy the Fish]

I've just had a look at ATPO, are people actually blind or just very stupid?

This question has been asked three times on the first page and it's always the same answer.

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

The Hikers is not too far, about 15 min walk or take a bus. The Swan is nearer, but still a near 10 min walk. Although anti-Falmer now, I'm sure one day money will talk.

There will also be on site bars open before and after the game so fans may not need to turn up at 2.30 and leave at 5.00.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

One of the constraints about the level of train service between Brighton, Falmer and Lewes is that you can't (in theory) get an eight coach train into the Brighton line platforms at Lewes Station.

BUT ...

... during the snow, when Southern were running fewer trains than normally, they WERE running eight coach trains between Brighton and Lewes. Passengers in the end carriages just had to move along the train to get out when it got to Lewes. With electric doors, this appears to be a perfectly practical solution - although loading and unloading would take longer.

 

[The Large One]

I was musing about this this morning. Are there four, four carriage trains an hour? Presumably the capacity is around 80-100 per carriage. So the maximum shipping would be 1,600 fans per hour. I assume upgrading Falmer Station is out of the question.

Eight trains an hour at the least. Four from Brighton, four from Lewes.