Sir Elton John Stand

It looks like there will be a massive gap between the new stand and the flats! The Liverpool Rd house behind will have a perfect view of the Rookery goal.
It really isn't a thing of beauty is it.

 

Don't forget, this stand has been built with future expansion in mind. Although it will be a fully functioning stand, once it has been completed, there are plans to increase the size of the structure once Watford have been promoted to the Premier League.

 

I think it will always have an unfinished look to it until this happens. I guess Occupation Rd is not the ideal location for a football stadium.

 

The bit that says future means what will be built in the coming months as those bits hadn't been built at the time of the drawing.

 

I believe that refers to expansion up and back.. not width wise.

Anyway on the recent plans it describes the part towards the Rookery as "phase 2" It is going to happen.. as was always the plan. The part going towards the Vic end is described as "future stand construction" and again i believe the club have announced that we will now be building that way.

 

The vic road end if the stand was supposed to have started this week, will occupation road closed because of the crane/Crain

 

They probably need the road left open to remove the waste from the demolition.

 

The contractors are building 'turstiles'. This is not looking good.

 

I wonder what the plan is now then? It's usually 6 weeks to get planning permission and that takes us past the Udinese game and on the verge of the Bolton game. Are they building the changing rooms within the initial plans for now and sorting out the extension as the season progresses? If so I'd have thought that a pretty inefficient way of doing things.

 

The planning document says the work has already started, this is known as retroactive planning and I would have imagined that the club sought advice weeks ago.

http://www.ukplanning.com/ukp/showCaseFile.do;jsessionid=06EEA1CA90379D04849E5776682E5419.wam2?action=show&appType=planning%20folder&appNumber=14/00941/FUL

 

Looks fine to me

Refs have to walk upstairs and past Beppe's office to get out.... nice

 

Why is everyone so desperate? Until the recent demolition that side of the ground has been the same for 40 years.

 

Just asking questions.. dont think anyone's "desperate"





Going back to the contractor question. Isnt it that GL Events are.. and always have been.. the main contractor and that the issues have been with the subcontractors. Or is that too simple an answer?

 

I was wondering about that. How would that be achieved - by making stand higher, increasing the gradient to get more seats at back etc etc???????

 

'future expansion' on those plans simply means the ends, which are being built now as the 2nd phase (1st phase was the middle bit)

I'd be amazed if there were room to build a second layer upwards

You can't just add a second level cantilevered off the back of the new frame..



....it would be unstable



...and there's very little room to add a second rear frame, even if the club were happy with a cost to build such a thing, and if you get it past planning in the first place



imo any future expansion will have to focus on the nw / ne corners because some tw@ sold the se sw corners

 

Like!

Now I can show Mrs Blahblahblah why she can't have her loft extension!

 

One option would be to install rows to the front. I reckon that would give them another 750+ seats for very little cost. It could probably be done in a summer too.

Ultimately next up - and no time soon I imagine - should be the total demolition and rebuild of a Vic Rd End stand that's actually fit for purpose.

 

If only!

With the vic road end there would be no alternative but to dig down to make the space that's required. The only other option could be to turn the ski slope next to it into a catering facility somehow.

 

Sorry, I'm missing something here. How is the Vicarage Rd End not fit for purpose? Always seemed ok to me. Would have thought the wonkiness of the GT Stand would be more of an embarassment.

 

There is plenty enough space behind the new stand for building another framework behind it..

(Photo: Roy Moore)


Also look at the height of the stand and the fact that the seating tier doesnt go up to the roofline like it does at both end stands. To extend the tier back wont take all that much building backwards.. and the space is there. Yes it will make things tighter down Occupation Road.. but not more than it was before with the outbuildings behind the old East stand.

This is why we got GL Events on the job in the first place. They are specialists in designing modular, semi-permanent, expandable grandstands and trust me they will have the plans for any further expansion safely tucked up in the computer already.
If you remember it was discussed right from the start that the stand will be built in view to some kind of redevelopment at a future date. I personally dont believe they were telling porkies about that.



PS This should be of some interest.. http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1252851
You get a few folk on there who know a thing or two about stadium builds.

 

He means the tight concourses* but as pointed out, as the Vic stand was built on the old slope and backs onto the road, there were always going to be space issues as there isnt an undercroft area.

The capacity of that stand has also been reduced over the years because of this.

 

You stick to what you believe, and I'll stick to what my training as degree qualified engineer and a lifetime designing structures tells me what is possible and practical.

 

I think the club said that the any next stage for expansion of capacity would be the corners, which I guess can only be the Vic end ones.

LTC68 is right that you cant simply bolt on a new level to the stand. The Rous was built with the possibility of a further level, but this would still be expensive to do

 

I'll stick to the reasoning of why we got GL Events in as main contractors in the first place and what they and the club have already discussed..


and back it up with my degree in sports management (including stadium design) and a lifetime taking an interest in and working in the stadium environment.

 

The rake of this stand is fine for a single tier but it is far too steep for another tier on top. The height of the stand would dwarf the houses behind. I would be surprised if the
council would allow it. It seems that this stand could be obsolete in the near future in that it can't be expanded.
With promotion to the premier league, the corners and a third tier on the Rous side might be the only option for expanding the ground.

 

Aren't the corners of the Vicarage Road stand out of alignment with the Rous Stand? If they built into the corners, it could be a bit tricky.

 

PS and i'm surprised your training as degree qualified engineer didnt help you to think of the possibility to simply extend the current tier rather than add a second?

 

I would love to see the final plans for the new stand with 5000+ seats.

 

If we win every game for the next 20 years we'll still have trouble filling the ground. Extending the stand is never going to happen anyway.

 

We already had plans for a 5000+ stand on the East side.. that had planning permission.

 

I can't believe a forum exists to discuss skyscrapers...

 

Bit negative mate. The bad ol days are gone, Watfords on the up. BTW we used to have a ground that held nearly 35,000.

 

You'd be surprised what kind of subjects are covered by different forums!


Or maybe not?

 

I wouldn't be surprised if we had a new stadium in the next 25 years.

 

That's what you get when you Google "large erections" probably.