Stadium Expansion

And with a tunnel for the road.

 

I think Stevohorn showed on this thread in the past that the footprint of our stand is similar to that of the Holmesdale End at Smellhurst Park so it's potentially doable.

 

Yes.. well pretty much the same width (just under 90m) but 5 meters deeper at Sellhurst , which could be made up by us building over the pavement and the parking spaces. The Holmesdale stand has a capacity of around 2.5K to 3K more than the Vic stand depending on how you read the capacity reduction of the Vic. Again you'd have to think about how to access the upper tier but having the stand 5 meters further back might give some scope to building entrance towers either end.

 

"..but 5 meters deeper at Sellhurst , which could be made up by us building over the pavement and the parking spaces." To do that i reckon you would need to also pay for alterations to the road (swing it over between Aynho and Banbury streets), probably pay for utilities to be relocated and buy and demolish at least a couple of houses to accommodate the moved road. Sounds expensive bearing in mind 20% of the Sir EJ stand will be empty again this season.

 

With you on that. I would doubt such a reduction in the width of Vicarage Road would seek approval unless the road could be moved. To move the road Northwards would necessitate a minimum of knocking down the outhouses at the Red Lion, buying up at least one property (though probably more) and some land of the back gardens in Oxford Street.

Anyway for now i (and others) are really just drawing castles in the sky. The club have said the EJ is first and i think they know that it would be the GT after that. My theory is that if that doesnt give us the required capacity they would then look at relocation ahead of the end stands.

 

In the thread about safe standing I stated that where implemented the section allows for an extra 50% capacity. It wouldn't happen in the Vicarage Road end as the size of the concourses prevents us from currently increasing capacity there, but if a decent section of the Rookery were to get safe standing then that would allow a further increase. I think given the possible increase in the EJ stand we would very likely reach the maximum achievable capacity on the site but I also think that the likelihood of selling out with a 25k capacity would be small except when some of the big boys come to town, we wouldn't need/sell 25k for the likes of WBA etc.

 

Another new aerial pic from iAmaHornet on Twitter https://twitter.com/iAmAHornet/status/882702564042694657
According to his Twitter, he either owns or has access to a drone enabling him to get these great pics.

 

Sorry to hear that iAmaHornet has had his rotary wing PPL revoked.

 

Well it's been a little while since the current length/condition of the pitch has been discussed, so here's two pictures dated today (6/7/17) that shows where it's at (please hurry up and start, new football season...!)

Pics via Google maps, publicly uploaded by user Kevin McGourty



I'll leave it to Stevohorn and other experts to inform us what stage this is (as it looks playable to me, yet the GT tribute match was put back a week due to the pitch maintenance timescale).

 

Does anyone else think, that the wall behind the SEJ should be the same height all the way along?

 

First the pitch. Ive been out on quite a few professional football pitches and so often they look great from the stands or even from pitchside but when you go out there you see things differently. Only close up you can see how dense the sward is and developed the grass plants are. So looking at pics isnt sufficient for me to say.
I was a tad shocked to hear that a game was called off for the pitch grow-in however. Especially as it seemed the renovation works went to plan and the weather has been so good in the UK of late. I wont though make judgement of a fellow professional without knowing the full facts.

The last pics you posted. Firstly.. what is it with the glass of the sensory room area? Is that just reflection? or is has there been some kind of mural put in place? or maybe it's packed with several hundred people?!
Secondly has there been some more 'blackening out' on the EJ/Rookery corner? Maybe i havent been observant enough but was everything (bar the club crest) painted black there before? On that subject i wonder what ever happened to the red cladding in the opposite corner? It was only there for a short while.. i guess Gino didnt like the look of the final result!

Lastly.. i didnt realise there were quite so many photo's on Google maps.. quality ones as well. Gonna take me all weekend to go though them. PS Are you "Jossy M" on there by any chance?

 

The Sensory Room as some sort of film across the windows, yeah. The cladding in the EJ/Rookery corner went up during last season and I think the red highlights on the NE corner went before that, possibly last summer. The latter didn't last long at all.

 

When they cancelled the game due to the pitch, I kinda assumed it would be obvious to spot when looking at it but thinking about it there's obviously much more to growing a pitch and making it game ready than whether or not it looks green enough!

I haven't noticed any change in the EJ/Rookery corner since they filled it in before the start of last season (apart from the badge which was added a couple of games in). I guess though that not everybody takes a morbid fascination in stadium changes/improvements like I do!

The red cladding around the south west corner hospitality disappeared at some point after the Arsenal home game during the 15/16 season. Like you say - maybe Gino didn't approve?

Yeah that's me on Google maps. Ever since the Pozzo's completed the look of the stadium (although I'm sure there will be more to come) I've been very impressed with the result and so have taken lots of photographs. Having received a lot of flack over the years from people saying that the place was a dump (and that was hard to argue with during it's 3 sided spell plus how run down the rest of it was) I'm keen now to show people that it isn't anymore. Honestly - I far, far prefer the Vic in it's current form to flat-pack, devoid of all creativity, dull bowls such as the King Power/Riverside/Pride Park/Madejski etc. The architects have seemingly "phoned" their efforts in on them and it shows.

In case people aren't aware but are interested - when looking through the pictures on Google maps - if you click on the uploaders name on a picture you like, it'll take you to every picture they've uploaded. On the stadium's page, it only shows a random amount of peoples stuff if they have added multiple pics so by clicking on their name you can see more. Also - the random element of which pictures they show changes every couple of days. Sometimes they show different ones of mine every time I check back there to see if anything new has been added. Some users do prevent their pics from being downloaded though.

 

As UEA_Hornet said - it's some kind of film/mural on the glass that I believe is transparent for those inside. I guess it helps keep the sun out plus also protects the special needs children using the room by adding a little more privacy.

I took the following pic during the Man City debacle - if you look closely you can see the objects in the room behind, such as the beanbag type chairs the kids sit on.

 

Big respect to the guy with the Watford FC wheelchair.

 

Because of the fairly steep hill/decline - wouldn't that make the height of the wall at the Rookery end very, very high? I'm no building expert, but I'm fairly certain that walls over a certain height have to be made thicker (that's what my neighbour was told when they wanted to put up a high wall at the end of their garden)?

 

I think the issue is that below a certain height you can do as you like, above that you need an engineer to design and sign off.

 

Have they not built the new stadium yet ?

Bloody get on with it can't they

 

Assuming of course we establish ourselves in the EPL I thought the next stage would involve the SEJ stand. Correct me if I am wrong but were we not told that the foundations had been prepared. So that means possibly two options. Option 1 take down present structure and build bigger one or two tier stand or Option 2 take roof off present stand and drop a new tier over the top with support from behind. In either case the back of the new structure would be in line with wall in Occupation Road. Could even go back over the road. With a tunnel and provide new uniform style garages for the residents in adjoining Road. Of course residents would have to agree but if the club are paying they may go for it as currently they are an eyesore. Their back gardens are reasonably long so as West facing don't see right to light being an issue. The other proposals around Rookery or Vic Road end just too expensive for benefits that would realise. The Pozzos have done stonking job with the ground. I would rather where we are even if we cannot push capacity beyond old level of 28 - 30k. No atmosphere at these new grounds and wonderful for me to be lucky enough to to the ground. coyhs!

 

If the capacity ever needs to increase dramatically then Vic Road will be housing and a shiny new stadium may appear behind the Rookery.

 

I suspect there are quite a few on this board who were in the ground for the Cup games versus Man U and Liverpool in 69 and 70 when there were 34k packed inside.

Frightening! At the Utd game, I was standing chatting to a guy in the Vic Road end when a crash barrier snapped in front of us. I turned to look, there was a sudden surge caused by the break and when I turned back, the guy had vanished in a welter of arms, legs and scarves! Never saw him again.

 

The united game was my first ever with a record attendance, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Dennis Law and Duncan Welbourne!

 

I think he may have been joking Ray Joking about the ongoing thread.

My guess would be that if the EJ is added to it will be a continuation of the tier rather than a separate one. These type of semi-permanent stands are not designed to have additional tiers added.. because of the relatively light steelwork. You could build a free standing structure behind and cantilever a tier over but that pushes the costs up of course. GL Events tend to only do single tier stands.
See link.. http://www.glevents.co.uk/products/stadium-construction/


The gardens of Liverpool road are more South West facing and as such i think shade does come into play. At times (late evening?) shade from the GT Stand covers over half the width of the pitch. You can see that in this pic and it looks like the shade from the current EJ stand is already nearly into their gardens..

 

Thanks for the answers (and you UEA)

In case you didnt guess i'm also a stadium obsessive.. always have been. That's why i rattle on so much about it here and tried to find work in the stadium environment. This i achieved for a few years but sadly the club i was working for took away our grass and put down plastic!
Ive got all the books as well.. Simon Inglis is my hero Talking of which i bet he would be pleased by the modern day Vic as he is always writing about stadium "identity" and a sense of knowing where you are. Something that the recent transformation of our ground has excelled at, with an Italian flair for design.
Amazing to think that over where the lavish South West corner development stands now was a cinder bank with bushes growing at the back when i first went in the mid 70's.

Guess i missed the full South East corner transformation.. helped by the fact ive only been back to Vic Road a couple of times in recent years and sat in the EJ stand, so hard to see. I also think that corner looks so different when the screen is on.
Ive also only just noticed that the area under the badge there now seems blocked off. I'd always thought that was to be kept open for pitch access of groundsman equipment and emergency vehicles. Is there maybe a gate there somewhere or is there access directly under the video screen?

PS See what you mean about Google photo's.. very random.

 

Would you like a compass for Christmas or a weatherC0CK?

 

Says the man who thinks the club doesnt understand which way the stands are facing!

Come on then *****, tell me where i have gone wrong.

 

The length of the gardens and orientation doesn't really make a difference to Rights to Light. If the neighbours on Liverpool St have enjoyed the benefit of x% of natural light for over 20 years and that % is reduced through development, they have a claim. Of course there is nothing to stop the club negotiating with all the residents and if they sell up the new occupiers do not have a right to claim (having not benefited from 20 years unrestricted view)

 

Love this thread. Just excited about getting a bigger stand

 

There's a gap between the SEJ Stand and the Police control boxes big enough for am ambulance.

 

Yep - the gap's still big enough for an ambulance, which I believe is a requirement for all football grounds after Hillsborough. You can see one in this picture taken recently:

 

I was at that game. On the Vic Road end with my dad, I was only 8. Got passed over the heads of people in front and spent the rest if the game sitting on the grass round the pitch with hundreds of other kids!

 

I think he's right Stevo, they're more west south west than south west.

 

As it was the old East stand and East always faces West, innit?

 

North, South, East, West. Whichever way.. Godfather knows best!*





*even when he's wrong.