General Wolves News

[Deutsch Wolf]

The plan (which amounts to the kind of thing I'd write on a beer mat at 2.20pm after 5 pints) was to build behind the South Bank so that never closed and that would make up for losing the Steve Bull for ages.

We don't have space to do that behind the Steve Bull. Plus it would/will take ages to demolish let alone rebuild.

 

[James]

Cheers for the info DW & Kenny

 

[Deano]

There's never a good time to do the stand, if you're in the Premier League you don't really want to lose that capacity but if you go down the argument turns to the capacity not being required. Either way something will need doing with the stand soon as it's more than a bit shit, even if there's worse out there. The club have even gone on record in saying it doesn't provide acceptable facilities.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

They/Jeff will see the money that can be made from improving the stadium from outside of football.....if done properly.

Sort of.

The intrinsic issue from an investment point of view is that it's forever effectively worth £0. We don't own the freehold, it has a sporting covenant on it, so you can never build value. If some fruitloop decided to buy Wolves and build us a new ground (where exactly, there aren't the sites in the city, and the likes of i54 were daft ideas even before it became impossible) he'd have to do it all out his own pocket as you can't sell Molineux.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

There's never a good time to do the stand, if you're in the Premier League you don't really want to lose that capacity but if you go down the argument turns to the capacity not being required. Either way something will need doing with the stand soon as it's more than a bit shit, even if there's worse out there. The club have even gone on record in saying it doesn't provide acceptable facilities.

If you had a cold, dead heart you'd have done it in 2013. We didn't need the capacity, we were in League One and had loads of gates under 20k (and then we got good and people decided that can I just shock you, I like Wolves. Despite what I just said earlier).

Would never have happened though, Morgan was already taking flak for the perception of building the NB and watching the team get relegated (of course it isn't that simple).

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Not excusing any of it, just it's silly to overstate how bad the Steve Bull is (it's pretty rubbish without needing to exaggerate things).

Like as President of the Kilman Haters Club you might say he isn't that much better than Christophe Berra was and that would be a fair point. If you said he was like Eric Young or Simon Coleman you'd clearly be being daft.

Whilst agreeing with everything you are saying here, I'm wondering when the last time you sat in there was?

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Whilst agreeing with everything you are saying here, I'm wondering when the last time you sat in there was?

2016 vs Leeds (took my Dad and our kid so asked the club to move my seat for one game and they said yes)

 

[b3h]

I’m actually in the North Bank this week, only because I forgot to buy my seats, I’m quite looking forward tie experiencing this luxury I keep hearing about.

Probably a little over done as mentioned on here but everything is just a little better. Getting a drink, going to the toilet, slightly bigger seats including room to not have knees in your back or having nowhere to wedge your own knees

I didn't think I'd like the view (seat was fairly central in SB). But I really did in the end. Was quite high up which I think helped

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

2016 vs Leeds (took my Dad and our kid so asked the club to move my seat for one game and they said yes)

Yeah, I think you'd be pretty shocked how bad it is now, particularly after the sitting in the luxury of the North Bank for so long. Oh and having to pay £46.50 for the one off privilege of sitting in there.

It's not as bad as Kenilworth Road or Selhurst, Goodison or of course the Peter Taylor stand (the press hate the City ground too) but it is pretty awful in there now.

*Slow to get into
*poor facilities
*shit leg room, and I'm 5ft10
*you've got to miss some of the game to get a half time piss
*very slow to get out of
*concourse is rammed.

It's not going to improve though!

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Will presume their attempts to get outside investment is to cover all/part of the Stadium redevelopment.
They/Jeff will see the money that can be made from improving the stadium from outside of football.....if done properly.


Already said they won't fund it directly and they don't like the interest rates on the loans.

I can invest 10 pots of yellow/orange/gold paint.

Maybe we can get Vape Gold Bar to do some bollard branding...

 

[sycophantia]

Yeah, I think you'd be pretty shocked how bad it is now, particularly after the sitting in the luxury of the North Bank for so long. Oh and having to pay £46.50 for the one off privilege of sitting in there.

It's not as bad as Kenilworth Road or Selhurst, Goodison or of course the Peter Taylor stand (the press hate the City ground too) but it is pretty awful in there now.

*Slow to get into
*poor facilities
*shit leg room, and I'm 5ft10
*you've got to miss some of the game to get a piss
*very slow to get out of
*concourse is rammed.

It's not going to improve though!

Tbh none of those things bother me, my two lads are less impressed as they don't have tiny, tiny legs like me, I do like the North Bank though.
For Wednesday my lad was quick off the mark so we're in the posh seats near the half way line, front of top tier BW.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

My biggest bug bear is how long it takes to get in and out. It's just a waste of everyone's time. Although some of that (going in) is the amazing inability people still have to use the bar code/card readers.

 

[PuntsWolf]

Surely they could demolish it and chuck up a big temporary stand alongside the pitch (not short of space). I remember when Blackpool got promoted they chucked that stand up in the summer rather than having the crappy temporary stand they had previously.

Something like the Rec at Bath while they build the rest. This could easily cover a large portion of the loss, 5k+ easily.

There’s always ways round these things if there’s an appetite to do so. There isn’t said appetite though.

 

[SSB]

My biggest bug bear is how long it takes to get in and out. It's just a waste of everyone's time. Although some of that (going in) is the amazing inability people still have to use the bar code/card readers.

I’m amazed how many people still turn into “Rishi Sunak trying to use contactless” when entering the ground.

 

[Law's Bus]

The plan (which amounts to the kind of thing I'd write on a beer mat at 2.20pm after 5 pints) was to build behind the South Bank so that never closed and that would make up for losing the Steve Bull for ages.

We don't have space to do that behind the Steve Bull. Plus it would/will take ages to demolish let alone rebuild.

The Steve Bull itself was already built that way - behind the old Molineux Street stand. That trick only really works once in a city centre location like ours.

 

[pr0sl0]

Surely they could demolish it and chuck up a big temporary stand alongside the pitch (not short of space). I remember when Blackpool got promoted they chucked that stand up in the summer rather than having the crappy temporary stand they had previously.

Something like the Rec at Bath while they build the rest. This could easily cover a large portion of the loss, 5k+ easily.

There’s always ways round these things if there’s an appetite to do so. There isn’t said appetite though.

Yeah, there's so much space between the front of the stand and the pitch anyway. Demolish the stand after the last home game of the season, then hire some more golf seating to run tight along the side of the pitch and start building the replacement stand behind it, starting at the back and working forwards towards the pitch. Then finish it over the following summer by completing the front, lower tier.

All moot anyway, it's not happening because Fosun don't want to invest the cash, not because it's particularly difficult to figure out a way to balance engineering/construction with mitigating the lost capacity.

 

[jd1981]

Yeah, there's so much space between the front of the stand and the pitch anyway. Demolish the stand after the last home game of the season, then hire some more golf seating to run tight along the side of the pitch and start building the replacement stand behind it, starting at the back and working forwards towards the pitch. Then finish it over the following summer by completing the front, lower tier.

All moot anyway, it's not happening because Fosun don't want to invest the cash, not because it's particularly difficult to figure out a way to balance engineering/construction with mitigating the lost capacity.

You absolutely have to have reduced capacity for 1-2 seasons, putting temp seating is as much a project in its self especially the whole length of a pitch.
As you said it’s not happening nor will it for a long time.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

The Steve Bull itself was already built that way - behind the old Molineux Street stand. That trick only really works once in a city centre location like ours.

The south bank is a different beast entirely. You build behind to join what is already there not replace it.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

You absolutely have to have reduced capacity for 1-2 seasons, putting temp seating is as much a project in its self especially the whole length of a pitch.
As you said it’s not happening nor will it for a long time.

Any temporary seating will inevitably get in the way of trying to build the permanent solution.

That stand is a bit of a nightmare to sort out in fairness.

Levels outside are wank, only get decent access from the Northern end and even then the way they build half the corner as part of the North Bank means that route in is pinched more than it would've been until you've started to demolish part of the existing stand.

Possibly the best way to offset the capacity loss would be to demolish the lower tier first and then start building the lower tier of the replacement further forward to bring it closer to the pitch. Would be slow as fuck though because you'd have to build it out in stages from South to North and be operating in a restricted space between the pitch and what remained of the existing stand the entire time. Might not even be possible to demolish in that way though, depends on how the existing structure works. Probably end up with your new lower tier obstructing some of the views of what's left of the old stand too given how shallow the existing lower tier is, you'd expect the replacement to have a greater rake to it. Got to design that new structure so it'll stand up half built to until you get chance to knock the rest down and build the upper tier on the back of it.

All sounds very expensive to me, would drag on and on, further increasing costs, can see why they're hesitant. Not to mention the most experienced contractor for that type of work in the UK went bump last year, largely due to the risk of stadium projects. Wouldn't have thought you'd have many companies chomping at the bit to do it any that would are likely to throw a big risk pot at it.

 

[jd1981]

The south bank is a different beast entirely. You build behind to join what is already there not replace it.

Yep the south bank is wedged into the hillside , it’s why the concourse down there is a bit tight.