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TFWanderers

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One of the worst grounds in the league. **** in a broom closet, tight concourse, no beer anywhere near the ground for away fans - ****.
I’ve been in all 4 stands at VP over the years, upper and lower tiers too.

The North Stand lower and Doug Ellis are very similar to the Bully. North Lower used to be really dark and dingy. Upper concourse is tight. The Doug Ellis upper concourse is up there with QPR for tightness.

The Trinity Road and Holte End eclipse our two comparative stands at Molineux.
 

Sussex Wolf

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I’ve been in all 4 stands at VP over the years, upper and lower tiers too.

The North Stand lower and Doug Ellis are very similar to the Bully. North Lower used to be really dark and dingy. Upper concourse is tight. The Doug Ellis upper concourse is up there with QPR for tightness.

The Trinity Road and Holte End eclipse our two comparative stands at Molineux.

I guess at the end of the day, much depends on when a stand was built or significantly renovated. The Bully was state of the art for its day, but that day was 40 years ago. The same is true of the SJH era stands 10 years later.
 

TFWanderers

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I guess at the end of the day, much depends on when a stand was built or significantly renovated. The Bully was state of the art for its day, but that day was 40 years ago. The same is true of the SJH era stands 10 years later.
The Holte was rebuilt around the same time as the Jack Harris - it eclipses it in every single way.

There’s a big function room below it, the concourses are massive. It’s a big stand. It’s what our South Bank should have been considering the Holte and old South Bank were similar in size.

Deadly Doug got some stick but he didn’t **** about when he built the Trinity Road and Holte End.

We missed an opportunity with that end of the ground for me. I’m not saying I’d want a double decker like the Holte but for that end to only be 5,500 is a travesty.


Should have been at least 10k and gone further back onto the car park behind it.
 
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Sussex Wolf

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The Holte was rebuilt around the same time as the Jack Harris - it eclipses it in every single way.

There’s a big function room below it, the concourses are massive. It’s a big stand. It’s what our South Bank should have been considering the Holte and old South Bank were similar in size.

Deadly Doug got some stick but he didn’t **** about when he built the Trinity Road and Holte End.

We missed an opportunity with that end of the ground for me. I’m not saying I’d want a double decker like the Holte but for that end to only be 5,500 is a travesty.


Should have been at least 10k and gone further back onto the car park behind it.

I agree. To be fair to SJH, at the time, Villa were in a different place to Wolves. They were one of the big clubs, and we were a club in the second tier, recovering from near death only a few years before.

In saying that, there is no excuse now for not taking advantage of our relative stability in the PL, demonstrated crowds, and available land, to stretch the South Bank further back, double the capacity and expand the concourse. It doesn’t need to be flash or posh, just a solid modern structure with modern facilities. It’s what the later generation of identikit stadiums got right for their regular stands.
 

beppe7619

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The Holte was rebuilt around the same time as the Jack Harris - it eclipses it in every single way.

There’s a big function room below it, the concourses are massive. It’s a big stand. It’s what our South Bank should have been considering the Holte and old South Bank were similar in size.

Deadly Doug got some stick but he didn’t **** about when he built the Trinity Road and Holte End.

We missed an opportunity with that end of the ground for me. I’m not saying I’d want a double decker like the Holte but for that end to only be 5,500 is a travesty.


Should have been at least 10k and gone further back onto the car park behind it.
They chopped a quarter of the south bank off to which was already there and now decided to put a temp stand there
 

Berlin Wolf

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I like the north bank design and it is has to be carried on around the steve bull stand. Surely wolves plans on ask wolves can’t go ahead
Linking the intended Steve Bull Stand revamp up seamlessly with the North Bank, and make it look a great job done, is going to take an engineering miracle.
 

TFWanderers

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They chopped a quarter of the south bank off to which was already there and now decided to put a temp stand there
The chop had to happen. H&S regs made it clear the new Waterloo Road Stand could not have turnstiles close to the road / on the pavement like the old one so the ground was shifted over.

With the South Bank Terrace and John Ireland open, our capacity was around 26,000 until work started and the South Banks capacity took a hit.

For a 5,500 capacity stand to replace the old / butchered giant that a few years earlier had held 15,000, albeit standing, was a bit disappointing really.

Going by AskWolves, it seems the South Banks rebuild / extension will be the most costly.
 

beppe7619

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The chop had to happen. H&S regs made it clear the new Waterloo Road Stand could not have turnstiles close to the road / on the pavement like the old one so the ground was shifted over.

With the South Bank Terrace and John Ireland open, our capacity was around 26,000 until work started and the South Banks capacity took a hit.

For a 5,500 capacity stand to replace the old / butchered giant that a few years earlier had held 15,000, albeit standing, was a bit disappointing really.

Going by AskWolves, it seems the South Banks rebuild / extension will be the most costly.
I meant the stand was already there they decided to demolish it all then rebuild a temp stand
 

greco wolf

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I meant the stand was already there they decided to demolish it all then rebuild a temp stand
Don’t really follow this. It had to go. Pitch was moved over. You couldn’t leave it and join to the new south bank. Would have looked ridiculous
 

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I meant the stand was already there they decided to demolish it all then rebuild a temp stand

The old South Bank was largely incorporated into the new South Bank. Clearly it had to move a lot towards the Bully as the pitch moved about half a pitch width in that direction. Even if they’d duplicated the physical size of the old South Bank further over, it’s capacity would have been much smaller than the original south bank, purely down to the difference between sitting and standing terraces.

But, you do raise a good point, which is why didn’t they build the new South Bank bigger? The rebuilt South Bank could have extended further into the corners, and my guess we’d have had perhaps 8k rather than 5k, even if gaps had been left rather than connecting to the Bully and BW. If so, we’d never had the GH temp stand, but rather two proper covered corners either side of the South Bank.

We know that they kept the four stands separate to help the pitch, but other stadiums were enclosed without issues. The SJH rebuild could have been the three new stands we saw, with the corners either side of the BW filled in, leaving open corners either side of the Bully - similar to what Morgan planned, with three connected stands and a separate BW stand. All ifs and buts.
 

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A lot of this boils down to the fact the ground was built not long after the Taylor report post hilsborough.

Plus we were in the championship and 28k was good enough. In hindsight would have been bigger and corners filled in

Now we will wait on fosun to finally sort it …
 

Sussex Wolf

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The old South Bank was largely incorporated into the new South Bank. Clearly it had to move a lot towards the Bully as the pitch moved about half a pitch width in that direction. Even if they’d duplicated the physical size of the old South Bank further over, it’s capacity would have been much smaller than the original south bank, purely down to the difference between sitting and standing terraces.

But, you do raise a good point, which is why didn’t they build the new South Bank bigger? The rebuilt South Bank could have extended further into the corners, and my guess we’d have had perhaps 8k rather than 5k, even if gaps had been left rather than connecting to the Bully and BW. If so, we’d never had the GH temp stand, but rather two proper covered corners either side of the South Bank.

We know that they kept the four stands separate to help the pitch, but other stadiums were enclosed without issues. The SJH rebuild could have been the three new stands we saw, with the corners either side of the BW filled in, leaving open corners either side of the Bully - similar to what Morgan planned, with three connected stands and a separate BW stand. All ifs and buts.


F6865A74-BC18-4CE6-8972-1405A66E1E4E.jpeg
 

TFWanderers

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A lot of this boils down to the fact the ground was built not long after the Taylor report post hilsborough.

Plus we were in the championship and 28k was good enough. In hindsight would have been bigger and corners filled in

Now we will wait on fosun to finally sort it …
And cost.

Jack was ploughing a fair chunk of his personal wealth into the club not only for stadium redevelopment but securing the club a training ground and into the playing side.

It is strange though how the South Banks previous design wasn’t incorporated into the new one, especially as they intended on splitting it and having 1,500 away fans in there.

They lobbed a bit of it off when the John Ireland was built. I don’t think the Waterloo Road corner was ever used after that stand closed .

I guess it could have been stadium symmetry too - hence the Billy Wright being of similar design to the John Ireland in shape.
 

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The old South Bank was largely incorporated into the new South Bank. Clearly it had to move a lot towards the Bully as the pitch moved about half a pitch width in that direction. Even if they’d duplicated the physical size of the old South Bank further over, it’s capacity would have been much smaller than the original south bank, purely down to the difference between sitting and standing terraces.

But, you do raise a good point, which is why didn’t they build the new South Bank bigger? The rebuilt South Bank could have extended further into the corners, and my guess we’d have had perhaps 8k rather than 5k, even if gaps had been left rather than connecting to the Bully and BW. If so, we’d never had the GH temp stand, but rather two proper covered corners either side of the South Bank.

We know that they kept the four stands separate to help the pitch, but other stadiums were enclosed without issues. The SJH rebuild could have been the three new stands we saw, with the corners either side of the BW filled in, leaving open corners either side of the Bully - similar to what Morgan planned, with three connected stands and a separate BW stand. All ifs and buts.
I was always under the impression the south bank sjh built was designed so the corners could be filled in if needed.
Not certain how that would work with 2 tiers meeting one,.
 

greco wolf

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I was always under the impression the south bank sjh built was designed so the corners could be filled in if needed.
Not certain how that would work with 2 tiers meeting one,.
Can be done. Think Chelsea have done it. You can ‘join’ then but you have a bit of a wall between them if that makes sense
 

Lupus ad Penn

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I was always under the impression the south bank sjh built was designed so the corners could be filled in if needed.
Not certain how that would work with 2 tiers meeting one,.
Sir Jack had the designs and architects model to show the South Bank corners infilled. I went on a stadium tour in the late 1990s and the model was on display. It basically followed the design of the Billy Wright and Steve Bull into the corners and left the existing South Bank as a single tier with the corner roofs joined up to the existing stands.
 

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Sir Jack had the designs and architects model to show the South Bank corners infilled. I went on a stadium tour in the late 1990s and the model was on display. It basically followed the design of the Billy Wright and Steve Bull into the corners and left the existing South Bank as a single tier with the corner roofs joined up to the existing stands.
Yep, from memory there was a planning permission maybe 20 years ago to infill the SB corners and join the roofs. The permission has long since expired.
 

Very Proud (AKA Still Proud)

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If you were to follow the roof line of the North Bank around (albeit lowered towards the pitch) then would assume that the Steve Bull and the South Bank would both have to extend further back to give them the height, otherwise you'd end up with some kind of Forest/Brentford style slope going on.
 

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Yep, from memory there was a planning permission maybe 20 years ago to infill the SB corners and join the roofs. The permission has long since expired.
Sure, but if planning permission has been granted once, the chances of it being granted again must surely be higher. Irrelevant, though as not in the clubs plans atm, it seems.
 

AndyY

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If you were to follow the roof line of the North Bank around (albeit lowered towards the pitch) then would assume that the Steve Bull and the South Bank would both have to extend further back to give them the height, otherwise you'd end up with some kind of Forest/Brentford style slope going on.
Pride Park has a downward slope of one stand roof to join up with another.

As built in 1997:

As is now:
 
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Stafford

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A connected South Bank would have diluted the atmosphere over the past 30 years.
 

Peszkywolf

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A connected South Bank would have diluted the atmosphere over the past 30 years.
Disagree, lots of times I've not been able to get tickets in the South Bank, end up in some far corner of the ground where noone sings. Other grounds have parts of the side stands that join in with their 'end'. We haven't had that, except since the J10/j9 have started up-because of the struggle to get in the south bank.
 

Very Proud (AKA Still Proud)

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Disagree, lots of times I've not been able to get tickets in the South Bank, end up in some far corner of the ground where noone sings. Other grounds have parts of the side stands that join in with their 'end'. We haven't had that, except since the J10/j9 have started up-because of the struggle to get in the south bank.
Somehow it would have to be designed so that the seats were "in" the South Bank rather than a curved extension to the Steve Bull and Billy Wright. Given the rake would have a few restricted views as the seats get close to the side stands.
 

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Somehow it would have to be designed so that the seats were "in" the South Bank rather than a curved extension to the Steve Bull and Billy Wright. Given the rake would have a few restricted views as the seats get close to the side stands.
Yes true maybe..... We should probably just have done a Sheff utd/Wednesday Kop design, 8000 seats plonked on the old terrace but going further along than the touchlines.
Either that or just cheaper tickets in those side corner stands.
Tbf it seemed in the 90s like we had 2 home stands, the North Bank was almost as loud as the South Bank. Unusual for a ground.
 

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Tbf it seemed in the 90s like we had 2 home stands, the North Bank was almost as loud as the South Bank. Unusual for a ground.
ISTR the North Bank was the “home terrace” in the 70s.
Away fans used to stand in the South Bank as well as home fans. I seem to remember running battles between Wolves fans and ManU fans in the SB at one match.
 

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Somehow it would have to be designed so that the seats were "in" the South Bank rather than a curved extension to the Steve Bull and Billy Wright. Given the rake would have a few restricted views as the seats get close to the side stands.
Which is how Spurs built their new home end. It’s a good example of how to integrate a tiered main stand and single tier home stand without creating poor sightlines or wasted space.

A5CDB58B-C528-484C-934E-E7C3B70AE284.jpeg

 

Peszkywolf

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It's a nice looking ground, the new WHL, and I hate new grounds. Too much glass at the back of their home end, not a big fan of our North Bank corregated steel either.

How do you think moving the away fans away from the south bank into the NB corner permanently will alter the atmosphere? Personally think it'll not be as good, but over a few seasons the pavement dancer kids will probably move over next to the away end?
 

WickedWolfie

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It's a nice looking ground, the new WHL, and I hate new grounds. Too much glass at the back of their home end, not a big fan of our North Bank corregated steel either.

How do you think moving the away fans away from the south bank into the NB corner permanently will alter the atmosphere? Personally think it'll not be as good, but over a few seasons the pavement dancer kids will probably move over next to the away end?
You can keep the scotes in the South Bank, we don't want them in the North Bank.
 

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ISTR the North Bank was the “home terrace” in the 70s.
Away fans used to stand in the South Bank as well as home fans. I seem to remember running battles between Wolves fans and ManU fans in the SB at one match.
The North Bank was fantastic in the 60s and 70s. It doesn’t look that big in the old photos, but it felt massive as young impressionable teenager. I occasionally went in the South Bank with my Dad, but it usually lacked atmosphere until the late 70s. It only really came if we had a gate of 40,000 or more. Things changed in the late 70s, the ”Choir” moved to the South Bank, so they could get closer to the away fans. We then had Police segregation followed by fencing and the South Bank became a more ”lively” stand. The present South Bank is more akin to the old North Bank.
 

whitnash wolf ex.dewsbury

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The North Bank was fantastic in the 60s and 70s. It doesn’t look that big in the old photos, but it felt massive as young impressionable teenager. I occasionally went in the South Bank with my Dad, but it usually lacked atmosphere until the late 70s. It only really came if we had a gate of 40,000 or more. Things changed in the late 70s, the ”Choir” moved to the South Bank, so they could get closer to the away fans. We then had Police segregation followed by fencing and the South Bank became a more ”lively” stand. The present South Bank is more akin to the old North Bank.
the official capacity of the North Bank was supposed to be 9,000
 

oldgoldheart

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It's a nice looking ground, the new WHL, and I hate new grounds. Too much glass at the back of their home end, not a big fan of our North Bank corregated steel either.

How do you think moving the away fans away from the south bank into the NB corner permanently will alter the atmosphere? Personally think it'll not be as good, but over a few seasons the pavement dancer kids will probably move over next to the away end?
Thats why the south bank grew in popularity in the 70s. When i started the north bank was the home end. The away fans got the part of the south bank by molineux street and the action gradually shifted there.
 

AndyY

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The North Bank was fantastic in the 60s and 70s. It doesn’t look that big in the old photos, but it felt massive as young impressionable teenager. I occasionally went in the South Bank with my Dad, but it usually lacked atmosphere until the late 70s. It only really came if we had a gate of 40,000 or more. Things changed in the late 70s, the ”Choir” moved to the South Bank, so they could get closer to the away fans. We then had Police segregation followed by fencing and the South Bank became a more ”lively” stand. The present South Bank is more akin to the old North Bank.
I first went in the NB in the early to mid 70s and that’s my memory of it, too. I remember being in the SB for the aforementioned ManU match and also when it was the away end for an FA Cup game against Shrewsbury (we drew, and won the replay at Gay Meadow)
 

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It's a nice looking ground, the new WHL, and I hate new grounds. Too much glass at the back of their home end, not a big fan of our North Bank corregated steel either.

How do you think moving the away fans away from the south bank into the NB corner permanently will alter the atmosphere? Personally think it'll not be as good, but over a few seasons the pavement dancer kids will probably move over next to the away end?
It’s been said before if you move the away fans away from the south bank it will finish whatever atmosphere is left. Whenever there are home fans in the bottom of the Steve bull the atmosphere is terrible.
 
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