Stadium Plans

[TelfordWolf]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1128374995070140416

Two years since this was unveiled. Am I right in thinking these plans changed 12 months later to not demolishing the other stands?

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

Could of done that when the pandemic started. If we can make the ground nearer 60k prices will be cheaper attract better players

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

Could of done that when the pandemic started. If we can make the ground nearer 60k prices will be cheaper attract better players

Slight problem, where do we get the tens of millions, maybe even hundreds of millions of pounds to do it from?

 

[ombyman]

Slight problem, where do we get the tens of millions, maybe even hundreds of millions of pounds to do it from?

Welcome to the Amazon Arena (or any other huge company like Emirates etc)

 

[Derbywolf85]

Slight problem, where do we get the tens of millions, maybe even hundreds of millions of pounds to do it from?

Fosun. Our owners. An investment firm who only put money in if they;re going to see quick returns. Something which a £200m+ rebuilding of Molineux wouldn....Oh I see

 

[Sussex Wolf]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1128374995070140416

Two years since this was unveiled. Am I right in thinking these plans changed 12 months later to not demolishing the other stands?

Yes. Since then, it’s been reported that the club will, in the near term, focus on improving the existing stands and adding capacity incrementally rather than rebuilding as shown in those images. After that, plans were approved for adding seating in the corner between the Steve Bull and North Bank, but work on this was delayed by covid. It’s also been reported that they will make improvements to the Steve Bull to improve access, the boxes, and reconfigure to add extra seats, but that hasn’t appeared in planning yet as far as I know.

I don’t think the club has said that longer term, rebuilding is not in their vision, and they have cooperated with the Uni and Council on a vision for the Molineux Quarter which might eventually trigger more significant redevelopment of the stadium and surrounds. If it makes financial sense…

 

[reanswolf]

Slight problem, where do we get the tens of millions, maybe even hundreds of millions of pounds to do it from?

.................and where do we get 30k extra fans, when a few thousand are probably going to pack it in anyway.

 

[hankin]

Welcome to the Amazon Arena (or any other huge company like Emirates etc)

Tottenham still haven't found a sponsor for their stadium so it isn't that easy.

 

[Highlandwolf2]

.................and where do we get 30k extra fans, when a few thousand are probably going to pack it in anyway.

Not doubting you but interested why there may be a reduction in attendance. COVID?

 

[RosehillWolf]

I think quite a few of our older ST holding fans may not renew. Having not been used to crowds , saving money , home comforts etc I think some may think twice
I’m in this bracket at present. I’m still wary about going anywhere with lots of people , mainly supermarkets
I’ve saved so much money over past 18 months and treated my grand kids to stuff I wouldn’t have been able to afford if attending football games
As a for instance I went out a couple of weeks ago for a pint with two friends. Nearly £14 for 3 pints , plus another few quid on snacks
Made me realise how much easier it is to watch at home having been to bargain booze for drinks and how much football costs
I’m thinking if my ST is anywhere near £600 this time then I’m out ( I say that as I think they will go up to cover credits owed)

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

I think quite a few of our older ST holding fans may not renew. Having not been used to crowds , saving money , home comforts etc I think some may think twice
I’m in this bracket at present. I’m still wary about going anywhere with lots of people , mainly supermarkets
I’ve saved so much money over past 18 months and treated my grand kids to stuff I wouldn’t have been able to afford if attending football games
As a for instance I went out a couple of weeks ago for a pint with two friends. Nearly £14 for 3 pints , plus another few quid on snacks
Made me realise how much easier it is to watch at home having been to bargain booze for drinks and how much football costs
I’m thinking if my ST is anywhere near £600 this time then I’m out ( I say that as I think they will go up to cover credits owed)

It will be interesting to see what the attendance fallout is after this.

I go with one other mate, we travel up from the south which is about a 2.5 hour drive each way, I distinctly get the impression he won’t renew as his kids are getting older and he seems to have picked up a few weekend hobbies (I don’t want to approach the subject directly as I don’t want to hear the bad news ) and if he doesn’t I likely won’t as it’s going to get too expensive to go up regularly on my own plus the anticipated price increase.

I know that this is only one case, but I think there will be a few people who have found other things to do at the weekend/ appreciate the extra money in the back pocket. Probably not enough to dent attendances significantly but I think it could be easier for newcomers to get an ST this summer.

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

Slight problem, where do we get the tens of millions, maybe even hundreds of millions of pounds to do it from?

Bridging loan, what Morgan did separate accounts

 

[ombyman]

Tottenham still haven't found a sponsor for their stadium so it isn't that easy.

Agree, but that is probably more they havnt found someone to agree to Levy's terms!

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

Bridging loan, what Morgan did separate accounts

I’m not anti-Fosun by any stretch of the imagination, but I don’t think they have any real interest in expanding the stadium at present. I think the plans they shared were lip-service and just building on our progression, momentum and optimism at the time.

Can’t see them taking a bridging loan to start expanding the stadium.

 

[Yamalroite]

Bridging loan, what Morgan did separate accounts

A bridging loan?
Fosun wont take that risk. They will need to fill the stadium. With the prices they want to charge fans, new fans wont come on top of the priced out ones.
The only way it'll work would be to lower prices but will make the whole exercise pointless.
Wim a business now you know.

The building stadium wont happen now as it appears fosun got excited at the prospect of top 4.

 

[Mardenboroughs Shoulder]

Now has anyone thought about buying the Asda plot and moving the stadium 90 degrees creating a 200k superdome?

 

[Superted]

I’m not anti-Fosun by any stretch of the imagination, but I don’t think they have any real interest in expanding the stadium at present. I think the plans they shared were lip-service and just building on our progression, momentum and optimism at the time.

Can’t see them taking a bridging loan to start expanding the stadium.

No company, not even one as rich as Fosun, would waste probable tens of thousands on Architect's fees to produce those designs just to pay lip service to fans.

I doubt there's any conspiracy, the plans were probably in place but got canned due to Covid-19. Remember they were much closer to the initial action and probably had a better understanding of how everything was going to go much earlier than anyone in Europe did.

They were never going to invest a few hundred million in a spanking new stadium for us when nobody really knows what impact this whole thing is going to have on the social landscape surrounding football.

 

[Leominster_Wolf]

Now has anyone thought about buying the Asda plot and moving the stadium 90 degrees creating a 200k superdome?

Asda you say?? don't think its ever been though of!!

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

No company, not even one as rich as Fosun, would waste probable tens of thousands on Architect's fees to produce those designs just to pay lip service to fans.

I doubt there's any conspiracy, the plans were probably in place but got canned due to Covid-19. Remember they were much closer to the initial action and probably had a better understanding of how everything was going to go much earlier than anyone in Europe did.

They were never going to invest a few hundred million in a spanking new stadium for us when nobody really knows what impact this whole thing is going to have on the social landscape surrounding football.

Good points!

For clarity I don’t see it as a conspiracy, but the plans in that one image were only slightly amended from the original image provided by Morgan. I can’t see that costing more than a few grand, which is probably then signed off as PR/ comms budget to generate good will and positivity.

Totally agree they’d be mad to move forward in the current climate when there are so many unknowns regarding the future of football finances.

 

[Deleted member 8455jwf]

Could of done that when the pandemic started. If we can make the ground nearer 60k prices will be cheaper attract better players

We'd not have a prayer of getting close to 50k each week. Would mean 15k empty seats most games and a dead atmosphere

 

[Olivergoldblack]

We'd not have a prayer of getting close to 50k each week. Would mean 15k empty seats most games and a dead atmosphere

Possibly, they should increase incrementally to find out what the limit is.
They could reduce ticket prices to fill it if needed. Better to go big and cheaper tix in my opinion. They'd get the money back on match day spend merch/food/programmes etc...

 

[Deleted member 8455jwf]

Possibly, they should increase incrementally to find out what the limit is.
They could reduce ticket prices to fill it if needed. Better to go big and cheaper tix in my opinion. They'd get the money back on match day spend merch/food/programmes etc...

You could make the tickets £20 and we aren't filling 60k, sorry bit of realism needed on size of fanbase. I agree on incremental, let's hit 40k consistently first

 

[Sussex Wolf]

Good points!

For clarity I don’t see it as a conspiracy, but the plans in that one image were only slightly amended from the original image provided by Morgan. I can’t see that costing more than a few grand, which is probably then signed off as PR/ comms budget to generate good will and positivity.

Totally agree they’d be mad to move forward in the current climate when there are so many unknowns regarding the future of football finances.

I agree that those plans were likely not very expensive. As was highlighted at the time, the images of the Molineux area used were not contemporary (Uni and Tarmac building) , and the designs themselves were more a visual impression than a considered design (eg the new BW forcing Waterloo Rd to move and demolish buildings over the road). That doesn’t mean that they weren’t serious about it, and this may have been produced to drum up investor interest since they were looking for development partners at the time.

 

[oldgoldheart]

Why did this thread start? We had another several hundred page thread on this drivel.

 

[Sussex Wolf]

Now, more than a year after the plans for the 500 seat Steve Bull / South Bank corner stand were approved, I’d like to see the club revisit that plan. If there is little chance of replacing the stands in the foreseeable future, then I’d like to see covered corner stands on both sides of the South Bank. Think this could be done relatively cheaply and quickly and with more seats that current / planned. A little more ambitious would be adding a matching quad to the corner of the NB and BW which would balance up the NB, add capacity. Combined with larger corner stands either side of the South Bank and we might have around 35k capacity.

 

[Olivergoldblack]

You could make the tickets £20 and we aren't filling 60k, sorry bit of realism needed on size of fanbase. I agree on incremental, let's hit 40k consistently first

Yeah if we're hitting a ceiling of 32,000 currently, who knows what the potential upper limit is? I'm confident 40K with sensible ticket pricing is realistic in the shorter term.

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

We'd not have a prayer of getting close to 50k each week. Would mean 15k empty seats most games and a dead atmosphere

Ticket prices would be cheap we have over 10k on a waiting list......,

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

Now has anyone thought about buying the Asda plot and moving the stadium 90 degrees creating a 200k superdome?

Many don’t realise that if it wasn’t for Asda and the council we would of been out of existence

“In 1986, with the club again in receivership, a deal saw Wolverhampton City Council purchase the stadium and surrounding land, while a local developer (Asda) paid off the club's outstanding debts in return for planning permission to develop the land adjacent to the stadium”

 

[ShifnalWolf]

Not doubting you but interested why there may be a reduction in attendance. COVID?

Spoke to a few people - think realised how much of life was taken up by attending football. I think it will be hard to do that for 20 weekends again now for some.

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

I think quite a few of our older ST holding fans may not renew. Having not been used to crowds , saving money , home comforts etc I think some may think twice
I’m in this bracket at present. I’m still wary about going anywhere with lots of people , mainly supermarkets
I’ve saved so much money over past 18 months and treated my grand kids to stuff I wouldn’t have been able to afford if attending football games
As a for instance I went out a couple of weeks ago for a pint with two friends. Nearly £14 for 3 pints , plus another few quid on snacks
Made me realise how much easier it is to watch at home having been to bargain booze for drinks and how much football costs
I’m thinking if my ST is anywhere near £600 this time then I’m out ( I say that as I think they will go up to cover credits owed)

Isnt that the same with most things in life though? You can do most things cheaper at home than elsewhere (eat, drink, socialise, watch sports) but its just not the same.

 

[Superted]

Good points!

For clarity I don’t see it as a conspiracy, but the plans in that one image were only slightly amended from the original image provided by Morgan. I can’t see that costing more than a few grand, which is probably then signed off as PR/ comms budget to generate good will and positivity.

Totally agree they’d be mad to move forward in the current climate when there are so many unknowns regarding the future of football finances.

Fair point.

I work in the construction industry and I understand that AFL were the architects for the scheme and they are not cheap.

I would not expect much change out of £40k to £60k for the work that they did, even if they were a re-hash of previous designs.

 

[Deleted member 8455jwf]

Ticket prices would be cheap we have over 10k on a waiting list......,

So 30kish if all the waiting list was filled (which it wouldn't be) then double it general sales. Not a prayer of that, you can get a lot of league games day before or even on the day usually from ticket office

 

[WillenhallWolfie1980]

Lets get back in the ground 1st without worrying about making it bigger

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

Fair point.

I work in the construction industry and I understand that AFL were the architects for the scheme and they are not cheap.

I would not expect much change out of £40k to £60k for the work that they did, even if they were a re-hash of previous designs.

Even more fair point!

I do not work in construction, so fully appreciate my estimates are way wide of the mark!

Either way, I’d love it if we did start the redevelopment, I just can’t see it happening.

 

[steve vena]

Slight problem, where do we get the tens of millions, maybe even hundreds of millions of pounds to do it from?

Steel prices have gone through the roof. Another reason to wait.

 

[Stourport wolf]

We'd not have a prayer of getting close to 50k each week. Would mean 15k empty seats most games and a dead atmosphere

West Ham said the same, as did many other teams.

 

[Deleted member 8455jwf]

West Ham said the same, as did many other teams.

Yeah, 44k average attendance with very cheap tickets in the biggest city in the country. 12k empty seats and a dire atmosphere (not all because of that granted).

 

[stuj4z]

They changed to retrofitting the Steve Bull rather than demolishing it and starting again because of the disruption to fans.
With everyone having to manage without being there in person i wonder if this will change now.
Unless they really are just doing things on the cheap and the plans at the start of this thread were a huge white elephant.

 

[Deleted member 8455jwf]

Problem is, it is really hard to justify redoing the ground. Match day revenue is such a small piece of the pie, and the return on investment will look extremely poor for an investment fund. Especially given our limited potential for corporate revenue

 

[Sammy Chungs Tracksuit]

I think quite a few of our older ST holding fans may not renew. Having not been used to crowds , saving money , home comforts etc I think some may think twice
I’m in this bracket at present. I’m still wary about going anywhere with lots of people , mainly supermarkets
I’ve saved so much money over past 18 months and treated my grand kids to stuff I wouldn’t have been able to afford if attending football games
As a for instance I went out a couple of weeks ago for a pint with two friends. Nearly £14 for 3 pints , plus another few quid on snacks
Made me realise how much easier it is to watch at home having been to bargain booze for drinks and how much football costs
I’m thinking if my ST is anywhere near £600 this time then I’m out ( I say that as I think they will go up to cover credits owed)

I'm only a few years off concessionary prices. Maybe in time I could become the oldest Season Ticket holder in the South Bank. I could tek me zimmer frame.