An extra 10,000 is a hell of a lot of people. Where are they all coming from? Pretty sure we didn't sell out every match last time we were in the Premier League, we should probably aim to do that for a couple of seasons before building massive extensions.
Quote from: Ads on June 23, 2019, 08:58:17 PMWhy would you compare us to utter irrelevances like Walsall or Coventry as a reason not to increase capacity?And we're not going to be averaging mid-30s. We'll be selling out, every week.Strike while the iron is hot. Dont add 3,000 seats, add 10,000. Grow every facet and act like the big club we self evidently are, but seldom perform as.They're as valid as comparing us with Arsenal. The same things that are being said now were being said last time we got a 40k average, and look what happened after that. Let's see if we can fill what we've got first, before getting above ourselves.
Why would you compare us to utter irrelevances like Walsall or Coventry as a reason not to increase capacity?And we're not going to be averaging mid-30s. We'll be selling out, every week.Strike while the iron is hot. Dont add 3,000 seats, add 10,000. Grow every facet and act like the big club we self evidently are, but seldom perform as.
Quote from: dave.woodhall on June 23, 2019, 09:10:07 PMQuote from: Ads on June 23, 2019, 08:58:17 PMWhy would you compare us to utter irrelevances like Walsall or Coventry as a reason not to increase capacity?And we're not going to be averaging mid-30s. We'll be selling out, every week.Strike while the iron is hot. Dont add 3,000 seats, add 10,000. Grow every facet and act like the big club we self evidently are, but seldom perform as.They're as valid as comparing us with Arsenal. The same things that are being said now were being said last time we got a 40k average, and look what happened after that. Let's see if we can fill what we've got first, before getting above ourselves.How about West Ham Dave? They now average way more than we do and I think they have a waiting list for season tickets.Football is booming. We somehow have to find a way to increase our gates just as others have done.
Quote from: dave.woodhall on June 23, 2019, 07:56:55 PMQuote from: four fornicholl on June 23, 2019, 07:44:35 PMCreate the product and they will come, see City, Arsenal, Spurs, and others, Sunderland even. If, as it looks like we have mega rich owners, there maybe no ceiling to what we could become.Manchester City found themselves being offered a new ground that would look ridiculous now if they hadn't got these owners. Spurs and Arsenal spent years selling out their grounds before they moved. Sunderland give do many tickets away their gates are irrelevant. For every Leicester and Southampton with bigger crowds there's a Coventry or Walsall whose ground move has done them no good at all.If we can pull in 40k, or close to it, midweek against a mid-table team then expand but until then a new North Stand adding a couple of thousand to capacity and giving more corporate income should be enough.So we should base our capacity on a scenario that might apply once a season?We will average over 40,000 next season. We don't want to be turning people away, if kids can't get to games they'll just end up supporting teams that are on telly all the time.The past is irrevelant. How many times would West Ham or Spurs have filled a 50,000 capacity stadium regularly in the last forty years?We can, and will, fill a bigger stadium. And there is absolutely no point in tearing down a stand at great expense to replace it with one that only increases our potential income by a tiny amount. The North Stand is rubbish, aesthetically, anyway, and the Witton Lane Stand is not fit for purpose in terms of its facilities.Get them rebuilt. We won't start playing like a big club on the pitch if we don't start acting like one off (and around) it.
Quote from: four fornicholl on June 23, 2019, 07:44:35 PMCreate the product and they will come, see City, Arsenal, Spurs, and others, Sunderland even. If, as it looks like we have mega rich owners, there maybe no ceiling to what we could become.Manchester City found themselves being offered a new ground that would look ridiculous now if they hadn't got these owners. Spurs and Arsenal spent years selling out their grounds before they moved. Sunderland give do many tickets away their gates are irrelevant. For every Leicester and Southampton with bigger crowds there's a Coventry or Walsall whose ground move has done them no good at all.If we can pull in 40k, or close to it, midweek against a mid-table team then expand but until then a new North Stand adding a couple of thousand to capacity and giving more corporate income should be enough.
Create the product and they will come, see City, Arsenal, Spurs, and others, Sunderland even. If, as it looks like we have mega rich owners, there maybe no ceiling to what we could become.
Quote from: Chinchilla Bathhouse on June 23, 2019, 09:05:31 PMAn extra 10,000 is a hell of a lot of people. Where are they all coming from? Pretty sure we didn't sell out every match last time we were in the Premier League, we should probably aim to do that for a couple of seasons before building massive extensions. Where did 58,000 West Ham fans come from?
We moan for years that we don't think and act like a big club that's going places and instead have a corner shop mentality, and then when we (the fans) talk about the club doing that, we're thinking too big.
It's alright to say stick an extra eight/ten thousand seats in and they'll be filled, but apart from the obvious how? (because we're still looking at a thirty per cent rise in gates at least to prevent the project from looking daft) there's also the question of where they're going to go. You're not going to be able to double the capacity of the North Stand because there isn't that much room there - in fact, a new stand even holding the same number as now would take up a lot more space than the present one because we'd have to allow a lot more legroom and corporate facilities. Then there's the additional parking that would be needed. It all adds up to much more than build it and (hope) they'll come.
Quote from: Lastfootstamper on June 23, 2019, 09:53:15 PMQuote from: Chinchilla Bathhouse on June 23, 2019, 09:05:31 PMAn extra 10,000 is a hell of a lot of people. Where are they all coming from? Pretty sure we didn't sell out every match last time we were in the Premier League, we should probably aim to do that for a couple of seasons before building massive extensions. Where did 58,000 West Ham fans come from?What Dave just said. I'm just wondering where this idea comes from that there are enough match-going Villa fans out there to fill a 50,000 plus stadium any time soon. I don't think we've sold out every game in the thirty-odd years I've been a fan. I don't think there's ever been a season ticket waiting list. I'm all for expansion and thinking big, but only when it's based on something tangible and there's an obvious need for it. I don't see how that's controversial given our painful recent history of throwing money down the pan.