Falmer - The Future Capacity?

[Max Paper]

We all know the corners can be filled in and an extra tier put on the east stand to bring the capacity up 30,000+ all in the space of a few months.
I've read various posts over the months and was interested if anyone knew of any further expansion plans for the future, should the need be there of course! Can it be done? What would be done? Please don't start with the 'give it a chance, lets be grateful for what we've got' stuff, believe me I am VERY grateful, just curious!

 

[brightonrock]

My understanding is the starting capacity will be approx West 11500, East 6000, North 2500, South 2500. So 22,500. With East expanded another tier to to raise it from 6k to 11.5k, and the corners (I shouldn't think more than about 750 or so each, given the relatively small size of the goal-end stands) it could get up to about 31,000? I think the second year of season ticket sales are key - we were always going to sell 15,000+ STs for the first year, but its how many Premiership plastics and local "why not get one's" we lure in for life that are key. If we only sell 10k STs for the 2nd year there'll be no point in expanding. But I'd expect an expansion of the corners after 2 years if we do sell out again. The East Stand would be the last one to be expanded, on the assumption we continued to progress financially and on the pitch.

 

[Deleted member 18477]

i'd imagine putting a 2nd tier on both the north and south stands. adding another 2-4K on each id imagine. so 38K possibly? and then add a 2nd tier to each of the corners, say another 1-2K each corner. so Brighton could end up with a capacity of 42-46K+. The west stand will probably stay un-changed if any future expansion were to happen. and obviously a new roof would be needed for the 3 other stands.

 

[227 BHA]

No room for a 2nd tier on north or south - have you not seen pictures of the stadium?

Edit: I suppose you may have been talking about removing the roof and rebuilding but surely it would be a huge undertaking?

 

[brightonrock]

i'd imagine putting a 2nd tier on both the north and south stands. adding another 2-4K on each id imagine. so 38K possibly? and then add a 2nd tier to each of the corners, say another 1-2K each corner. so Brighton could end up with a capacity of 42-46K+. The west stand will probably stay un-changed if any future expansion were to happen. and obviously a new roof would be needed for the 3 other stands.

The way the stadium is built as a bowl means they won't put two tiers on the N&S. It'd mean raising the roof to be flat and almost square, which would be completely against the green, blending-in-with-the-landscape planning permission we were granted. East Stand Upper and the corners could be built but there's no way we'd get as high as 40k+. The biggest figure I've heard from anything official is around 30-32k capacity, if we were to expand to the absolute maximum within the parameters of our planning permission, and structually as well.

 

[Deleted member 18477]

No room for a 2nd tier on north or south - have you not seen pictures of the stadium?

Edit: I suppose you may have been talking about removing the roof and rebuilding but surely it would be a huge undertaking?

the original post was 'further expansion' beyond 30K. clearly the only way to do that is to remove the roof and add other tiers/make original lower tiers bigger (north/south) obviously there are NO plans yet and yes would prove very difficult with planning permission and keeping it blending-in-with-the-landscape, however there is ALWAYS a way! although we wont need that for a feeeeeeew years! in fact might not need that ever!

 

[Max Paper]

Interesting stuff, don't get me wrong i'm not being greedy, 30-32,000 is HUGE and I know it would all depend on success/attendances/permission etc etc I was just curious if it could actuallly be done and if anyone was in the know. 30,000+ is more than respectable even for a Premier league side, roll on 6th August 2012

 

[seagullwedgee]

You coming back for a first anniversary party then?!

 

[seagulls4ever]

Natterjack (the guy who posted on here and worked on the site) reckons it's 35k. Other people have said it's 30k.

 

[Max Paper]

You coming back for a first anniversary party then?!

 

[sully]

When we get "safe standing" areas in the North and South stands, it could be more again, surely.

 

[BHAryan]

In 1988 (ish) man united were told that old trafford would not reach 40,000 if seats were put in..
Adjust the roof and you just add a tier to the north and south and corners, however! I dont want our ground to look like a fooking bowl!!!

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

We'll get another couple of corporate boxes by putting up a cantilever "floating" box over the east stand.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Barcelona dropped the pitch to raise the Nou Camp's capacity.....

 

[Spider]

Really hope the stadium never gets too much bigger. Whilst we may be able to fill it at glamour fixtures, it seems unlikely that we'll ever be able to regularly attract crowds of much over 20k (and even that is pretty optimistic. The thought of watching all our home games in a one-third full modern stadium (no mater how brilliant Falmer looks) is depressing.

 

[Max Paper]

Really hope the stadium never gets too much bigger. Whilst we may be able to fill it at glamour fixtures, it seems unlikely that we'll ever be able to regularly attract crowds of much over 20k (and even that is pretty optimistic. The thought of watching all our home games in a one-third full modern stadium (no mater how brilliant Falmer looks) is depressing.

I kind of agree, but is this not suggesting we are a small team who will always be a small team? As we all know the catchment area here is massive and if we somehow pull it off and 'make it' and can convert the Chelsea/United kids, are we really going to not fill the stadium against the Wigans/Blackburns of this world? I dunno?

 

[Simster]

Really hope the stadium never gets too much bigger. Whilst we may be able to fill it at glamour fixtures, it seems unlikely that we'll ever be able to regularly attract crowds of much over 20k (and even that is pretty optimistic. The thought of watching all our home games in a one-third full modern stadium (no mater how brilliant Falmer looks) is depressing.

Agree totally. 35,000 absolute maximum for me.

 

[Spider]

I kind of agree, but is this not suggesting we are a small team who will always be a small team? As we all know the catchment area here is massive and if we somehow pull it off and 'make it' and can convert the Chelsea/United kids, are we really going to not fill the stadium against the Wigans/Blackburns of this world? I dunno?

Possibly, but there's nothing in our history to suggest we're going to attract massive crowds. Personally I'd rather have a situation where, if we are successful, tickets become harder to get, rather than having provision for masses of people who want to attend one game in a hundred (although I realise that from a business point of view it doesn't make any sense).

 

[Billy the Fish]

i'd imagine putting a 2nd tier on both the north and south stands. adding another 2-4K on each id imagine. so 38K possibly? and then add a 2nd tier to each of the corners, say another 1-2K each corner. so Brighton could end up with a capacity of 42-46K+. The west stand will probably stay un-changed if any future expansion were to happen. and obviously a new roof would be needed for the 3 other stands.

I'll have some of what you're on

 

[DT Withdean]

I know one of their Directors.

The overt plan was always 22,500.
But the hidden bit, otherwise the enemies of the Club & football (South Downs Society, Norman Baker MP, Falmer Parish Council, and some within B&HCC!) would have used it to block the entire plans, was that 30,000 was easily acheivable within the current roofs, and the new railway bridge etc will allow this on safety/crowd management grounds.

30,000 paying greater prices than Withdean (including high-paying 2,600 1901 Club members) is massive compared to 5,000 to 8,400 at Withdean.
And compares well to the 33,000 frequently in during the Alan Mullery heyday.

Alterations beyond that would mean a roof or 2 coming off.

Add to revenue: Amex sponsorship, greater catering, exec box income, not having to steward 100's of Withdean/Westdene/Patcham streets for parking, greater merchandise sales, more TV money, letting out conference facilities, local businesses more support = mega turnover increase.