Top aiming for top ten finish

[Bagworthblue]

Not really? Just a case of waiting for the right time. I can see better ways that money being invested than adding 10,000 seats onto a stadium which imo is big enough. 

 

Why not spend the money on renovating the concourse around the whole ground? Expansion just needs to happen at the right time, if we are still in the PL in three seasons then go for it but just because we have survived one season for the first time in 10 years everyone's saying we need to expand. 

I'm not so sure about this.Speculate to accumulate. Increasing the capacity will in time pay for itself in increased attendance income as well as increased programme and refreshment sales as well as greater foot fall in the shop. Improving the concourse areas will make it nicer for the people that already come but it's more likely what happens on the pitch will keep fans coming than comfort and aesthetic improvements.

 

The Bigger you look, the bigger you are percieved. Also if we are to start to look to attract better players to LCFC rather than Stoke or Soton, filling a 40k stadium and having best in class training facilities could tip the balance in our favour.

 

The owners, as in any business, are looking to grow the brand and the business. Growth is achieved by growing the fanbase both locally and overseas. To grow it locally, you need a venue that can accommodate the new fans, partly now, partly in the years to come.

 

Regarding being established, you can never be established until you get to the point where the risk of relegation is minimal. Were we established in the O'Neill era when finishing top 10 year on year? Obviously not.Until your brand is big enough to attract the very best players and management, you always run a reasonable risk. It's near on impossible that Man U / Liverpool /Arsenal / Spurs will get relegated, It is always a possibility for Stoke and Swansea despite being around the prem for a few years. The owners are thinking big and sometimes you need to take a risk to get where you want. Part of being established is increasing the capacity. You can't wait until you are established to do so because you never will be :-)

 

per the earlier link, we are the 17th 'biggest club' in terms of brand value in the PREM. We need to raise our stock!

[Guest]

How about instead of expanding we just replace all the existing seats with slightly smaller seats and cram more in?

[Babylon]

How about instead of expanding we just replace all the existing seats with slightly smaller seats and cram more in?

Do you work for the council?

[4everfox]

I'm not so sure about this.Speculate to accumulate. Increasing the capacity will in time pay for itself in increased attendance income as well as increased programme and refreshment sales as well as greater foot fall in the shop. Improving the concourse areas will make it nicer for the people that already come but it's more likely what happens on the pitch will keep fans coming than comfort and aesthetic improvements.

The Bigger you look, the bigger you are percieved. Also if we are to start to look to attract better players to LCFC rather than Stoke or Soton, filling a 40k stadium and having best in class training facilities could tip the balance in our favour.

The owners, as in any business, are looking to grow the brand and the business. Growth is achieved by growing the fanbase both locally and overseas. To grow it locally, you need a venue that can accommodate the new fans, partly now, partly in the years to come.

Regarding being established, you can never be established until you get to the point where the risk of relegation is minimal. Were we established in the O'Neill era when finishing top 10 year on year? Obviously not.Until your brand is big enough to attract the very best players and management, you always run a reasonable risk. It's near on impossible that Man U / Liverpool /Arsenal / Spurs will get relegated, It is always a possibility for Stoke and Swansea despite being around the prem for a few years. The owners are thinking big and sometimes you need to take a risk to get where you want. Part of being established is increasing the capacity. You can't wait until you are established to do so because you never will be :-)

per the earlier link, we are the 17th 'biggest club' in terms of brand value in the PREM. We need to raise our stock!

Good post this is.

[4everfox]

The other aspect is that with a bigger stadium with bigger home crowds for as long as we're able to maintain a PL place could mean that in the almost but not entirely inevitable relegation we may just have increased our core support to a level nearing 30k who would continue to support the team in the Championship.

when Sunderland got relegated in the early noughties they still managed to get crowds nudging 30k.

It would be interesting to see their average attendance if they remained in the second tier for a prolonged period of time as we have. Would 30,000 still turn up if they (or us in the future) were finishing mid table in the Championship season after season?

[Bagworthblue]

How about instead of expanding we just replace all the existing seats with slightly smaller seats and cram more in?

yeah and instead of the owners giving out free beers - free diet pills :-)

[Itsthejoeker]

We almost sold out of season tickets when we were down and out, before the big revival.

[BigMicky]

We almost sold out of season tickets when we were down and out, before the big revival.

Come on now, we all knew.........

[Ollie93]

I'm not so sure about this.Speculate to accumulate. Increasing the capacity will in time pay for itself in increased attendance income as well as increased programme and refreshment sales as well as greater foot fall in the shop. Improving the concourse areas will make it nicer for the people that already come but it's more likely what happens on the pitch will keep fans coming than comfort and aesthetic improvements.

 

The Bigger you look, the bigger you are percieved. Also if we are to start to look to attract better players to LCFC rather than Stoke or Soton, filling a 40k stadium and having best in class training facilities could tip the balance in our favour.

 

The owners, as in any business, are looking to grow the brand and the business. Growth is achieved by growing the fanbase both locally and overseas. To grow it locally, you need a venue that can accommodate the new fans, partly now, partly in the years to come.

 

Regarding being established, you can never be established until you get to the point where the risk of relegation is minimal. Were we established in the O'Neill era when finishing top 10 year on year? Obviously not.Until your brand is big enough to attract the very best players and management, you always run a reasonable risk. It's near on impossible that Man U / Liverpool /Arsenal / Spurs will get relegated, It is always a possibility for Stoke and Swansea despite being around the prem for a few years. The owners are thinking big and sometimes you need to take a risk to get where you want. Part of being established is increasing the capacity. You can't wait until you are established to do so because you never will be :-)

 

per the earlier link, we are the 17th 'biggest club' in terms of brand value in the PREM. We need to raise our stock!

 

Good post. Especially the "bigger you look, the bigger you are perceived". I guess on the playing side of things, better players will want to come to a better stadium. I think Newcastle is a prime example of this.

[Bluearmyfox28]

Would it therefore make sense to upgrade one stand this season by 5000 to ensure more chance for people to get tickets then if we stay up again expand by a further 5000?

Or would it all need doing at the same time due to the structure of the stadium?

[Bagworthblue]

I can see them looking to do something end of next season or the following season. Liaise with the FA to arrange 'away' end of season and start of season fixtures and do it in the close season. This would give them May - September - 5 months to complete any work. There was initial planning permission in place but didn't that expire? Was there also a need for extra infrastructure surrounding the stadium in terms of parking / road links etc. The park and rides may help here.

 

I think they'll bite whilst the iron is hot and Leicester is a progressive city at the moment and any application that may increase the status of Leicester won't be easily refused, especially if it was previously granted and expired.

 

In a number of interviews they have referenced improving the training ground and increasing the stadium capacity. They didn't waste time with the training ground!

[Gerard]

Build it as big as we can, once it's built we have it for decades.

 

If we had a 60,000 stadium it would be filled if we were playing the elite clubs or if it's a huge game.

 

Leicester is twice the size of Sunderland and Leicestershire is twice the size of County Durham.

 

I look at Sunderland as a role model as they have a 49,000 seater stadium and get 43,000 average. They get that average by doing a lot of fan freebies. Even when they played us in a massive game they had bring a friend for a tenner. They give thousands of tickets away to schools on the lesser fixtures, an investment in the next generation of fans.

[Bagworthblue]

Actually, stadium expansion is even more of a no brainer as a result of the Fair play spending restrictions. The cost associated with increasing capacity would not count towards this but the additional revenue the expansion brings in will increase the amount we can spend on players.

 

These days it is no use being a rich owner if your club in it's own right cannot generate sufficient revenue to allow you to spend at the level you want to or need to in order to compete at the level you want to compete !

 

I'm sure I could have said that last sentence in fewer words :-)

 

ok bit of fag packet maths regarding earning potential of 10k extra seats 

 

say the average cost is £35 per seat and the average punter spends £7 at the ground which is a reasonable assumption (programme + drink - maybe a pie)

 

£42 *10,000 = £420k extra potential per game x 19 home games = £8m additional revenue per season or £4m if you only achieve 37k attendance

 

The £7 is conservative and this excludes extra foot fall in the shop.

 

How much would a 10k expansion cost? £10m? paid for in 2 - 3 years whilst increasing the amount of money we can spend on playing staff.

[Raw Dykes]

Did anyone else notice the name of the writer of that article?

 

Kittipong Thongsombat

 

That is a ****ing incredible name.

 

Wow! You're not wrong. It's got rhythm.

[hackneyfox]

Actually, stadium expansion is even more of a no brainer as a result of the Fair play spending restrictions. The cost associated with increasing capacity would not count towards this but the additional revenue the expansion brings in will increase the amount we can spend on players.

These days it is no use being a rich owner if your club in it's own right cannot generate sufficient revenue to allow you to spend at the level you want to or need to in order to compete at the level you want to compete !

I'm sure I could have said that last sentence in fewer words :-)

ok bit of fag packet maths regarding earning potential of 10k extra seats

say the average cost is £35 per seat and the average punter spends £7 at the ground which is a reasonable assumption (programme + drink - maybe a pie)

£42 *10,000 = £420k extra potential per game x 19 home games = £8m additional revenue per season or £4m if you only achieve 37k attendance

The £7 is conservative and this excludes extra foot fall in the shop.

How much would a 10k expansion cost? £10m? paid for in 2 - 3 years whilst increasing the amount of money we can spend on playing staff.

Not sure about your figures.

£35 is surely far too high, don't forget reductions for kids and oaps.

I take 2 kids with me, the only money we spend in the ground is for one programme.

[hackneyfox]

It's a mare trying to park now, friends coming over from Rugby have to be there by 1 to get decent parking. Where on earth are an extra 3 to 5000 cars going?

[Bagworthblue]

It's a mare trying to park now, friends coming over from Rugby have to be there by 1 to get decent parking. Where on earth are an extra 3 to 5000 cars going?

park n ride?

[Bagworthblue]

Not sure about your figures.

£35 is surely far too high, don't forget reductions for kids and oaps.

I take 2 kids with me, the only money we spend in the ground is for one programme.

halve it then  - figures are only a guide. - Still £2 - £4m p.a and paid for in 2-5 years assuming it costs £10m which was a figure I plucked out of the air but even if it's £20m and you go with average of £21 spent per game, it pays for itself in 4 - 10 years

[Babylon]

It's a mare trying to park now, friends coming over from Rugby have to be there by 1 to get decent parking. Where on earth are an extra 3 to 5000 cars going?

Park and ride will have to be implemented I'd imagine, that was a condition of the ground in the first place. Any expansion would surely require it.

 

The extra 10,000 people coming will mostly come as groups. So two, three, four at a time. Once you take out people who will walk, people who will catch public transport, people who come as groups etc. The impact car wise is likely to be nowhere near 5000 cars.

[Thracian]

From what I've seen most could park in the Filbert Street area! Council bloody-mindedness has shifted them towards places like Narborough Road and district where they've caused such annoyance they've now introducted restricted parking there. Meanwhile what's become the "student" streets near the ground are all but empty on matchdays because the students either don't have cars (many visiting from abroad in any case) or, they do have cars but have gone home on vacation. Meanwhile the unending chaos caused by over-demand at the hospital continues on a daily basis...even leaking onto the main road. Park and Ride? If they freed up the cash-wasting bus lanes people could park on those on many match days! Bus lanes are a danger to all and sundry matched only by the danger caused by seemingly lawless cyclists who just do their own often thoughtless thing and don't give a toss for anyone else. Seems to me that councillors all over the UK have commandeered cities as their own private enclosures and don't welcome anyone except immigrants while maintaining there's no space and that still more parking spaces will therefore have to be annexed. Pity the sodding council doesn't move out of town to create some place. In fact it's a pity the council's not wound up altogether so the city could revert from being the lung-busting building site its been for years now - and with more to come. I work (for now) next to the perpetual dust-bowl that's the slowly-being demolished indoor market and my lungs have been a mess since the work started. I wish Soulsby had a job on that site. He might soon change his attitudes...if he didn't end up in a coffin. The dust is there to be seen on my cabinets. I have to clean them perpetually compared with once or twice a day anywhere else. If people could see them and realise just how much crap they're breathing, the city centre would be closed down and there'd be parking spaces everywhere.                           

[Bagworthblue]

From what I've seen most could park in the Filbert Street area! Council bloody-mindedness has shifted them towards places like Narborough Road and district where they've caused such annoyance they've now introducted restricted parking there. Meanwhile what's become the "student" streets near the ground are all but empty on matchdays because the students either don't have cars (many visiting from abroad in any case) or, they do have cars but have gone home on vacation. Meanwhile the unending chaos caused by over-demand at the hospital continues on a daily basis...even leaking onto the main road. Park and Ride? If they freed up the cash-wasting bus lanes people could park on those on many match days! Bus lanes are a danger to all and sundry matched only by the danger caused by seemingly lawless cyclists who just do their own often thoughtless thing and don't give a toss for anyone else. Seems to me that councillors all over the UK have commandeered cities as their own private enclosures and don't welcome anyone except immigrants while maintaining there's no space and that still more parking spaces will therefore have to be annexed. Pity the sodding council doesn't move out of town to create some place. In fact it's a pity the council's not wound up altogether so the city could revert from being the lung-busting building site its been for years now - and with more to come. I work (for now) next to the perpetual dust-bowl that's the slowly-being demolished indoor market and my lungs have been a mess since the work started. I wish Soulsby had a job on that site. He might soon change his attitudes...if he didn't end up in a coffin. The dust is there to be seen on my cabinets. I have to clean them perpetually compared with once or twice a day anywhere else. If people could see them and realise just how much crap they're breathing, the city centre would be closed down and there'd be parking spaces everywhere.                           

Can't be sure from the above but I get the impression you may have a gripe with the council:-)

 

nb don't disagree which is why I live in the country and breathe lovely fresh air with a hint of manure........ yet smoke like a chimney!

[Lestoh]

The only answer is to ban away fans completely so we can have their seats too. Heard it here first.

[Nick]

From what I've seen most could park in the Filbert Street area! Council bloody-mindedness has shifted them towards places like Narborough Road and district where they've caused such annoyance they've now introducted restricted parking there. Meanwhile what's become the "student" streets near the ground are all but empty on matchdays because the students either don't have cars (many visiting from abroad in any case) or, they do have cars but have gone home on vacation. Meanwhile the unending chaos caused by over-demand at the hospital continues on a daily basis...even leaking onto the main road. Park and Ride? If they freed up the cash-wasting bus lanes people could park on those on many match days! Bus lanes are a danger to all and sundry matched only by the danger caused by seemingly lawless cyclists who just do their own often thoughtless thing and don't give a toss for anyone else. Seems to me that councillors all over the UK have commandeered cities as their own private enclosures and don't welcome anyone except immigrants while maintaining there's no space and that still more parking spaces will therefore have to be annexed. Pity the sodding council doesn't move out of town to create some place. In fact it's a pity the council's not wound up altogether so the city could revert from being the lung-busting building site its been for years now - and with more to come. I work (for now) next to the perpetual dust-bowl that's the slowly-being demolished indoor market and my lungs have been a mess since the work started. I wish Soulsby had a job on that site. He might soon change his attitudes...if he didn't end up in a coffin. The dust is there to be seen on my cabinets. I have to clean them perpetually compared with once or twice a day anywhere else. If people could see them and realise just how much crap they're breathing, the city centre would be closed down and there'd be parking spaces everywhere.                           

 

Public Transport accessibility is surely a good idea to help stop idiots from drink driving?

 

More taxi / tram / buses the better around the KP

 

Lawless cyclists?

[hackneyfox]

Park and ride will have to be implemented I'd imagine, that was a condition of the ground in the first place. Any expansion would surely require it.

The extra 10,000 people coming will mostly come as groups. So two, three, four at a time. Once you take out people who will walk, people who will catch public transport, people who come as groups etc. The impact car wise is likely to be nowhere near 5000 cars.

People have been talking about getting fans from the Coventry area etc. They won't walk or use public transport. I mentioned 3-5k and while accept that 5k may be a tad high the 3k probably won't be far short.

Are there any kind of figures for how many extra card there are on match day with crowds of 30k?

Must be fairly high judging by the number who leave early to beat the traffic.

[hackneyfox]

From what I've seen most could park in the Filbert Street area! Council bloody-mindedness has shifted them towards places like Narborough Road and district where they've caused such annoyance they've now introducted restricted parking there. Meanwhile what's become the "student" streets near the ground are all but empty on matchdays because the students either don't have cars (many visiting from abroad in any case) or, they do have cars but have gone home on vacation. Meanwhile the unending chaos caused by over-demand at the hospital continues on a daily basis...even leaking onto the main road. Park and Ride? If they freed up the cash-wasting bus lanes people could park on those on many match days! Bus lanes are a danger to all and sundry matched only by the danger caused by seemingly lawless cyclists who just do their own often thoughtless thing and don't give a toss for anyone else. Seems to me that councillors all over the UK have commandeered cities as their own private enclosures and don't welcome anyone except immigrants while maintaining there's no space and that still more parking spaces will therefore have to be annexed. Pity the sodding council doesn't move out of town to create some place. In fact it's a pity the council's not wound up altogether so the city could revert from being the lung-busting building site its been for years now - and with more to come. I work (for now) next to the perpetual dust-bowl that's the slowly-being demolished indoor market and my lungs have been a mess since the work started. I wish Soulsby had a job on that site. He might soon change his attitudes...if he didn't end up in a coffin. The dust is there to be seen on my cabinets. I have to clean them perpetually compared with once or twice a day anywhere else. If people could see them and realise just how much crap they're breathing, the city centre would be closed down and there'd be parking spaces everywhere.

Immigration, cycling and perpetual cleaning?

Are you a house proud Jeremy Clarkson?