Expand the stadium? The poll

[Kevinparr71]

9 hours ago, CloudFox said:

That would make sense. Less need for stewards to police those areas as heavily if there's a barrier separating fans already.

 

I'm sure barriers are used like this quite often in Europe, although I can't for the life of me provide an example.

Ajax have the barriers went over for a Holland v Wales friendly 

[Footballwipe]

6 hours ago, st albans fox said:

I wonder if sensitive planning apps can be kept confidential until it's decided to go public. 

 

It's clear that the club cannot have received full planning permission to extend the ground but perhaps it's feasible that an application exists which has had tentative council approval re traffic etc etc but still requires to go to the local population for any objections. 

No

 

There is such a thing as a pre-application, but once the document has been submitted there has to be a statutory consultee. The Planning team looking after the application will have to send the document to the Highways department of Leicester City. They can't do that on the sly, it has to be done during a public consultation phase.

 

With the nature of the application it would automatically be sent to a Planning Committee of Councillors, too.

[Bob Weasel Fox]

1 hour ago, lgfualol said:

Just get it done 

This

[KrefelderFox666]

Once again, 1000s of people missing out on ST's due to small capacity. I still think we would fill a 38-40,000 ground 90% of the time (as a Premier League team).

[Smiffy Fox]

Is there a way, as fans of this club to directly ask the question regarding stadium expansion? Are there still meetings with the fans and the club to raise points/questions? We're now entering our 4th season in the premier league where every home game will be sold out.

[davieG]

 

On 2017-5-21 at 19:34, davieG said:

Looks like a no then as he seems to be suggesting that a bigger stadium might dilute the atmosphere although i'd argue what's happening on the pitch good or bad = stadium atmosphere good or bad.

 

4 hours ago, Smiffy Fox said:

Is there a way, as fans of this club to directly ask the question regarding stadium expansion? Are there still meetings with the fans and the club to raise points/questions? We're now entering our 4th season in the premier league where every home game will be sold out.

 

[Bob Weasel Fox]

10 hours ago, KrefelderFox666 said:

Once again, 1000s of people missing out on ST's due to small capacity. I still think we would fill a 38-40,000 ground 90% of the time (as a Premier League team).

This

 

come on City

 

fresh poll on this please somebody

[yorkie1999]

10 hours ago, KrefelderFox666 said:

Once again, 1000s of people missing out on ST's due to small capacity. I still think we would fill a 38-40,000 ground 90% of the time (as a Premier League team).

I think it will depend on the application numbers for season tickets.

[CockneyFox]

97% renewal rate after an average season is a pretty strong return; let's get this done!!

[Lovejoy]

8 hours ago, Smiffy Fox said:

Is there a way, as fans of this club to directly ask the question regarding stadium expansion? Are there still meetings with the fans and the club to raise points/questions? We're now entering our 4th season in the premier league where every home game will be sold out.

I've long been in favour of expanding the stadium, I can't believe we'll be in our fourth year already, the time has flown. It begs the question of how long do we need to be up for it to be a "sustained period of time"?

 

I'm lucky to have a season ticket having done so for a number of years, but totally feel for those who are keen but unable to acquire one.

[Winsum]

Would be on the agenda now if it is to happen. The club are happy to fill the ground every week 

[Thracian]

3 hours ago, Lovejoy said:

I've long been in favour of expanding the stadium, I can't believe we'll be in our fourth year already, the time has flown. It begs the question of how long do we need to be up for it to be a "sustained period of time"?

 

I'm lucky to have a season ticket having done so for a number of years, but totally feel for those who are keen but unable to acquire one.

I'm in favour of modest expansion. With the building work earmarked in the county and, presumably, elsewhere, plus the current demise of nearby clubs in general, I'd say the time was ripe for accommodating all the fans we have rather than a percentage and winning some more. 

 

We're actually in a great position to draw support from substantial areas of this country let alone elsewhere as our international reputation grows. We could look at expanding and improving our corporate provision and matchday experience offers too - and in lots of ways.

 

   

[Muzzy_no7]

Simply cannot get my head around why this hasn't been sorted. We would easily do 38-40K every week.

 

Fresh vote Please.

[Great Boos Up]

4 hours ago, Muzzy_no7 said:

Simply cannot get my head around why this hasn't been sorted. We would easily do 38-40K every week.

 

Fresh vote Please.

Especially now as it's 2 years since this poll started (bar a few days)

And add do you not have a season ticket and will buy one.

[Wymsey]

Can see the positives in getting the stadium expanded, as pointed out. Of course, now we've elevated to new levels unlike the first couple of seasons at the new ground and demand has never been like it is now before in the club's history.

 

However, a few clubs have expanded in the past but have somewhat declined in their league standings and/or atmosphere over the seasons.

 

Manchester United (both, really).

Liverpool (atmosphere apparently the same,as if it's made no added difference).

Watford (claims that the expanded area hasn't increased the atmosphere).

 

Hence, any expansion may not feel 'like home like before' for a good period of time and uncertainty could raise by some fans in that it's just more seats and the atmosphere actually could decline a bit?

 

[Ted Maul]

http://m.leicestermercury.co.uk/leicester-city-fans-back-stadium-expansion/story-30377279-detail/story.html

 

Another massive majority in favour of expansion. I'm guessing the club will be keeping an eye on stuff like that, and the high ST renewal rate- surely plans will be put into place soon.

[Countryfox]

12 minutes ago, Ted Maul said:

http://m.leicestermercury.co.uk/leicester-city-fans-back-stadium-expansion/story-30377279-detail/story.html

 

Another massive majority in favour of expansion. I'm guessing the club will be keeping an eye on stuff like that, and the high ST renewal rate- surely plans will be put into place soon.

 

Just waiting on a few 'legal issues' to be sorted then its full steam ahead  .....        zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[davieG]

Is Leicester City stadium expansion still going to happen?

By MJClayton  |  Posted: June 07, 2017

   

   

image: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276308/Article/images/30377441/16034732-large.jpg

Leicester City's King Power Stadium

 

What is going to happen over plans to expand the King Power Stadium?

Plans to extend the 32,500-seater ground have been in existence since construction on Leicester City's new home was completed in 2002.

The design of the stadium means that an extra tier can be added to the existing construction to increase capacity.

Development looked most likely after last season's Premier League triumph, with vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha admitting they would take a new look at expansion plans.

He even raised the prospect of instead of extending the King Power Stadium, they might look at building a completely new one.

Twelve months on, nothing has happened but chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha said it was still a possibility.

In an interview before the final game of the decision in the Official Matchday Magazine, he said about the expansion plans: "It's a possibility that has been open to us since we purchased the stadium from its previous owners in 2013. It is also an example of us ensuring our progress as a club is sustainable.

"Such decisions require thorough due diligence to ensure it would be beneficial for us in the long term.

"The atmosphere at King Power Stadium and the power of our fans to contribute to an occasion has been among our biggest strengths in the last seven years.

"A decision on the stadium development would potentially have an impact on that, so we must be certain that the impact would be positive before we move forward."

Is a new stadium still a possibility?

Frankly, it came as a bit of a surprise when Aiyawatt brought up the possibility of a new stadium 12 months ago.

The King Power is an impressive modern stadium that can be expanded and the costs of building a new stadium are massive.

Construction experts we have spoken to put the building costs alone at around £100million and with the cost of land, and depending on the capacity, that figure could easily double.

It is fair to assume that any thoughts on a new stadium have been shelved, if not dumped in the waste bin.

image: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276308/binaries/Stadium12.jpg

A second tier would be built on the King Power Stadium's East Stand, above

 

How would City extend the King Power Stadium?

The favoured extension plans are to put a new tier on the East Stand, which would raise the capacity by around 10,000, although that could be increased or decreased depending on the design.

However, any development is likely to be at least a 12-month project, possibly longer, even if the decision to go ahead was taken immediately.

Designs for the new stand would have to be produced and agreed, planning permission would be needed and then there would be the construction work itself.

Isn't that likely to close part of the ground causing tremendous disruption?

No, construction experts generally agree that the expansion could be achieved without losing any or part of the East Stand during the season.

Work would take place on building the extension behind the existing stand and it would only be at the final stages where they would 'break through' and complete the extension.

It would take clever timetabling and might affect the beginning of the season, as happened at Anfield in August and September when their major expansion project took place. In fact, Liverpool's first home game did not come until September 10 against City – a month into the campaign.

What are the costs and would expansion be worthwhile?

The cost would be around £25m depending on the design and the capacity – less than the cost of record-signing Islam Slimani.

However, 10,000 extra seats and supposing a season ticket price of £365 would mean an annual income of £3.65million, with additional money coming from corporate hospitality that figure could be swelled to closer to £4m.

However, this would mean that it will take around six years for the investment to pay for itself – and that's assuming all seats were sold. TV money alone brought in £100m last season – an equal share of £84m for all clubs in the Premier League regardless of their finishing position and a further £16m facility fee because they had 16 games on live TV in the past season.

While the owners are ambitious, would they sell all 42,000 seats for every home game?

This is what Vichai meant when he talked about "due diligence" and working out financially whether the business numbers add up.

What about the atmosphere in the stadium?

This issue was raised by Vichai in his interview when he talked about "the power of the fans to contribute to an occasion has been among our biggest strengths."

It is an important point as the atmosphere at the King Power is something that has been noted by the opposition and visitors and the City players admit that it is inspiring.

Could some of that atmosphere be lost with an extension? Or would a sympathetic design simply add to it? That's one for the acoustic experts and would also depending on whether you could fill all those seats.

What is the likelihood of this expansion actually happening?

After the Premier League title win, it looked extremely likely but as the euphoria has died down the financial and practical arguments have come to the fore.

Should City enjoy a good season in 2017/18, the owners would probably take another look at the scheme and decide it makes sense for an established and ambitious Premier League club.

However, the nightmare would be that, heaven forbid, they drop down to the Championship and having a stadium that is only half-full every home game.

Read more at http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/is-leicester-city-stadium-expansion-still-going-to-happen/story-30377441-detail/story.html#o1OLZOc6flCxHPch.99

[Webbo]

So £25 million for a possible extra £3.5-4 million per year? At least now we've got something to work on now.

[Hitesh]

Do the Merc just read latest hot topics on FT and make a news story about it? 

[sylofox]

4 hours ago, Webbo said:

So £25 million for a possible extra £3.5-4 million per year? At least now we've got something to work on now.

Basic look is all the merc have done. Few k extra programs 10k extra pies/ burgers 20k extra drinks per game. Then an extra 2/3k shirts probably the same in beanie hats.

[ian_marshall]

5 hours ago, sylofox said:

Basic look is all the merc have done. Few k extra programs 10k extra pies/ burgers 20k extra drinks per game. Then an extra 2/3k shirts probably the same in beanie hats.

Assuming we did sell the above, you're looking at a profit from these sales of circa £1.3-1.5m per season. Adding that to the Merc's figures the club would generate circa £6m per season maximum (although that is being generous as the Merc are quoting revenue). Factoring in costs for extra stewarding, policing, maintenance, interest payments, etc. it'd likely take at least 5 years operating at capacity to just break even.

 

It's a big ask from the owner's as financially it's not a strong business case particularly when you consider that there will always potentially be the risk of relegation which would most likely see attendances drop to the point where the extra seating wouldn't be generating any income adding further years before breaking even.

 

Of course there's the argument that an increased capacity may help to elevate the profile of the club off the field but to play devil's advocate, I suppose the owner's will be weighing up whether investment in the playing personnel to create a consistently successful team would elevate the profile of the club to similar/greater levels.

 

Whilst I don't disagree that demand currently is at an all time high and sales are being lost, I can understand why the owner's are treading cautiously as there are probably quicker and better ways of adding to the bottom line.

[sylofox]

9 minutes ago, ian_marshall said:

Assuming we did sell the above, you're looking at a profit from these sales of circa £1.3-1.5m per season. Adding that to the Merc's figures the club would generate circa £6m per season maximum (although that is being generous as the Merc are quoting revenue). Factoring in costs for extra stewarding, policing, maintenance, interest payments, etc. it'd likely take at least 5 years operating at capacity to just break even.

 

It's a big ask from the owner's as financially it's not a strong business case particularly when you consider that there will always potentially be the risk of relegation which would most likely see attendances drop to the point where the extra seating wouldn't be generating any income adding further years before breaking even.

 

Of course there's the argument that an increased capacity may help to elevate the profile of the club off the field but to play devil's advocate, I suppose the owner's will be weighing up whether investment in the playing personnel to create a consistently successful team would elevate the profile of the club to similar/greater levels.

 

Whilst I don't disagree that demand currently is at an all time high and sales are being lost, I can understand why the owner's are treading cautiously as there are probably quicker and better ways of adding to the bottom line.

So we let the club stagnate because it's a closed shop and thousands of people will not get a chance to watch us live. Possibly turning to cov the sheep or florist.

 

We took a risk on 60+M worth of players last season and on there showings so far would be lucky to get 30m back.

 

Everything about owning a club is luck not one thing is certain. I guess another 60m plus will be spent over the coming weeks then the 3/5 yrs wages that go with it and nothing is certain.

 

But we could invest the Kante profit to possibly give the club and our fans a future. Or we just stick to the lucky select few and wait for someone to die.

[crisp packet]

PROFIT? 

Weve just made how much!!

GET IT DONE! Asap.

 

Wembley finals, Victoria park the demend is there...

[Bayfox]

Gonna put it out there and say, I was told yesterday the owners still plan to expand and talks with the council are on going to make sure plans get passed quicker ie are submitted and acceptable rather than get rejected and stretch the time frame.

 

I'm told it's a 3 phase development/expansion plan. But planning for 1st phase at least will be submitted soon and they hope to start work soon, apparently the foundations were an issue as we cut costs as everyone knows, but that has been resolved, issues are now parking which would tie in with the mention of multi storey car park mentioned earlier in the thread, and they are a little worried what they may find when digging up raw dykes road, which from my guess work means the family stand will undergo expansion at some point as well, potentially blocking raw dykes and creating a dead end from either direction with access to car parks only.

 

Told that the owners have now set a new 5-10 year plan to see us make europe on a regular basis and the funds and wages we have at our disposal are gonna be up there with the best, let's hope they spend it wisely this time, apparently the owners increase in personal wealth and the mystery chinese backer that has often been mentioned in the past are willing to bankroll some serious changes on and off the pitch.

 

Only putting this on here so I can look back and see if this is right or wrong. If he's right then I will be tapping them up again.