Stadium Expansion - More Info

[CosbehFox]

First of all, we need to open our gobs during the match regardless. Derby and Middlesbrough can do it because they have a stadium with spare seats. We simply don't. 

[Ashley]

1 minute ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

First of all, we need to open our gobs during the match regardless. Derby and Middlesbrough can do it because they have a stadium with spare seats. We simply don't. 

Point missed.

[CosbehFox]

4 minutes ago, Ashley said:

Point missed.

It's not. We sell every ticket in the stadium currently. So providing singing sections is going to piss someone off.

 

Do the club move towards L1? No because they are some of the most expensive tickets in the ground and would mean reducing ticket prices to get 16 to 30 year olds buying in there. 

 

Do the club move towards Family Stand? No because the Police won't allow it. Maybe as part of the stadium, they open up the land to the side a bit but the Coppers love that coaches can park there and its the nearest point to the train station making escorts easier. 

 

Do the club move towards the Kop? They could but the Kop is also the 'cheap seats' and you'd be asking a set of fans who may not be vocal but can't afford anyway else to pay more. 

 

Derby moved their away fans and reduced their allocation. This with the grace of the coppers and gave another 1,000 seats to someone. Similar Middlesbrough moved their away support and even in the PL, they couldn't sell out. 

Edited 13 July 2018 by Cardiff_Fox

[CosbehFox]

2 hours ago, Stadt said:

One of the issues on the club's part is that most directors and employees aren't football fans let alone Leicester fans. Their idea of an atmosphere is clappers, fireworks and paying Supporters Art to do a bland display. The best atmospheres across the world are as a result of the supporters, clubs can definitely help but it's down to fans to make noise.

 

This is absolutely bang on by the way. 

The club's social media/supporters relations/liasions is about five years behind.

 

Take a look at Brentford's recent work, they hired a Leicester fan and some of the work they have done over the summer has been brilliant. Picking out angry tweets about the away shirt and then sending them an away free of charge with a letter. Personalised e-mail messages regards how many games they have attended. 

 

Clubs do things celebrating their overall history - Preston North End have 'Gentry Day', some clubs have 'retro day' encouraging fans to wear shirts of old, those helmets from South London celebrated the likes of 'Speroni Day'. A lot better than the same old free doughnut and free Singha - it's good once but it's quickly got stale. Be creative, be different.

 

Instead we have this worship of a club owner, their country and their royal family. I respect that but in twenty years time, owners will be a footnote to the success we have enjoyed. It will be Vardy, Mahrez, Kante and Ranieri. 

 

EDIT: Just thinking this through there are plenty of other things to they could do stretching to stocking Everalds Beer, a craft beer option, street food kiosks, allowing flags to be positioned! Instead they seem to be targeting some middle class, jeans and sheux 40 year old. 

Edited 13 July 2018 by Cardiff_Fox

[Ashley]

21 minutes ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

It's not. We sell every ticket in the stadium currently. So providing singing sections is going to piss someone off.

 

Do the club move towards L1? No because they are some of the most expensive tickets in the ground and would mean reducing ticket prices to get 16 to 30 year olds buying in there. 

 

Do the club move towards Family Stand? No because the Police won't allow it. Maybe as part of the stadium, they open up the land to the side a bit but the Coppers love that coaches can park there and its the nearest point to the train station making escorts easier. 

 

Do the club move towards the Kop? They could but the Kop is also the 'cheap seats' and you'd be asking a set of fans who may not be vocal but can't afford anyway else to pay more. 

 

Derby moved their away fans and reduced their allocation. This with the grace of the coppers and gave another 1,000 seats to someone. Similar Middlesbrough moved their away support and even in the PL, they couldn't sell out. 

 

Derby moved their away section and bought the away allocation similar to ours and its worked well. Their ground is the same as ours so don't tell me it cant be done because it can.

 

Sunderland moved the away fans at SoL to the other end of the Stadium, guess what? It worked. 

 

We just need to approach the club in the right manner and we might get something similar at the King Power.

[CosbehFox]

5 minutes ago, Ashley said:

Derby moved their away section and bought the away allocation similar to ours and its worked well. Their ground is the same as ours so don't tell me it cant be done because it can.

 

Sunderland moved the away fans at SoL to the other end of the Stadium, guess what? It worked. 

 

We just need to approach the club in the right manner and we might get something similar at the King Power.

You seem to be ignoring the obvious here - the Police won't allow the away fans to be moved at City's ground.

 

As I said all away coaches are parked outside the away end, its the right side for escorts from the train station and they can see it all fairly easy via vantage points (Seat Garage!). 

 

It's a similar scenario to St James Park where despite the PL wanting away fans next to the pitch. The Police prefer the away fans positioned where they are and ask you to go a direction out of the ground to stop flash points. 

[Ashley]

Just now, Cardiff_Fox said:

You seem to be ignoring the obvious here - the Police won't allow the away fans to be moved at City's ground.

 

As I said all away coaches are parked outside the away end, its the right side for escorts from the train station and they can see it all fairly easy via vantage points (Seat Garage!). 

 

It's a similar scenario to St James Park where despite the PL wanting away fans next to the pitch. The Police prefer the away fans positioned where they are and ask you to go a direction out of the ground to stop flash points. 

Who said anything about moving the away fans? I originally said swapping the Kop and Family Stand? 

[CosbehFox]

2 minutes ago, Ashley said:

Who said anything about moving the away fans? I originally said swapping the Kop and Family Stand? 

I quote you: 

Derby moved their away section and bought the away allocation similar to ours and its worked well. Their ground is the same as ours so don't tell me it cant be done because it can.

 

Sunderland moved the away fans at SoL to the other end of the Stadium, guess what? It worked. 

 

To add Police will not allow a higher risk of fan who'd sit in the Kop next to the away section. Particularly given the numerous flash points between L1 and the away end at end of most games outside the exits. 

Edited 13 July 2018 by Cardiff_Fox

[Sol thewall Bamba]

The best thing that can happen with the expansion is to split the away fans across two tiers. We don't know yet how far along the existing east stand the expansion will go, IE will it stop at the start of the curve or will it loop around to the family stand as well, but splitting them across two tiers would disrupt their ability to sing in unison and therefore negate the support they are able to impart onto the visiting team, and secondly free up some space in the bottom tier that vocal home fans could move into. There's the meeting about the expansion later this month and this will be communicated to the club then hopefully. 

 

 

[Ashley]

25 minutes ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

I quote you: 

Derby moved their away section and bought the away allocation similar to ours and its worked well. Their ground is the same as ours so don't tell me it cant be done because it can.

 

Sunderland moved the away fans at SoL to the other end of the Stadium, guess what? It worked. 

 

To add Police will not allow a higher risk of fan who'd sit in the Kop next to the away section. Particularly given the numerous flash points between L1 and the away end at end of most games outside the exits. 

 

It helps if you read back a few pages

[yorkie1999]

Well I sit in the kop, i don't want to sit next to the away fans or sit in a family stand, so jog on.

[crisp packet]

With the land acquired , the east stand won’t be a cul de sac . 

The land along that side will be a lot more open? 

Hopefully some one from the club do read these pages ,as this debate is a lot more informative than a club meeting...!

[Sol thewall Bamba]

2 hours ago, yorkie1999 said:

Well I sit in the kop, i don't want to sit next to the away fans or sit in a family stand, so jog on.

Thousands of comments like this would be the best bit if this ever did happen

[Ashley]

4 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Thousands of comments like this would be the best bit if this ever did happen

It would. Theyd force people out like they did with the Family Stand. 

[Freeman's Wharfer]

So many people missing the point when people say 'swap the Kop with the Family Stand'.

 

It wouldn't be about moving everyone from the specific row and seat of the South stand (the Kop) to the corresponding in the North stand. It would be about finding somewhere to house the kids (how about the corner where Union FS are becoming a new 'Family Stand corner'?) and then opening what is currently the Family Stand up to everyone currently in L1 (which will become more expensive seats in the shiny new corporate stand) and everyone in the existing Union FS section/everyone who wants to sing from 'the Kop'.

 

There'd be no more vocal fans next to the away section (which stays where it is) than there currently are with L1 and there could even be a new club shop in the new East stand at the South-East corner with just as easy access from the new 'Family Stand corner'.

 

Any introduction of rail-seating could be implemented in the North stand. All the old double-decker people in the old Kop (South stand) could stay there and rather than be surrounded by those 'yobs' who want to sing they'd have a stand of kids next to them instead. Family Stand corner is away from the away fans.

 

And if you want to go one better then in the North stand (the new Kop) you could have unreserved seating and what used to be the old club shop could be turned into some sort of fans' bar for those who want to have a few beers and a sing song pre-match.

 

Can't see how this wouldn't appeal to every fan demographic/group we have even though it'll never happen.

[Ashley]

7 minutes ago, Freeman's Wharfer said:

So many people missing the point when people say 'swap the Kop with the Family Stand'.

 

It wouldn't be about moving everyone from the specific row and seat of the South stand (the Kop) to the corresponding in the North stand. It would be about finding somewhere to house the kids (how about the corner where Union FS are becoming a new 'Family Stand corner'?) and then opening what is currently the Family Stand up to everyone currently in L1 (which will become more expensive seats in the shiny new corporate stand) and everyone in the existing Union FS section/everyone who wants to sing from 'the Kop'.

 

There'd be no more vocal fans next to the away section (which stays where it is) than there currently are with L1 and there could even be a new club shop in the new East stand at the South-East corner with just as easy access from the new 'Family Stand corner'.

 

Any introduction of rail-seating could be implemented in the North stand. All the old double-decker people in the old Kop (South stand) could stay there and rather than be surrounded by those 'yobs' who want to sing they'd have a stand of kids next to them instead. Family Stand corner is away from the away fans.

 

And if you want to go one better then in the North stand (the new Kop) you could have unreserved seating and what used to be the old club shop could be turned into some sort of fans' bar for those who want to have a few beers and a sing song pre-match.

 

Can't see how this wouldn't appeal to every fan demographic/group we have even though it'll never happen.

 

Well you've just put my point on here better than i did. Any confusion of moving the away fans was from giving examples of how derby and Boro grounds are currently set. It can be done...

 

To clear any confusion read this @Cardiff_Fox

[yorkie1999]

1 hour ago, Ashley said:

It would. Theyd force people out like they did with the Family Stand. 

Where do you sit, out of interest

[Ashley]

17 minutes ago, yorkie1999 said:

Where do you sit, out of interest

Family Stand.

[yorkie1999]

28 minutes ago, Ashley said:

Family Stand.

So, unless you want to sit in the kop or are fed up with the sun in your eyes, why do you want to swap the kop and the family stand if you already sit there. 

[Quorndon_Fox]

But if we move the family stand how will 13 year olds in Donny market Stone Islands going to ‘kick off’ at the away end behind a line of stewards, coppers and netting?

 

[CosbehFox]

1 hour ago, Ashley said:

 

Well you've just put my point on here better than i did. Any confusion of moving the away fans was from giving examples of how derby and Boro grounds are currently set. It can be done...

 

To clear any confusion read this @Cardiff_Fox

But why would the coppers allow those from L1 and those from Union FS to be adjacent to the away fans still? As described they are viewed as ‘yobs’ by others so the police will take the same view. 

 

They’d be further potential for flash points and scuffles as already happens. FW mentions unreserved seating; to do that means you have to sell the section under capacity. Which we don’t have 

[Ashley]

23 minutes ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

But why would the coppers allow those from L1 and those from Union FS to be adjacent to the away fans still? As described they are viewed as ‘yobs’ by others so the police will take the same view. 

 

They’d be further potential for flash points and scuffles as already happens. FW mentions unreserved seating; to do that means you have to sell the section under capacity. Which we don’t have 

Derby and Boro have managed it just fine, so why couldnt we? 

[CosbehFox]

1 hour ago, Ashley said:

Derby and Boro have managed it just fine, so why couldnt we? 

Because Derby and Boro doesnt have a single public highway around their stadium. The KP has two bottlenecks where the crowds build up as you can’t exit at the Kop end, you have to go past the stadium. 

 

The situation is more comparable to St James where the Police won’t allow it for similar reasons. They want the away fans to exit one side and home fans the other 

[Nick]

When we’ve finished discussing safe standing and swapping the family stand with the kop I can signpost people to a cracking YouTube highlights reel of Maddison if anybody’s interested.

[pleatout]

On 13/07/2018 at 15:19, Ashley said:

Everything. Its been discused at fan meetings before. They've recently built the access to the club shop from the family stand and the family stand holds around 600 seats less.

 

To move the kop and family stand you would need equal amount of seats to do so or make the away end start closer to L Block. 

I think you may have missed my point.

 

I said the swap wont happen because of other reasons not connected to capacity.  I dont doubt the kop is bigger than the family stand.  But the reason the club wont swap them has nothing to do with the relative capacities and everything to do with safety/crowd control.  Again I dont doubt they have stated that they cant swap them due to capacity issues, but a 600 seat difference could be sorted in an instant if they had the desire to,  They dont and wont.