Stadium Expansion...?

[Yes]

2 hours ago, StanSP said:

Not really.

https://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/nottingham-forest/attendances

That's only for this season but looking back for last season they got mainly that amount too.

 

 

Forest started doing some cheap season tickets for I think under 22s a few years back, hence why they went from about 22k attendances to around 28k.

 

If Forest in the state they’ve been in for 20 years can find a few thousand extra fans we should have no problem at all doing the same.

[whetstonefox]

We may not fill 42,000 for every premier league game but probably around  at least 10-15 home games depending on the state of the team, and if we are doing as we are now 100%. If we expand I’d imagine there will be an increase in executive boxes which is likely to be one of the key drivers to expansion. We could do with an injection of new enthusiasts for the team at the ground. Even if we go down again at some point we’d then have the ground in place to make another impact on our return. I know we hark back to Filbert St but when we made the league cup semi we couldn’t fill Filbert St , only 18,000 or so vs Wimbledon This is a chance to set us up to be viewed as not a big club( Liverpool, Man Utd) but the tier underneath but that is a 20/30 year task to realise that ambition.As a city we can get behind one football club, with our owners they have bought into the city, bring it on.

[Claridge]

If I was a player wanting to sign for a club and most things were equal, I would chose the club with the largest average attendances. Not many big clubs average 32,000

[ClaphamFox]

1 minute ago, Claridge said:

If I was a player wanting to sign for a club and most things were equal, I would chose the club with the largest average attendances. Not many big clubs average 32,000

Yes - perceptions matter. If we want to be a big club, competing for the Champions League every year, we will need to attract top players. And to do that, we need a bigger stadium.

[peach0000]

2 hours ago, Vestan Pance said:

Leicester remains the highest populated City in the U.K with just one football team.

Leicestershire I believe is also the highest populated county with only one football team. 

 

There is another factor outside football and that is the other top level sports teams in the city. Most clubs a similar size don't have to deal with a sports team as big as the Leicester Tigers drawing fans away.

[davieG]

Expansion will not be just about your average ST holder, member or casual fan it will about Executive Boxes, better restaurants, function suites, fans village etc but most important I suspect for our owners Prestige

[Claridge]

1 hour ago, pds said:

I have four people in my close family who are desperate for season tickets. One was a season ticket holder for 25 years until 2010 when circumstances meant they couldn't go for a few years. The other 3 are kids who are desperate to go but they can only occasionally get enough tickets together.

The sooner it happens the better otherwise we risk losing new fans at a time when we our best placed to gain them.

I think most people on here know someone who would want a season ticket. We need a bigger ground ASAP

[MarriedaLeicesterGirl]

1 minute ago, davieG said:

Expansion will not be just about your average ST holder, member or casual fan it will about Executive Boxes, better restaurants, fans village etc but most important I suspect for our owners Prestige

Interesting article on the topic...

https://www.the-possible.com/how-stadiums-drive-sports-teams-success/

[Stadt]

31 minutes ago, Footballwipe said:

Can I be a Devil's Advocate and ask what you define by "holding us back"?

 

In the latest financials our gate receipts were £12.8m (16.5m for the UCL season). The cost of expansion will be in the mid to high eight figures, I suspect. An increase of 10,000 on the current capacity and the current pricing structure may only net us an extra £4-5 million per season in receipts.  Now I suspect that we'll probably have a fair few tasty executive boxes included in any expansion to bolster those revenues stretching around the East Stand, and the matchday income will inevitably increase.

 

I just wanted to ask because I don't think any expansion will burst the dam of us earning megabucks income-wise (unless the expansion came with a big old price increase) I think the overall improvements in and around the stadium will have us looking a cut above what we currently have, and can definitely aide us to rise.

 

For every person saying that expansion might leave us with empty seats. Turn it on it's head. Think about the noise of those last minute winners, match on a knife edge deciders, the fervent atmospheres that could be even better with more fans packed into the stadium. Even Arsenal & Man City can't sustain 100% attendances, look at their crowds. Only the Liverpool/Man Utd can and will do this. Embrace change.

More so that there’s a generation of kids missing out on going to games. Gate receipts aren’t critical but they certainly help, with bigger attendances there’s more spent on merch and food/drink too. Our 16/17 matchday income dwarfed other years because CL games draw in so much corporate revenue.

 

I want the club to be the best it possibly can and having a bigger, better, more unique ground with developed surrounding areas is a massive improvement to now

[urban.spaceman]

13 minutes ago, MarriedaLeicesterGirl said:

Interesting article on the topic...

https://www.the-possible.com/how-stadiums-drive-sports-teams-success/

The only context that these two pictures needs is "Murica"

 

 

Jaysus H Christ.

[Finnegan]

38 minutes ago, Footballwipe said:

Can I be a Devil's Advocate and ask what you define by "holding us back"?

 

In the latest financials our gate receipts were £12.8m (16.5m for the UCL season). The cost of expansion will be in the mid to high eight figures, I suspect. An increase of 10,000 on the current capacity and the current pricing structure may only net us an extra £4-5 million per season in receipts.  Now I suspect that we'll probably have a fair few tasty executive boxes included in any expansion to bolster those revenues stretching around the East Stand, and the matchday income will inevitably increase.

 

I just wanted to ask because I don't think any expansion will burst the dam of us earning megabucks income-wise (unless the expansion came with a big old price increase) I think the overall improvements in and around the stadium will have us looking a cut above what we currently have, and can definitely aide us to rise.

 

For every person saying that expansion might leave us with empty seats. Turn it on it's head. Think about the noise of those last minute winners, match on a knife edge deciders, the fervent atmospheres that could be even better with more fans packed into the stadium. Even Arsenal & Man City can't sustain 100% attendances, look at their crowds. Only the Liverpool/Man Utd can and will do this. Embrace change.

 

I gotta be honest, I've always thought something similar to this. TV revenue and prize money must surely make significantly more than the gate. 

 

I assume finishing top four and getting CL income will be drastically, drastically more beneficial to our income and profile than expanding the stadium ever would. 

 

And if expanding the stadium meant depleting the playing budget thus damaging prospects of those top four finishes then is it worth it? 

 

I do think there's a question of ethics, the club surely had a commitment to enable as many people as possible to watch the team play and if we have genuine, long term demand for 40k people to come then ideally the club should provide, long term, 40k seats. 

 

But I think I probably agree that our stadium isn't exactly holding us back per se. I definitely think the training ground was a better investment than an expansion. 

[AKCJ]

6 minutes ago, urban.spaceman said:

The only context that these two pictures needs is "Murica"

 

 

Jaysus H Christ.

Different culture though isn't it. 

[SystonFox]

25 minutes ago, peach0000 said:

There is another factor outside football and that is the other top level sports teams in the city. Most clubs a similar size don't have to deal with a sports team as big as the Leicester Tigers drawing fans away.

Why do LEICESTER tigers draw fans away? I don’t believe they do. They don’t play home games on the same day for example.... 

[davieG]

1 minute ago, SystonFox said:

Why do LEICESTER tigers draw fans away? I don’t believe they do. They don’t play home games on the same day for example.... 

They'll be some who can't afford STs for both sports but could well be up for the occasional game.

[urban.spaceman]

5 minutes ago, AKCJ said:

Different culture though isn't it. 

Climate mainly, if we're honest.

 

"Regretfully kick-off of today's Boxing Day fixture has been delayed while the emergency services attempt to thaw the swimming pool and rescue Bernie who is frozen from the head down in the SK5 deep end. Please be advised he is just in his speedos so young people should probably look away now"

[BenTheFox]

5 minutes ago, SystonFox said:

Why do LEICESTER tigers draw fans away? I don’t believe they do. They don’t play home games on the same day for example.... 

People not being able to afford to go to both on a regular basis is the only reason I can think of. There are still many people that go to both to be fair. 

[Rusko187]

1 hour ago, Footballwipe said:

Can I be a Devil's Advocate and ask what you define by "holding us back"?

 

In the latest financials our gate receipts were £12.8m (16.5m for the UCL season). The cost of expansion will be in the mid to high eight figures, I suspect. An increase of 10,000 on the current capacity and the current pricing structure may only net us an extra £4-5 million per season in receipts.  Now I suspect that we'll probably have a fair few tasty executive boxes included in any expansion to bolster those revenues stretching around the East Stand, and the matchday income will inevitably increase.

 

I just wanted to ask because I don't think any expansion will burst the dam of us earning megabucks income-wise (unless the expansion came with a big old price increase) I think the overall improvements in and around the stadium will have us looking a cut above what we currently have, and can definitely aide us to rise.

 

For every person saying that expansion might leave us with empty seats. Turn it on it's head. Think about the noise of those last minute winners, match on a knife edge deciders, the fervent atmospheres that could be even better with more fans packed into the stadium. Even Arsenal & Man City can't sustain 100% attendances, look at their crowds. Only the Liverpool/Man Utd can and will do this. Embrace change.

As daft as it sounds, we will become commercially a more appealing investment, we could attract a higher standard of player and clientele, more reach to our fan base, etc.... the benefits far out-weigh the negatives.

 

We're currently in an extremely good position in terms of our finances, I'd rather we invest now our home, rejunvenate, expand, move... I don't mind, but sitting on a pile of cash in business is a bad thing. You need the money to work, and what better way then property and real estate.

[peach0000]

17 minutes ago, SystonFox said:

Why do LEICESTER tigers draw fans away? I don’t believe they do. They don’t play home games on the same day for example.... 

If people want to go to live sport then they have the choice between two. A lot of people either won't be able to afford to or have the time to go to both so there's a choice there to make. If you look at attendance figure, a lot of people in Leicester choose rugby. 

[Jimbo]

39 minutes ago, Claridge said:

If I was a player wanting to sign for a club and most things were equal, I would chose the club with the largest average attendances. Not many big clubs average 32,000

But most things aren't and won't be for the foreseeable future, equal.

 

40000 seater stadium or not most players would choose Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea over us. Same as most players would probably choose us over the likes of Brighton or Newcastle. History and status come into play more than stadium size.

 

I agree an expansion should, and probably needs to, happen sooner rather than later. It's part of the "big club" argument. I think what's holding it up is the development of the site as a whole. We could expand the stadium and just be stuck with a bigger version of what we have now, nothing new, just another Lego stadium. We have to improve the match day experience, we have to do something quite special with the design so that ours stands out with current more contemporary designs like the Amex or, on a much larger scale, like Spurs. In this day and age, with the Americanisation of pretty much anything, we have to provide something a bit more special, and I think that's what the owners want to as it will really promote the global brand and that is what will kick us on to a next level, all bein well. 

[urban.spaceman]

41 minutes ago, davieG said:

Expansion will not be just about your average ST holder, member or casual fan it will about Executive Boxes, better restaurants, function suites, fans village etc but most important I suspect for our owners Prestige

 

39 minutes ago, MarriedaLeicesterGirl said:

Interesting article on the topic...

https://www.the-possible.com/how-stadiums-drive-sports-teams-success/

Jokes aside that's certainly an eye opening article and while keeping it affordable is hugely important to me, I found the following bit quite interesting regarding White Hart Lane:

 

Quote

Tottenham Hotspur’s new ground has a Michelin-calibre restaurant, but also beer priced to match local pubs and a microbrewery on site. “We’re selling out of beer every game,” says Lee. “People are coming two-and-a-half or three hours early, and they’re staying for two-and-a-half or three hours after the game. It’s not this massive rush getting there five minutes before and leaving five minutes before the end.”

If there were more to do at the ground and at a reasonable price I'd very happily spend more time there. Acquiring the EON site and creating a Fan Zone gives us a hell of a lot more space and the potential for anything. Having more to do would mean the crowd would arrive and dissipate much easier, if parking and transport were improved too. This could be lucrative for the club and the area in general.

[Daggers]

54 minutes ago, urban.spaceman said:

 

 

Jaysus H Christ.

Many of us remember the terraces at Filbo being like that. Those were the days.

[Trav Le Bleu]

So then...

 

Progress, eh?

[Swalshed]

54 minutes ago, Daggers said:

Many of us remember the terraces at Filbo being like that. Those were the days.

From Bentley's roof after a downpour?

[Heathrow fox]

2 hours ago, peach0000 said:

There is another factor outside football and that is the other top level sports teams in the city. Most clubs a similar size don't have to deal with a sports team as big as the Leicester Tigers drawing fans away.

It is a myth that Leicester is a one team town 🏉.The same applies to Leeds.

[Heathrow fox]

2 hours ago, whetstonefox said:

We may not fill 42,000 for every premier league game but probably around  at least 10-15 home games depending on the state of the team, and if we are doing as we are now 100%. If we expand I’d imagine there will be an increase in executive boxes which is likely to be one of the key drivers to expansion. We could do with an injection of new enthusiasts for the team at the ground. Even if we go down again at some point we’d then have the ground in place to make another impact on our return. I know we hark back to Filbert St but when we made the league cup semi we couldn’t fill Filbert St , only 18,000 or so vs Wimbledon This is a chance to set us up to be viewed as not a big club( Liverpool, Man Utd) but the tier underneath but that is a 20/30 year task to realise that ambition.As a city we can get behind one football club, with our owners they have bought into the city, bring it on.

Filbert Street was having the same sort of problem though.Lots of fans giving up even trying to get tickets.Most games were sold out in the MON prem years.For the

casual/frequentish supporter it became hard work.