Topic: Bradley says building work to start in April 2010 !!

[redprodigal]

For those saying we won't fill a 73000 capacity ground I have to admit that I shared your thoughts for a while but having thought about it in more detail I'm not so sure this is true.

I think most would agree that we have enough support both locally and around the country and Europe to fill the ground most weeks. The biggest stumbling block to this in my opinion is the way that we sell the tickets.

The online and phones system is a big turn off to thousands of fans. Reasons for this:
1. You have to pay £29 join the membership without being guaranteed a ticket.
2. The tickets go on sale in working hours when thousands of people cannot get access to a computer or phone.
3. Even if you can get access to a computer the online system frequently crashes, and even if it is working ok there is still a queue to get on. When you do get on there is a chance that the tickets are sold out.
4. Even if you can't access a computer but can access a phone, the queue is long and if you are lucky enough to get on at all this often proves ridiculously expensive due to the excessive time spent waiting in the queue.

If however we had a 73000 capacity stadium most of these problems would disappear.
1. People wouldn't mind paying the membership fee because it would guarantee them a ticket 90% of the time.
2. Due to the extra amount of tickets available there would still be tickets on sale when people got home from work and through the night, as they are at this moment with Everton tickets.
3. This makes it very easy to buy tickets and dismisses points 3 and 4 above.

Imagine if you're sitting at home in the evening and you can just go online and buy tickets for any game at any time. This makes it much more attractive and opens the gate for thousands more fans who at the present time find it way too much hassle to even attempt to do so.

I'm not suggesting that we would fill the ground every week and certainly not for certain midweek games against smaller clubs but I think a lot of people would be surprised how many fans there are out there who want to go and watch us but who just won't even attempt to given the present system.

[Billy1561]

Agree with that post.  Many people including myself who dont have season tickets do not bother to apply simply because of the hassle. A user friendly system would surely encourage more to apply. But when has anything ever been straightforward at this club?

[Vucinic]

Not going into detail but expansion would have been relatively straightforward - an extra tier like the expansion of the San Siro for Italia '90. Would have meant a new roof but otherwise not that difficult.

How do you just add another tier on top of curved stands? Don't you think building a new roof would have required a rather large amount of work and possibly money?

[vorsprungtorbenpieknik]

If the stadium goes ahead, then I wouldnt worry about it being 60k for long.

They have come up with a temporary 60k version to get planning permission. The 73k won't be allowed until the transport is sorted.

If they ever get teh money to build this thing, they'll get the money to sort the transport too.

That wouldnt take too long to sort, maybe 18 months...which is a lot less than the time it takes to build a stadium.

I'm not holding my breath though. Come May 1st it is likely we'll all have a brand new, shiny reason for us to hate Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee.

[The Manhattan Project]

I agree it would look ridiculous, but then again I like the thought of this tiny stand with the away fans in it and 55,000 Liverpool fans in towering stands dwarfing the away fans.

I like the small away end too.

It looks OK in the concept drawings, which I fear will be as close as LFC get to a new stadium

[Alan_X]

How do you just add another tier on top of curved stands? Don't you think building a new roof would have required a rather large amount of work and possibly money?

The curved tops to the stands are generated by a combination of the oval footprint and the fact that the stands are pretty much parallel to the pitch - I've posted diagrams a couple of times now. You'd either follow the curve or more likely have the bottom row of seats on the new tier at one level and the top edge following a similar curve to the existing top edge. Some of the seats at the back of the existing tier might be dropped if there was a problem with sightlines, but that's not a big deal.

And a new stadium roof is relatively straightforward - there are plenty of ways to do it - cantilevered, suspended, trussed etc... Of course it would cost money but United have replaced their roof on a regular basis as they have continued the expansion of OT. The big money is in the rest of the ground, not the roof (unless you over-engineer it with massive arches etc..).

The biggest problem might be planning (the additional height) and the additional land required for the foundations.

[MBL?]

More signs things are going to happen? Or just  a bit of PR?




Liverpool FC have secured an entire floor of office space in the city, according to the Liverpool Daily Post, with the club's commercial department expected to be the first to make the move.

The club is also expected to relocate other departments to the 16-storey building at 20 Chapel Street, which it will share with the likes of Ernst & Young and Barclays. Liverpool are believed to have been working on the move since November, and have an option to occupy a further two floors.

The office is expected to house Liverpool's employees until the completion of a new stadium, which would likely include significant office space. Liverpool are keen to move from Anfield to a new stadium in the city's Stanley Park, but owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have been unable to finance the move at present.

Liverpool's commercial department has been in fine form in recent months, securing a shirt sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered worth more than £80 million, as well as numerous smaller deals.

    * Steven Gerrard will be a model professional in London
    * Carlsberg switches £30 million to Fifa World Cup advertising

"Liverpool FC is a rapidly-expanding business and the new office space gives us room for growth and the opportunity to bring our commercial team together in one location," said LFC managing director Christian Purslow to the LDP.

Rumford director Mike Stares added: "We are delighted that such a prestigious client has decided to choose 20 Chapel Street."

http://www.sportspromedia.com/notes_and_insights/_a/liverpool_fc_finally_secure_move_away_from_anfield...to_an_office_block/?utm_source=Syndication+Websites&utm_campaign=Syndication+Websites&utm_medium=syndication_websites

[Yakyb]

More signs things are going to happen? Or just  a bit of PR?.......

and the opportunity to bring our commercial team together in one location

good to see some actual changes being made, it suggests some-one is trying to modernise / improve matters

[lfc79]

Issue of get 70k supporters is going to be down to the pricing structure encouraging a lot more kids and local fans to come at cheaper prices, reducing the number of mid week fixtures like Monday night games on ESPN and club doing
deals with train / hotel companies to enable more fans from around the country to get to mid week games.

[TSC]

After the release of the minutes by SOS & even the Purslow version both agree nothing will happen in Apr 2010 as many suspected.  Maybe the OP can change the title to reflect the latest estimate from the released minutes is 2011 at the earliest.

[Alan_X]

Actually probably best to lock this one - it's a dead story. I'll start a new one based on the quotes from the Purslow minutes.