Breaking News Facilities Update - North Bank (NWQ)

Hadleigh-shrimper · Wednesday at 12:55 PM

Shrimp and two veg said:
No checking tickets/cards on Saturday, guess they were busy with away fans, W block was mobbed, but it has been better in previous league games. Sorry to read your son gets squashed in.

Was mobbed but what an atmosphere best of the season by a mile,

Holy Joe · Wednesday at 1:09 PM

Safe standing/terracing - absolutely would give it a go.

Seating, but standing 'allowed' - maybe, wouldn't be a pioneer but if it seemed to be taking off would give it a go.

Enforced seating - really not keen

Westcliff Shrimper · Wednesday at 1:23 PM

I'm in Block V of the West Stand (shout out to all my homies) and wouldn't want to relocate to the North Stand - happy where I am and with all the people around me.

HOWEVER (if someone from the club is reading this) home fans back in the North Bank should happen. If as mentioned before the right hand side of the North Bank is away only (the bit nearest the East Stand) and gives 800 seats to visitors, that should be done. Then the rest of the North Bank (yellow seats) and the corner to Blocks W and V should be home only and then we will get higher gates due to the better atmosphere and acoustics.

IF unallocated seating can be done for both season ticket holders AND matchday tickets, then it should be implemented.

This is a great potential development by the club and should be welcomed by the Blue Voice etc. and get the Hall rocking as much as it did last Saturday. When we equalised in injury time, I can't remember it being louder than it was. Place went bananas. Moving home fans permanently into the North Bank/North West Quadrant will help replicate that atmosphere.

Chapeau to this.

kentblues · Wednesday at 1:36 PM

Needs to be safe standing for this to be realistic and safe- maybe allocated seating with clear timeline to convert.

kentblues · Wednesday at 1:42 PM

Westcliff Shrimper said:
I'm in Block V of the West Stand (shout out to all my homies) and wouldn't want to relocate to the North Stand - happy where I am and with all the people around me.

HOWEVER (if someone from the club is reading this) home fans back in the North Bank should happen. If as mentioned before the right hand side of the North Bank is away only (the bit nearest the East Stand) and gives 800 seats to visitors, that should be done. Then the rest of the North Bank (yellow seats) and the corner to Blocks W and V should be home only and then we will get higher gates due to the better atmosphere and acoustics.

IF unallocated seating can be done for both season ticket holders AND matchday tickets, then it should be implemented.

This is a great potential development by the club and should be welcomed by the Blue Voice etc. and get the Hall rocking as much as it did last Saturday. When we equalised in injury time, I can't remember it being louder than it was. Place went bananas. Moving home fans permanently into the North Bank/North West Quadrant will help replicate that atmosphere.

Chapeau to this.

Depends what you mean by unallocated seating for season ticket holders? If you mean a season ticket holder can just decide to move there for a game then there has to be a way of making the seat they have moved from to be made available- else people are taking up two seats?

Westcliff Shrimper · Wednesday at 2:08 PM

kentblues said:
Depends what you mean by unallocated seating for season ticket holders? If you mean a season ticket holder can just decide to move there for a game then there has to be a way of making the seat they have moved from to be made available- else people are taking up two seats?

No I mean you can have a season ticket for a particular block (i.e. NWQ) and can sit anywhere within that block.

If you've had a season ticket in Block V, for instance, that becomes available going forward.

It'sGrimUpNorth · Wednesday at 2:13 PM

Smiffy said:
100% yes with the caveat that it is "unallocated" seating, standing is allowed unchallenged and tickets are made cheaper there. It's only successful if reasonably full. So make it cheaper and easier to stand there, get it packed out and create an atmosphere. Do that and it will be worth extra points over the season.

Absolutely!!

Zeuss · Wednesday at 2:16 PM

Worth repeating that unless you’re in the vicinity of W block, anything over 50 noisy away fans sound much louder.

Goodwin · Wednesday at 2:25 PM

Crowstone Crevette said:
@Ramsdenblue I agree wholeheartedly with the vast majority of your post. Of course people, especially the younger fans, want to be 'where the action is'. And in my youth I'm sure I'd have looked to get into the 'singing area' myself. TBV do a great job ramping up the volume and leading the vocal support.

HOWEVER, if due to overcrowding someone was hurt it would be the fault of the supporters who shouldn't be there. If someone knowingly goes into an area of the ground that they have no right to be in, because they don't have a valid ticket, then they are in the wrong. It would be them causing the overcrowding. No one else, and not the club, even if requests for additional 'singing area' space had not been acted upon. Yes people want to be there, yes they see their mates there, yes their mates may well call/txt them and say the stewards have now gone come and join us...

But they are not entitled to be there!

This may well be an unpopular post but this is an inarguably fact.

You get this at away games as well,people sitting where they like and not in their allocated seats.Wait until the game has started before moving !

Wingnut · Wednesday at 2:47 PM

Uncle_Rons_Teapot said:
They need to sort the east stand out. I'm sick of standing up multiple times a match to let the same individuals past.

Either put a peg on it or buy your food before ko

Well you will be sitting there anyway when the east stand gets knocked down

Uncle_Rons_Teapot · Wednesday at 3:27 PM

Wingnut said:
Well you will be sitting there anyway when the east stand gets knocked down

The issue is mainly that most rows only have one way out so if you are at the other end of the row you get 4 or 5 people wanting out in either half some more than once

leeblue · Wednesday at 3:58 PM

I think the response will be generally poor and this may get put on the back burner and have the flexibility to go in there when needed rather than a permanent thing at the moment.
If success on the pitch is forthcoming then maybe extra demand will change this.

rigsby · Wednesday at 4:20 PM

Forget surveys the way to test it is to open it and see. You can guarantee the repose in person will be higher than the survey. Once people look over and see just 50 people behind that goal having fun it will fill up within a few games.

A caveat could be you can move back and forth the from your seat in the West. Especially when we are attacking the South.

This would solve the W block problem without any need for tougher ticket checks or stricter stewarding.

On this point I'm amazed so many of you seem to think a serious incident would be the fans fault. Under H&S it would be the clubs fault. Why because the overcrowding in W block is clearly "common practice".
We all know it and so do the club. Goes back to the days of some factory owner or manger allowing the safe guards to be remove for easier machine operation etc. Claiming it's the workers fault when their arm is mangled is not a defence.

Good luck to any members of COSU standing in the dock at crown court saying "Those 15 and 16 year olds really should haven taken responsibility"

kaymac · Wednesday at 4:47 PM

"A caveat could be you can move back and forth the from your seat in the West. Especially when we are attacking the South".

Seriously? Never going to happen.

rigsby · Wednesday at 5:25 PM

kaymac said:
"A caveat could be you can move back and forth the from your seat in the West. Especially when we are attacking the South".

Seriously? Never going to happen.

From W block right round to goal could be unreserved seating. You buy ticket for that section but also allowed to move from your seaso in the West. There has been loads of away games where I have sat in different seat in each half without ever having a problem.

Also you would have the chance to move from one of those game spoiling idiots who gobs off and continually moans about his own players/Kev/officials etc.

It'sGrimUpNorth · Wednesday at 5:25 PM

kaymac said:
"A caveat could be you can move back and forth the from your seat in the West. Especially when we are attacking the South".

Seriously? Never going to happen.

I’m sure he means North? And I think opening the North as @rigsby said is the way to find out.
And the more people having a good sing in there, the more will soon join them.

Strykr · Wednesday at 5:42 PM

leeblue said:
I think the response will be generally poor and this may get put on the back burner and have the flexibility to go in there when needed rather than a permanent thing at the moment.
If success on the pitch is forthcoming then maybe extra demand will change this.

I think theres a good opportunity to get all the rowdy fans together and make a good racket, perhaps cheaper tickets, or a good pop up bar with cheaper booze etc.

I sincerely doubt anyone used to the east or west will relocate tho. Maybe once for the crack of it.

weststander · Wednesday at 5:47 PM

Smiffy said:
100% yes with the caveat that it is "unallocated" seating, standing is allowed unchallenged and tickets are made cheaper there. It's only successful if reasonably full. So make it cheaper and easier to stand there, get it packed out and create an atmosphere. Do that and it will be worth extra points over the season.

I don't think the club will be able to make the North cheaper for our fans because you are not allowed to charge away fans more for the same seating. If we do then we would have to make it cheaper for the away fans and COSU are not going to want to lose money that way.

Harry Bullocks · Wednesday at 6:01 PM

I think one of the issues with “sharing “ the North Bank with away supporters is safe segregation.
In the past with away fans in the North, adjacent to the East and Shrimpers in good numbers up to behind the goal led to a bucket load of issues for the stewards keeping goading fans apart.
Needs careful planning imo

Target man · Wednesday at 6:27 PM

rigsby said:
From W block right round to goal could be unreserved seating. You buy ticket for that section but also allowed to move from your seaso in the West. There has been loads of away games where I have sat in different seat in each half without ever having a problem.

Also you would have the chance to move from one of those game spoiling idiots who gobs off and continually moans about his own players/Kev/officials etc.

Doesn't being able to move from one seat to another during a game defeat the object of increasing capacity? Bums on seats, 1 each, is the only way to achieve sustainability, hence opening the North in the first place.