SUFC: The Future How would you redevelop Roots Hall?

[Swiss Tony]

I’m staggered u have all those good idea’s drinking Fosters !

I’m staggered anyone drinks Fosters.

 

[Redbridge Blue]

Long term it must be possible to double the capacity of the east and west stands by making them double height. Fill in the corners between the east and the south/north and by my calculation you will be pushing a capacity of 20,000.

Increasing the height of the east should not have any planning issues and the west is already below the height of the roofs in Shakespeare Drive. If the pitch was pulled a bit to the east you might be able to more than double the capacity of the west stand and if height is a problem for the properties in Shakespeare Drive just sink the pitch a bit as the land naturally falls from west to east anyway.

 

[Ex-SouthendUnitedEmployee]

Starting point and easy win, almost instant impact…tidy up the car park area and reduced capacity to make room for a beer tent and pre match entertainment area (already planned also by JR if successful with purchase)

Look at what Birmingham City do on March Days… it’s unbelievable. It turns football into a much longer day, more revenue spent at the club etc

I can’t think think of a time I’ve thought about getting to RH early because was wanted a ****e pint and food… even in the good days.

I’m lucky I get to visit other clubs as part of my job, so I see all all these activities going on and so much potential that has been missed by our club failing to grow revenues outside of the match ticket and keep pace with modern match day football.

 

[Redbridge Blue]

One problem that might be an issue at Roots Hall is contaminated land. I seem to recall that the ground is built on an old rubbish tip so there might be remediation costs to consider which don't come cheap.

 

[gpd]

It would be very tight development as there is not a lot of room around the outside of the ground. But I stayed at Coventry Double-Tree by Hilton hotel and was given a room that overlooked the pitch (this is the view from my room). On match days all those rooms are turned into boxes for fans to hire/rent. I had a meal in the sports bar downstairs. very nice...good quality food (but pricy beer). Id like to think that an east Stand re-build could afford us to incorporate quality attractions including a hotel and sports bar/restaurant. We are allowed to dream.

 

[Ex-SouthendUnitedEmployee]

Long term it must be possible to double the capacity of the east and west stands by making them double height. Fill in the corners between the east and the south/north and by my calculation you will be pushing a capacity of 20,000.

Increasing the height of the east should not have any planning issues and the west is already below the height of the roofs in Shakespeare Drive. If the pitch was pulled a bit to the east you might be able to more than double the capacity of the west stand and if height is a problem for the properties in Shakespeare Drive just sink the pitch a bit as the land naturally falls from west to east anyway.

Your issue with the west isn’t so much the height, but the depth you would have to play with to gain the extra height, which is why I suggested the same as you about pulling the pitch eastward a little bit - for the time being improvements to the west can be made to make it more inviting (short term) as someone said… Rome wasn’t built in a day.

 

[Ex-SouthendUnitedEmployee]

One problem that might be an issue at Roots Hall is contaminated land. I seem to recall that the ground is built on an old rubbish tip so there might be remediation costs to consider which don't come cheap.

Why do I get visions of Ron being Mr. Burns from the Simpsons and getting paid by companies to dispose their waste under the pitch when you say that

 

[Blues4LifeDan]

There is only one starting place and that is the East Stand. Of course, works need doing everywhere, toilets and food etc. But the East Stand is where revenue is won and lost. I'm a West stand ST holder but have been in hospitality a few times over the last few seasons and in the East for cup games/preseason and it is beyond a joke. How that is considered our 'main' stand I'll never know. It should be our showpiece and it's a mockery. It's an accident waiting to happen and Ron was probably right about one thing, the safety certificate. The hazards from that stand alone make up at least 90 percent of the potential faults for a certificate. The whole thing needs knocking down and proper facilities installed. Both Peterborough and Oldham have built new main stands and it's an integral starting point for redevelopment.

Further to that, street kitchen type stalls could be set up behind the West stand where the raised concrete is. Beer and music tents in the car park are also desirable.

 

[Chairman Trigg]

The biggest changes and possibilities could be made by a 90 degree change.
However..... extend the North Bank over the rear access road by steel frame to double it's capacity . Combine a new roof over West and North .Leave the South stand as the away end (acoustic wise it's terrible for sound coming out which helps) Then plough everything into a new super increased capacity East Stand using all that wasted space up to the car park.
Seems so strange discussing this when for over 15 years the only option was FF!

 

[jnl]

Demolish and replace the East Stand while rotating the pitch 90 degrees. A new Eat Stand to have better hospitality, catering/bars as well as non match day revenue streams like conference facilities, sports bar and maybe a gym as has been suggested. Then replace each other stand with decent match day catering outlets/bars etc. Some of this was mentioned by manager Dave Smith years, no decades, ago.

 

[Shrimperjohn]

I’d worry about that when the deal goes through

 

[annie1954]

One problem that might be an issue at Roots Hall is contaminated land. I seem to recall that the ground is built on an old rubbish tip so there might be remediation costs to consider which don't come cheap.

Nothing like that has been mentioned before the council seem happy to have roots hall for housing

 

[defender05]

Surely if you rotate the pitch 90 degrees then the East stand would endup being behind the goal and you would need to rebuild every stand as they won't be able to just move them.

 

[Ramsdenblue]

First off, I would love to stay at Rootshall instead of floppy cossets.

I would turn the ground round 90 degrees.

remember you would save room as a pitch is approximately 100m x 65m, so by turning the pitch around you would be gaining an additional 35m to the stands at the side of the pitch giving a very large double their stand behind the goal, which would be in the car park end.

Rather much like the big stand at Crystal Palace.

 

[Redbridge Blue]

Demolish and replace the East Stand while rotating the pitch 90 degrees. A new Eat Stand to have better hospitality, catering/bars as well as non match day revenue streams like conference facilities, sports bar and maybe a gym as has been suggested. Then replace each other stand with decent match day catering outlets/bars etc. Some of this was mentioned by manager Dave Smith years, no decades, ago.

Rotation has been looked at in another thread and the general view was that the site is not wide enough north to south to permit this. It's a bit deceptive but there are a number of separate parcels of land to the south side of the car park that are not within the Roots Hall site.

 

[jnl]

Rotation has been looked at in another thread and the general view was that the site is not wide enough north to south to permit this. It's a bit deceptive but there are a number of separate parcels of land to the south side of the car park that are not within the Roots Hall site.

Oh, thanks for the info. Scrap that idea then.

 

[Shrimp and two veg]

Promoting Southend United in the Community, a facility set aside for carnival float building. Part of our DNA now

 

[Justleavingwork]

the only option long term if we stay at roots hall, is to start afresh and rotate the pitch 90 degrees as it’s the only option to maximise the space otherwise it’s comprised on comprised and all the stands need replacing.

The bigger question is how can this be done or where would we place for duration of the work?

 

[CC51DAS]

I’d worry about that when the deal goes through

Yep right at the moment. unless we're trying to entice Justin to part with more money (and talk of a toxic waste dump probably won't help in this regard) I'm not sure what is the point of discussing this all over again,

 

[onceknownasrab]

Every drop of sentiment I possess wants to stay at RH. Sadly my brain tells me it just ain't viable. We need a bright shiny new stadium with a great deal of non-matchday facilities. RH, at best, would need demolishing and rebuilding but would still be constrained by the limited area available, especially with all the build that has gone on around it.
You can do it in stages, one stand at a time but, it still ends up being a total rebuild. I cannot see the monies needed being recovered.
Add to the equation that I am sure SBC would rather regenerate the area and not have matchday traffic and parking issues there. Further, if you provided more revenue streams at the ground it would cause the traffic problems even on days where no match is taking place.
Beware false assurances and promises from the council. They will deliver on their agenda and not ours and find a scapegoat to make them look innocent.
If a consortium comes in, I hope it does, they need to be open and honest and look to the money potential of RH for a residential site and use the profits to build the new stadium. Or should I say stadium first on the back of planning consent and developer participation. Sound familiar?