SUFC: The Future The regeneration of Roots Hall

[Strykr]

On the cost front - how much is the east stand insured for?

What you got in mind Joe?

 

[Ramsdenblue]

What to do with Roots Hall?. The best result will come from dreaming first and then addressing the practicalities.

We don’t have pots of money, the East stand will need replacing, the South stand is too small.

So:

Anchor the pitch in the NW corner but rotate 90 degrees so the pitch runs East-West. Build a new East End stand on the car park, accessible for away supporters via the lower car park entrance

Retain the West and North bank structures. Extend the existing north bank to run the full length of the new E-W pitch. The redundant south section of the west stand can be converted to much needed rest and catering facilities. Convert the West End and North Side to high density safe standing.

Demolish the South stand and build a new South Side stand alongside the new E-W pitch. This will open up access between Shakespeare Drive and the car park

Capacity:

West End (standing) 4,000

North Side (standing) 3,500 + possible upper North tier seating (2,500)

East End (away seating) 3,000 + possible upper East tier seating (2,000)

South Side 5,500

Initial Total Capacity 16,000 with possible expansion to 20,500



This new RH will have something for everyone.

The West End will become our new kop for our ultras. The North side will be for the more mature ultra. The ground will retain its character and atmosphere.

The South stand can be two levels, separated by exec boxes. The lower level will be bread-and-butter seating only slightly more spacious than our existing East stand. The upper South side stand can be more exclusive, with spacious padded seats and prawn sandwiches.

The original RH saw less than 30% of the crowd choosing to sit. Go to an Isthmian league fixture now, where both seating and standing are still available, and that preference still applies.

The differential cost of all this is not so great. A new main stand is a given so the extra cost will be for the one third of a pitch needed for the rotation, plus the East End stand. The East End stand can be partially dug into the raised earth of the car park. It doesn’t need complex construction. The Sid Broomfield method will work, i.e., planks of wood and a cement mixer.

The Trust can be tasked with funding the extended North side. The fans managed to fund a whole new stadium in 1955 so this North bank extension must be fundable by the fans.

I like your idea.

you have put a lot of thought into your design.
would not know how much it would cost, but I like your idea all the same.

I would have thought that it would not cost to much to dismantle the south stand, as most of that is steel framing, most demolition companies when quoting will allow in their costs the scrap value and lower their costs accordingly to win the work.

The blue and yellow seats from the south stand can be recycled and reused into one of the new stands.

just my onions.

 

[BEERMONSTER]

I do admire the persistent of the view about turning the pitch in the face of the 'experienced' knowledge previously shared as to the non practicalities involved. Reminds me of those that insisted the earth was flat, some still do, but each to his own. It is obvious the Consortium want to make improvements to RH in a considered, financially viable manner. Let's be honest there are plenty of quick wins that can be achieved around fan experience in regards to basic facilities, catering and corporate. Structural change to stands will happen, some will be more invasive than others and appropriate to ensuring we are compliant with EFL requirements, as a return to that level will be a focus from day one of official new ownership. RH is being offered an extension of life that will be fit for purpose for the here and now and hopefully a few years to come. Who knows what the future holds, as years go by the local surrounding area may be subject changes in its demographics which may offer opportunity for development if required. All we can hope for is that the Club has started a journey of always being able to move forward because the agenda of it's Custodians is one of improvement geared to financial stability and realism.

 

[Crowstone Crevette]

@BluBayou please see #44 which includes a link to the site plan of RH.

 

[South Bank Hank]

On the cost front - how much is the east stand insured for?

Either way, do you think we’re up to date on building insurance premiums?

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

https://democracy.southend.gov.uk/documents/s46968/1. Existing Site Plan 1-500 - 2188-00-DR-0001 rev P02.pdf

If you get a bit of paper or something and get it to the length of the pitch. Then rotate East to West as BluBayou says, with the pitch starting at the West Stand, then you have to take out the East stand to fit the pitch in. So you would have to build a new East Stand encroaching on the car park. Then you need space for supporters to enter that stand. So it would take up about half the car park. Not a good idea in my opinion.

 

[Crowstone Crevette]

@THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK the RH footprint is still not wide enough to comfortably allow for a 90° shift. The land marked up as 25 Roots Hall Avenue on the site plan would need to be purchased and even then ot would be tight. I would have thought levelling the site would make the whole scheme financially prohibitive not to mention the cost of a new East Stand, a new South Stand and in reality new West and North stands as well.

 

[jnl]

@BluBayou please see #44 which includes a link to the site plan of RH.

I've just had a look at the site plan. To me it appears that a big part of the South Stand actually falls outside of the site. I'm assuming that the red line is accurate.

 

[Crowstone Crevette]

I've just had a look at the site plan. To me it appears that a big part of the South Stand actually falls outside of the site. I'm assuming that the red line is accurate.

Yes that has been commented on before. Im sure Uncle Vic knew what he was doing!?

 

[Smiffy]

Feel free to carry on discussing rotating the pitch as you wish. However, please do bear in mind an industry professional has already mentioned that it’s likely not feasible either for space or cost reasons.

 

[jnl]

Yes that has been commented on before. Im sure Uncle Vic knew what he was doing!?

Makes him an even bigger #### than I thought he was. Maybe we will not be allowed to do much at all with the South Stand if we don't own much of the land it stands on.

 

[Crowstone Crevette]

Feel free to carry on discussing rotating the pitch as you wish. However, please do bear in mind an industry professional has already mentioned that it’s likely not feasible either for space or cost reasons.

Has rotating it 180° been thought of?

 

[leeblue]

THE PITCH

There is ample room to extend the existing North Bank structure. There would be more space behind an extended North Bank than there is behind the existing North bank foot print !. I'm not talking about building a new North Bank stand.

Also, the position of the new south side pitch line would run in a line extending from the existing Shakespeare drive entrance. There is ample room behind that line to build a new South Side stand.

View attachment 29739

The cost would be immense

 

[BriggBlue]

@THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK the RH footprint is still not wide enough to comfortably allow for a 90° shift. The land marked up as 25 Roots Hall Avenue on the site plan would need to be purchased and even then ot would be tight. I would have thought levelling the site would put the whole scheme financially prohibitive not to mention a new East Stand, a new South Stand and in reality new West and North stands as well.

Looking at that plot again, no 25 could restrict moving the ground east by a distance significant enough to make improvements to the west feasible.

Anyone know who owns that land?

 

[BluBayou]

THE PITCH

The cost would be immense

The costs of what I'm proposing are made up of:

The building of a simple East End stand largely consisting of cement on an earth bank, like the old South bank

Laying one third of a football pitch.

Dismantling the South stand structure. This would be nothing like as expensive as demolishing the concrete East Stand.

Converting the West and North to safe standing. Even this is optional.

The sum of the above is not a huge cost.

The cost of demolishing the East stand and building a new main stand doesn't count because it is already discussed widely on SZ and accepted as necessary. The validity of what I propose should be judged only on the additional costs listed above.

 

[BluBayou]

This would be the result. The new East End plot is based on the 2,900 capacity Oxford Utd East Stand. The depth of the new South Side stand is based on the 5,026 capacity Oxford Utd North Stand. Their stand is shorter than our pitch length so the 5,500 capacity I suggested could be achievable.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

This would be the result. The new East End plot is based on the 2,900 capacity Oxford Utd East Stand. The depth of the new South Side stand is based on the 5,026 capacity Oxford Utd North Stand. Their stand is shorter than our pitch length so the 5,500 capacity I suggested could be achievable.

View attachment 29742

Like I said, the new East Stand would take up some of the car park. And then you need fans space to enter the new East Stand, taking up even more of the car park than your example shows. It just doesn't work.

 

[Tommy2holes]

Ultimately. As long as character remains, the ground becomes more self sufficient with a capacity of around 13-16k then we should be just fine in tiers 2-5.

At the moment. We have a reduced capacity of around 10k max (if that!)

The facilities are absolutely shocking and the ground is bordering on being closed for health and safety.

That all needs to change.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Ultimately. As long as character remains, the ground becomes more self sufficient with a capacity of around 13-16k then we should be just fine in tiers 2-5.

At the moment. We have a reduced capacity of around 10k max (if that!)

The facilities are absolutely shocking and the ground is bordering on being closed for health and safety.

That all needs to change.

What did you think of my idea of knocking down and building a new stand about every 5 years if possible financially?

 

[BluBayou]

if No 25 ever comes up for sale we should have the foresight to buy it. We can always sell it later once the final design of RH has been settled.

It doesn't look an expensive pad.