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Post by edinburghhatter on Jul 25, 2020 11:46:22 GMT
Yes. But the odd-shaped area right next to the bowling green (and immediately behind the Railway end/Pop Side corner of EP), originally shown as the site of a block of several flats, no longer appears on the Stockport Homes plans.
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TC
Contributor
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Post by TC on Jul 25, 2020 11:49:28 GMT
All this talk about redeveloping EP is interesting but seems a bit premature whilst the club are still tenants. I've not heard anything about a sale from the council to the club so can only assume negotiating are taking place. Yes! Ownership of EP and (crucially) the land behind the Railway end is key to any redevelopment.
It doesn't actually have to be sole ownership by one party... it could be a partnership development, a prestigious win-win for both the club and the Council. Maybe depends how desperate the Council are to get their money back: although the £2 million they are alleged to have paid for EP is of course not to be sniffed at, in today's financial climate it's relative chicken feed. Can't help feeling Mr Covid may also have played a role in this saga, one way or another.
But until the ownership question is sorted, everything else (on here at least!) is necessarily just speculation. I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that the club will tell us when they have something concrete to say, and not before.
IIRC, the council stated that they didn't see EP as a long term investment and would be looking to offload it asap. Things may have changed of course but I imagine they see Mark Stott as a purchaser they could trust.
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Post by CB1883 on Jul 25, 2020 11:54:04 GMT
I heard that they were completely changing the concourse under the CE. Instead of mile long queues there would be loads of little outlets. For example; Burger stand - burgers and soft drinks, Pie Stand - pies, mash, gravy, peas etc. Sweet stands, bars etc. I think that's much better the what we had last year but to be fair, it couldn't have been worse! Not sure we have the space for that. IMO what is/was needed is a better catering franchise with a post office type queuing system, as it’s been before you could never work out which was the best way to queue up. Makes sense to allow online ordering. Food would then be paid for before you get to the kiosk meaning time saved. Get to the front, show them your ‘receipt’ or a QR code etc and they get your food. No messing about that way and in my head would speed things up massively. Effectively becomes a click and collect service rather than oddballs getting to the front and still not actually knowing what they want which really grinds my gears! |
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Post by furballxl5 on Jul 25, 2020 12:19:06 GMT
In the late nineties I was on a tour at EP given by Steve Bellis and he said they had made plans to redevelop the main stand, railway end and Vernon into one continuous stand that would be two tier in places, matching the Cheadle End but not joining it. I’ve since heard people say they’ve seen these drawings but I’m surprised they’ve never appeared online in any form, especially as they’ll be long since obsolete.
Can anyone shed any light?
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Post by edinburghhatter on Jul 25, 2020 13:13:03 GMT
In the late nineties I was on a tour at EP given by Steve Bellis and he said they had made plans to redevelop the main stand, railway end and Vernon into one continuous stand that would be two tier in places, matching the Cheadle End but not joining it. I’ve since heard people say they’ve seen these drawings but I’m surprised they’ve never appeared online in any form, especially as they’ll be long since obsolete. Can anyone shed any light? Brendan Ellwood published plans around 2000 for a large seated stand at the Railway end, which was also to have incorporated a gym or sports centre, new changing rooms (I think) and definitely a hotel, with rooms facing the pitch (above the seats) which could double as executive boxes. An interesting idea! Somewhere, I think I have a copy of the design, which if it comes to light I will post here.
However, nothing materialised in the end as a bid for Millennium funding was unsuccessful and there was even then talk of the club being stymied by the demands of the owners of the land behind the Railway end.
![]() Update: I have now found a print-out from the official club website in 1998, which broadly confirms the above (though, for some reason, this site won't let me post the scanned images). Interestingly, the doc refers to the whole of the Booth Street site as being potentially available, which is obviously not the case now, and one D. Jolley thanks the BOWLING club for their cooperation. Was/is the bowling club a separate entity from the LABOUR club? I seem to remember talk of the bowling green being moved. It's a bit scary to realise all this was being talked about 22 years ago, but nothing ever happened as a result! |
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Post by timberwolf on Jul 26, 2020 9:25:07 GMT
how much land is there now behind the RE and pop side that can be used by us for larger stands. looks like a big drop from the back of the pop but its more of a guess than actually knowledge. as for the barrow cover, it seems like a bad chice between having pop side type pillers ontop of the modern high roof where half the rows will be affected by rain if it blows that way.
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Post by BWScarf on Jul 26, 2020 10:07:34 GMT
If we wanted to create the sense of an enclosed bowl, I think we’d be better connecting the Cheadle End, Pop Side and Railway End. The Main Stand is iconic and, aside from having a non-lethal roof put on it, should probably be left alone (or at the very least, the façade should be left alone).
Having a stand that straddles the middle 2/3 of the pitch might seem odd, but it’s a piece of cultural heritage, unique to stadiums in this part of the world built in the mid-20th century. It’d be a massive shame to lose it for the sake of a few hundred seats.
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Post by timberwolf on Jul 26, 2020 10:20:46 GMT
Having a stand that straddles the middle 2/3 of the pitch might seem odd, but it’s a piece of cultural heritage, unique to stadiums in this part of the world built in the mid-20th century. It’d be a massive shame to lose it for the sake of a few hundred seats. agree. there are a number of clubs who have a main stand of similar proportions as we have and are much newer. making it the full lenth of the pitch would cause extra expense for getting in and out of the CE. we need a bigger ground but not too big where the ground could actually lose its atmosphere if less than half full. it wasn,t great when we were down to sub 2500 crowds not too long ago. |
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Post by edinburghhatter on Jul 26, 2020 10:39:30 GMT
If we wanted to create the sense of an enclosed bowl, I think we’d be better connecting the Cheadle End, Pop Side and Railway End. The Main Stand is iconic and, aside from having a non-lethal roof put on it, should probably be left alone (or at the very least, the façade should be left alone). Having a stand that straddles the middle 2/3 of the pitch might seem odd, but it’s a piece of cultural heritage, unique to stadiums in this part of the world built in the mid-20th century. It’d be a massive shame to lose it for the sake of a few hundred seats. Yes... but there is absolutely NO need to lose it. The stand as it is does have its flaws. It clearly needs a new roof (not simply recladding, IMHO), using modern materials which are generally much lighter in weight, and sympathetically designed. Clear the modern buildings that were built at both ends, add an extra bay at either end with sensibly-designed toilet and refreshment provision and you have the best of both worlds: a modernised stand with a pretty decent view (and better legroom than most!). Plus you wouldn't have the unusable seats with obstructed views at the west end that is currently the case. You'd end up with at least 800 more seats, and for surely much less than the cost of a complete 3000 seat rebuild. And for a more radical twist, how about building in a row of corporate boxes along where the top 3 or 4 rows are now? It's not as though there won't be plenty of alternative seats for those who like a side view, when the Pop side gets done. Just a thought. |
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Post by kingkev on Jul 26, 2020 10:45:36 GMT
The story I heard from someone supposedly ITK, was of a modernisation of the main stand, new roof, seating etc but keeping as much of the old facade as possible. This tho would be phase 2 following on from a brand new stand on the popside. With a new main entrance, changing rooms, bars, offices etc etc.
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Post by edinburghhatter on Jul 26, 2020 11:06:15 GMT
The story I heard from someone supposedly ITK, was of a modernisation of the main stand, new roof, seating etc but keeping as much of the old facade as possible. This tho would be phase 2 following on from a brand new stand on the popside. With a new main entrance, changing rooms, bars, offices etc etc. Sounds like a plan! Moving the changing rooms, crowd control box, etc to any new stand (and I include the Railway end here!) would open up a lot of space for sympathetic remodelling/extension. And this doesn't need to have any impact on access to the Cheadle end either: you'd maybe need to leave out the front 2 or 3 rows right at each end of any extension to allow access. Not rocket science! Linking the stands would I think be a problem, except at the Railway/Pop corner. And the Cheadle end is probably a non-starter for linking, on account of the goalpost roof design. |
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