Main Stand?

[oldham57]

My theory is the new bar opening to the pitch from the seats removed in the centre of the JR stand is going to be used as a players tunnel and the Ice Station Zebra bar will be player changing rooms while the Main Stand is rebuilt.  I thought this and the building of a new main stand was going to be the big announcement from Frank's son at the forum but we have heard nothing since.  The main stand supporter and player facilities are dreadful and it is long overdue a change

[Hemel latic]

I like to sit side on and much prefer the view from the Main Stand to the Joe Royle, although the leg room is, as others have said, challenging for six footers.  

[LaticMark]

On 10/5/2024 at 6:43 PM, daniel said:

Have you tried the paddock? I’m 6 foot and cannot sit in the upper or i’ll end up with DVT but the paddock has plenty of space and seats are fine. I actually dislike the north stand seats and don’t find them comfy either. Prefer a side view so my preferred seat is towards the back of the paddock. 

 

You also need to sit on one of the back 3 rows of the paddock, otherwise you get wet when it rains!

[GlossopLatic]

Let's face it if we want success in the long term and have any aspirations of competing or getting into the 2nd tier we are going to have to redevelop and expand parts of Boundary Park and the Main stand should be the first step.

 

I've sat in the main stand and facilities are farcically out of date. It does have an elevated view and the red brick farcarde is a nice tribute to Oldhams red brick mill history. But both those things can be replaced and probably enhanced.

 

It could cost us anywhere between 7-10million to knock down design and rebuild depending on what we go for but we are going to have to do it in the long run.

[daniel]

1 hour ago, LaticMark said:

 

You also need to sit on one of the back 3 rows of the paddock, otherwise you get wet when it rains!

Yes, definitely worth a mention. I sit 3 from the back and never get wet. 
Looks like those in the other side stand also share the same issue. 

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

It'll be two promotions before anything happens structurally. Stockport are only looking at expansions and submitting ground developments now they're in L1.

 

It's costly, we don't have the fanbase yet to justify the expansion and if it is replaced, it'll just be a stand and not a 24-7 income generator since that's what the JR stand side will be.

 

When the time comes, I'd love to see a two tier stand similar to Bradford's behind the goal or Loftus Road. I love the feeling you're really on top of the play with those and it contributes to a brilliant atmosphere.

[oafcmb]

40 minutes ago, GlossopLatic said:

Let's face it if we want success in the long term and have any aspirations of competing or getting into the 2nd tier we are going to have to redevelop and expand parts of Boundary Park and the Main stand should be the first step.

 

I've sat in the main stand and facilities are farcically out of date. It does have an elevated view and the red brick farcarde is a nice tribute to Oldhams red brick mill history. But both those things can be replaced and probably enhanced.

 

It could cost us anywhere between 7-10million to knock down design and rebuild depending on what we go for but we are going to have to do it in the long run.

Pointless wasting money on stuff like this when the food is shit and overpriced, Get beat off clubs that dont have stands and a fanbase that is decreasing. Wait until we get into the EFL and then plan for stuff like this. 

[GlossopLatic]

9 minutes ago, oafcmb said:

Pointless wasting money on stuff like this when the food is shit and overpriced, Get beat off clubs that dont have stands and a fanbase that is decreasing. Wait until we get into the EFL and then plan for stuff like this. 

 

Which is probably what will happen but if we are to go through the process of knocking down a stand and rebuilding it then you are looking at it taking a few years from drawing up the designs going through the planning application which itself could be very problematic with houses close by and then demolition and building it.

 

Even If we started on the process now then I still could only see it being completed by 2027 at the very earliest.

[Londonboy]

51 minutes ago, GlossopLatic said:

Let's face it if we want success in the long term and have any aspirations of competing or getting into the 2nd tier we are going to have to redevelop and expand parts of Boundary Park and the Main stand should be the first step.

 

I've sat in the main stand and facilities are farcically out of date. It does have an elevated view and the red brick farcarde is a nice tribute to Oldhams red brick mill history. But both those things can be replaced and probably enhanced.

 

It could cost us anywhere between 7-10million to knock down design and rebuild depending on what we go for but we are going to have to do it in the long run.

Good post and agree with this.

I have not sat in there for over 2 years and then it was an appalling match day experience. May be better now??

Surley though if it's still as bad as it was then a minor tart up of facilities would be a big help in the short to mid term.

Fulhams old main stand is not dissimilar with housing directly behind it, but they have made a nice feature of the brickwork on the exterior and made the inside the best it can be....and yes I know they have cash to burn but like I say nice improvements can be made for not too much cash. 

[DWShamen]

Let's be honest here, if the club wants to start progressing again then we need something better in place of the Main Stand.  Yes, it has character and it has been a part of the club a long time but it's a wreck and should be condemned.

[yarddog73]

5 hours ago, GlossopLatic said:

Let's face it if we want success in the long term and have any aspirations of competing or getting into the 2nd tier we are going to have to redevelop and expand parts of Boundary Park and the Main stand should be the first step.

 

I've sat in the main stand and facilities are farcically out of date. It does have an elevated view and the red brick farcarde is a nice tribute to Oldhams red brick mill history. But both those things can be replaced and probably enhanced.

 

It could cost us anywhere between 7-10million to knock down design and rebuild depending on what we go for but we are going to have to do it in the long run.

Dean Court 11,307 seems to be big enough for Bournemouth, Luton 11,256 was big enough for the Championship and extended to 12,056 for the PL.

 

I dread to think of the experience at the ground if we had crowds like that on a regular basis, couldn't get a drink again Saturday as they didn't have the gas for the ale and then the card machine went down.

[longtimeblue]

21 minutes ago, yarddog73 said:

Dean Court 11,307 seems to be big enough for Bournemouth, Luton 11,256 was big enough for the Championship and extended to 12,056 for the PL.

 

I dread to think of the experience at the ground if we had crowds like that on a regular basis, couldn't get a drink again Saturday as they didn't have the gas for the ale and then the card machine went down.

 

Both of them are getting bigger grounds though.

[DWShamen]

They are both far from big enough.  Both clubs have a much larger demand than their current ground capacities.  Luton's new stadium will hold around 22,000 apparently and Bournemouth are looking for similar.  Sure, they won't fill them in the lower leagues, but in the Premier League there is every chance.

[GlossopLatic]

42 minutes ago, yarddog73 said:

Dean Court 11,307 seems to be big enough for Bournemouth, Luton 11,256 was big enough for the Championship and extended to 12,056 for the PL.

 

I dread to think of the experience at the ground if we had crowds like that on a regular basis, couldn't get a drink again Saturday as they didn't have the gas for the ale and then the card machine went down.

 

Those 2 are the outliers, Luton are finally moving to a ground which will be circa 25000. Take a look at the average attendances in the championship even if we sold out Boundary Park every week we'd still be bottom 3 in the average attendances league. We are a long way from that right now but again we are going to have have a conversation about Boundary Park as a facility at some point soon.

 

Those little fundamentals around catering you mention will ofcourse have to get better, having a better main stand facility will help us with that

[DWShamen]

I have no doubt whatsoever that we could command gates similar to Luton, Bournemouth and certainly Brentford if we were in their position.  Better facilities, like you say, will help with that.

[oafc1955]

Brighton’s average crowds between 1986 & 2011 were only around the 6/7k mark.

Admittedly they shared a non league stadium after the Goldstone ground was bulldozed in 1997.

However attendances went up to 20k+ immediately from 2012 when they moved into the Amex and they have averaged over 30k during their time in the premiership.

Having a good side undoubtedly helps but having 1st class facilities definitely adds to the cause.

If we got to the Championship and built a new main stand I reckon our crowds would probably be better than the last time we were there.

 

The current Championship is now like a mini premiership and the likes of;

 

Sunderland

Sheff Utd

Burnley

West Brom

Leeds

Blackburn 

Derby

Sheff Wed

Stoke

 

would all fill the away end without any problem at all!

Edited October 7 by oafc1955

[GlossopLatic]

24 minutes ago, oafc1955 said:

Brighton’s average crowds between 1986 & 2011 were only around the 6/7k mark.

Admittedly they shared a non league stadium after the Goldstone ground was bulldozed in 1997.

However attendances went up to 20k+ immediately from 2012 when they moved into the Amex and they have averaged over 30k during their time in the premiership.

Having a good side undoubtedly helps but having 1st class facilities definitely adds to the cause.

If we got to the Championship and built a new main stand I reckon our crowds would probably be better than the last time we were there.

 

Just look at Stockport County as an example they used to give us half the ground when they were in L1 now they sell out every week and are getting double what they got the last time they were in L1. We could easily do the same. I'm not sure the Rothwells have the financial clout that the guy at Stockport has, but certainly 2 promotions would definitely increase interest in the club substantially within the Town.

Edited October 7 by GlossopLatic

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

"If we get to the Championship" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this thread. 

[League one forever]

1 hour ago, Frankly Mr Shankly said:

"If we get to the Championship" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this thread. 

Aye. 
 

I’d give my right arm to go back to Bradford and Tranmere at this point. 

[Ackey]

In all of this chatter it's also worth remembering that the Main Stand is a right bastard to fix - it's on a slope (a big slope!), it's tight to the road the entire length, and doubly-tight at the bottom of the hill where the biggest grade change occurs, it's got character that may want (need, if it ever got status) protecting or restoring, it's closest to the houses so making it externally bigger may not be straightforward approval-wise, etc.

 

It needs doing (inside upstairs it was dangerously falling down when I was last in there - best part of 20 years ago!), but it's not like for like with doing the opposite side. It would be a significantly more challenging effort logistically, design-wise, and costs-wise.  Oh and since we built the last one the world nearly ended and everything doubled in price.

 

It's a big ask! 

[disjointed]

41 minutes ago, Ackey said:

In all of this chatter it's also worth remembering that the Main Stand is a right bastard to fix - it's on a slope (a big slope!), it's tight to the road the entire length, and doubly-tight at the bottom of the hill where the biggest grade change occurs, it's got character that may want (need, if it ever got status) protecting or restoring, it's closest to the houses so making it externally bigger may not be straightforward approval-wise, etc.

 

It needs doing (inside upstairs it was dangerously falling down when I was last in there - best part of 20 years ago!), but it's not like for like with doing the opposite side. It would be a significantly more challenging effort logistically, design-wise, and costs-wise.  Oh and since we built the last one the world nearly ended and everything doubled in price.

 

It's a big ask! 

As long as the building externally is safe, wouldn't an internal refit work?   I don't have structural building knowledge so this is guesswork on my part. 

[Ackey]

Just now, disjointed said:

As long as the building externally is safe, wouldn't an internal refit work?   I don't have structural building knowledge so this is guesswork on my part. 

What I saw all those years ago - and I too am a million miles from an expert - I think you'd have to start over. It's crumbling and I suspect any effort to peel back the layers would see the whole thing fall apart. 

[Dave_Og]

My guess would be that if it was ever done we'd have to play elsewhere during construction 

[oafc1955]

1 hour ago, Dave_Og said:

My guess would be that if it was ever done we'd have to play elsewhere during construction 

There’s ways and means these days, construction methods have improved dramatically in recent years.

We could certainly survive in a 3 sided ground for a season or so…we’ve got form for that!

Admittedly there was a bit more access building the new JF stand but that was 30 years ago and it went up in more or less a close season iirc.

[BP1960]

10 hours ago, League one forever said:

Aye. 
 

I’d give my right arm to go back to Bradford and Tranmere at this point. 

 

Why do people never offer to give their left arm?