Is the north stand coming with us to Westgate?

[Wild Bill]

We heard rumours about it when the design came out. I hope they can find a cost effective way to move it to the new stadium as it would really give us the advantage in big matches in the future.

[Christies Child]

Just as long it doesn't look like a dogs dinner when it's up.

If it blends in with the rest of the stadium OK but if it looks out of place.....ugh!

[thegentlegiant]

i heard that they scraped plans to move part of the stadium due to costs!!!

[Heysham_Shrimp]

If you think about it logistically we can't take the North Stand to Westgate.

We are going to be playing at Christie Park until May 2010 when we hand it over to Sainsburys and the new stadium is due to open for business the following month.

Also the cost of dismantling it without damage and transporting it and then assembling it would be more than to build a new stand.

And as Christies Child has mentioned above it would look like a sore thumb if it is a different design to the rest of the stadium.

[sgt major]

As long as it doesnt look like Chesters ground we will be okay

[durhamshrimp]

I wouldn't mind it looking different to the rest. Adds a bit of character when all 4 stands have a different look.

[glagys]

well when all the news broke on tuesday i'm sure there was a Granada reports reporter stood on the stand and stated that it would be going to westgate

perhaps someone else remembers it

[shrimps]

it would be good to take it with us because we will have sometihing to remember from christie park

[Wild Bill]

Many clubs have moved stands to their new grounds. Northwich and Forest Green spring to mind. The terraces themselves are made from strips of concrete bolted to steel frames; so I am sure some if not all of it can be reused.

Last game will be in May, which gives 3 months to get it built up again down the road. All the ground work could be done before, so I recon it would take only a matter of weeks to get it put together.

Having a slightly different stand will hopefully make the new ground look less like some other recently built stadiums.

[Harry]

Not bothered if the stand itself comes to the new stadium, but I'd hate for the new home end to be smaller than currently.

Anyway, looking at the plans it will be the West Stand season after next

[Martin]

Were they not carrying out acoustic tests some months back? That would suggest that there's an effort to, if not transport the North Stand to Westgate, at least try and incorporate a stand of a similar feel into the plans for the new stadium.

I think the Board are aware of the fans' desire to keep the special atmosphere the North Stand generates and will try to achieve that if possible and practical.

[Gnasher]

They wouldn't need to do acoustic tests if we were taking it with us

[John L]

I'd rather it wasn't moved. If we're getting a new stadium, it should be totally new. As CC rightly fears, it could stick out like a sore thumb!

[marky]

I agree. I mean I'd love the paddock to come with us but it ain't gonna happen and nor should it. It's a new stadium and a new beginning.

[Martin]

Ideally I'd like to see a 'home' end that is as close as possible to the size and feel of the North Stand whilst fitting in with the design of the rest of the stadium. I certainly don't want to see something like Chester where it's about six rows deep and you'd bang your head on the roof every time we score!

[morecambe mick]

I think logistically/timescale it may difficult to move the stand.

I believe that many of the people who currently stand in the North Stand, especially the fans who occupy the outer edges, may move to the sides of the ground even if we did take the whole North Stand.

This would then make that particular stand look empty on match days, would that be counter productive?
Perhaps, a smaller, copy of the home end. With it being smaller could it possibly bring the singers into a tighter group helping to make more noise?

I trust the board to look after us.

[Burnley Shrimp]

Seems a crying shame to waste approximately half a miilion pounds worth of stand when it's less than 10 years old!

If it's feasible to move it, hows about placing it down the side opposite the new main stand and putting seats in it? It could also contain an area for the TV companies at the rear thereby looking across at the new main stand when footage is shown on TV. It could also be cosmetically altered if required (new cladding etc') to blend in with the new stadium design.

We could then keep the North Stand albeit in a new guise and also have a brand new home end, hopefully complete with a bar and refreshment facilities inside, warm, with TV's and the like, just like it used to be going in JB's before the game and at half time.

[Christies Child]

Taking into consideration the cost of dismantling; shipping and then re-building I can't see the logic in it.

I'm sure the Board want to re-create the atmosphere of the current North Stand but maybe not to hold as many, as I would expect some who now use it, to migrate to the new covered areas along the sides.

The new North Stand will be better for atmosphere if full (?) than only partially as of now.

The current plans allow for 2465 in the home end and 1102 in the away, although those figures may have been revised since the original plans were posted on the New Stadium site.

[campdave]

The new North Stand will be better for atmosphere if full (?) than only partially as of now.

Sorry, I've no idea what you mean by that - are you assuming the new "North Stand" will be fuller than the current one?

[sandgrown]

I certainly don't want to see something like Chester where it's about six rows deep and you'd bang your head on the roof every time we score!

yes that is the worry, if it were it would be a backward step IMO, Barnet I think, planned to take their stand with them, so it must be cost effective, so why can't we ?

[Hodgie]

When did Barnet move grounds?

[morecambe mick]

The new North Stand will be better for atmosphere if full (?) than only partially as of now.

Sorry, I've no idea what you mean by that - are you assuming the new "North Stand" will be fuller than the current one?

I think he means that if the "home end" is smaller it would be fuller, and therefore create more atmosphere because he , as I, believe that a lot of the current occupiers will migrate to different stands.

[ezz]

The new North Stand will be better for atmosphere if full (?) than only partially as of now.

Sorry, I've no idea what you mean by that - are you assuming the new "North Stand" will be fuller than the current one?

I think he means that if the "home end" is smaller it would be fuller, and therefore create more atmosphere because he , as I, believe that a lot of the current occupiers will migrate to different stands.

Thats how I interpreted it, it does make sense. The North stand immense as it is only really geneates a super atmosphere when we have big matches like play-offs, cup matches or Stanely etc. Apart from that it is too big for the amount of people standing in it, with less space everyone would have to stand closer to each other and those who are on the outskirts may be more enticed to join in with the singing. As we understand it will hold around the same capacity as Christie and surely the car wash side will hold less than what it will in the new stadium so somewhere in the ground has to compensate.
I'd like a larger home end, but it would look silly if it is half empty when the smaller away end is packed out.

[RedRedWine1]

Northwich Victoria moved one of there stands from their former home (Drill Field) to their new stadium (Victoria Park, which they currently can't use, another story).

Why MUST? it be cost effective for us to move a stand from one location to another? Are you a certified engineer? What works for one club, might not necessarily work for another financially or logistically. In short nobody knows what the costs would be, assumption is a dangerous tool. The conditions for all you know could be completely different.

[Gnasher]

I don't know the logistics of the other stands that have been moved but look at the facts of the north stand. Primarily brick, not the easiest material to dismantle and rebuild in a short space of time. If it were to be moved, it would have to be started before the end of the 2009/10 season, where would you put the majority of the supporters with the north stand closed? No doubt a large chunk of the car park would have to be closed as well.

There's also the shark tank under the north stand that feeds the sprinklers, that would have to be dismantled first (either to be sold or moved).

I don't think it's in the clubs plans to move it, the stand capacities at the new ground don't match the capacity of the north stand.