Wolves eye date for Molineux revamp
Thursday 24th June 2010, 11:30AM BST.
Wolves owner Steve Morgan hopes to decide when to start the £40million Molineux redevelopment early in the New Year.
Speaking publicly about his ambitious plans to transform Molineux for the first time, the multi-millionaire chairman has the key task of deciding when to “push the button” before work can begin on a new Stan Cullis Stand next summer.
While admitting relegation would force a rethink, Morgan is anxious to start the work that could see the capacity rise to 38,000 with three new stands and two corners filled in.
He said: “We can’t wait until the end of the season because there are a lot of materials that need to be procured well in advance and contractors need to be lined up.
“So at some point early in the new year, we have to press the button. Relegation could happen and we may have to take a decision if it did happen, as to whether we start it or not.”
Morgan stressed an early start would be cheaper while prices are low.
He said: “The advantage about doing it now is that prices in the construction industry are about as low as they’re going to get. So it’s a good time to do it.
“If the economy really starts to pick up in two or three years’ time, everything will go up, and it doesn’t go up by two or three per cent, it goes up by 15 or 20 per cent in the industry.”
But Morgan is cautious about looking too far ahead and whether the fourth phase – taking the capacity to 50,000 – will be completed.
He said: “I shy away from headlines saying ‘Wolves to build a 50,000 stadium’ because although I’d love to get there, we might stop at 36,000.
“We’ll decide when we get there.”
Morgan re-assured fans the £15million for Phase One – a new North Bank including megastore and club museum – was already in place.
He said: “We’ve already put the funds for that stand to one side.”
But Morgan admitted some borrowing would be needed for Phases Two and Three – a new Steve Bull Stand and South Bank and corner linking them.
He said: “We absolutely 100 per cent categorically won’t be ‘hocking’ the club to do anything.
“If we have borrowings, they will be manageable. We will continue to manage the club in a proper, prudent manner.”
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If they fill all the corners in, how will the team bus get on the Wolves goalline?
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This is one of those instances where its good to have a chairman from the construction industry. He will know what to do and how to do it whilst remaining financially stable. Im guessing if were mid table come January with 30+ points he will give the go ahead as we would probably avoid relegation, if were rock bottom, the plans would be scrapped. Which is once again sensible thinking from the chairman and everyone involved behindf the scenes with the club.
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Often criticised on here… this Guy has made a transformational difference to the direction of this Club( with his quiet behind the scenes actions rather than just mere words)
He is a winner and a successful self made businessman of the modern era .. and we are reaping the rewards of that ..whether that is the most proactive pre season in our history, or the long term planning that is now starting to become ‘real’
We can now truly believe that long term we can again be a major sustainable force in English football.
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Don’t put our club in debt, leave it as it is for the next few seasons. When we have enough money in the bank then rebuild.
Lets be honest, we don’t really need to expand at the moment. There were a few empty seats last season, with the exception of games against the top 6 or 7 teams.
Lets keep building a decent Premier League team.
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This article should dispel any concerns that some fans may have had regarding his committment to WWFC.
Lets hope that we start the next season positively and that Steve Morgan can press the button early in January.
At the moment we seem to be only hearing good news coming out of Molineux. Long may it continue!
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Things are certainly moving in a positive and exciting direction. The plans look great for the stadium and the way that we are attracting the players ahead of other teams is refreshing. Spot on Mr Morgan.
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I have to say to stop at 36,000 and not do the 4th phase will make molinuex lop sided. I think over the next 3 years the team will have to challenge the top half of the division on a more consistant basis for the whole development to be concluded because otherwise it will look like stoke!!
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If and when it happens, can we employ local people where possible.
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Obviously this is fantastic for the club, but putting comments on here aimed at the players and staff is ridiculous! Do you believe that they read your comments, and act upon them!
Be real!
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8) Excellent shout there, Wise Wolf! If it’s financially prudent/viable to do so, it would be wonderful to think that the money involved will stay within the county/region to aid the local economy.
As for the 4th phase and Molineux looking lop-sided without it – well, let’s get there first eh? If we’re not regularly packing at 36,000 seater stadium then it would seem crazy to spend a further wedge creating 14,000 new seats we don’t need.
On the signings front, good to see us signing so many players with such excellent first names! ;)
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Ambitious it might be….reality?…well lets hope so, for far too long now wolves have been punching below their weight, lets hope we can sustain our premier league status and become a permanant fixture, a team and a stadium that even the big boys will fear coming too! up the wolves.
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Bigger grounds + smaller admission price = bigger attendance = Increasing fan base = More revenue = More profit.
Please Bear this in mind Mr Moxey if you want it filled!
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Warren, are you the bus driver;)?
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No 1..
50% success rate of staying in the prem,wud you mind telling me what Albion is?? As we were getting 28,000+ in the championship playing against teams like Barnsley etc and last season was a total sell out EVERY game despite cheapest season tickets unless( early bird) being over£500, we need this new stadium as our fan base is world wide we are having to turn fans away.. The stadium looks amazing by far the best in the midlands.every player we have gone for in close season has picked wolves over other clubs including Albion.
We stayed up with a good finishing place,Best times at the club for the last 25 years But don’t be bitter no1 you do have graham dorrens after all..
Hhhhoooowwwwlllll
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No 8. to be honest i would be happy to commute from China on a daily basis to do the labouring.
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wise words from the wise wolf..
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4) Rudolph. Now read the last two paragraphs again. Surely that is pretty easy to understand….eh ?
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1)Warren. That joke is worn out and it wasn’t really very funny in the first place.
Unlike a succession of Albion managers, Mick McCarthy had the guile and intelligence to put together a defensive shield that not only worked and kept us in the Premiership, but won the admiration of the professionals we all listen to and read.
Now the development of Molineux is something that is obviously making your dark blue stripes go green, but, hold on !…you have something a lot more serious to address.
A Premiership season awaits.
Wolves are moving up a gear with some astute signings, meanwhile back on the Soho Road….well there isn’t actually a queue of quality footballers with pens in hands is there?
Surely JP and all you baggiepeople have learned from past mistakes, you ain’t gonna survive with a Championship runners up side.
What was that about a bus ?
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The molinuex is only 20yrs old since last modernised and we are re-developing again,thanks mr morga.sandwell town ,vile park,and the blouses when was the last time they was re-developed,even the saddlers have a more up to date stadium than you lot.lol..utw king of the midlands.
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wise words from steve morgan about the redevelopment,i hope this goes ahead but only if we are safe in mid table and 40+points.i would hate to be in the championship with a 36000 seater stadia and it only being half full.
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These are plans MORGAN get on with them and when the work starts thats when the progress is made.Talk is talk at the end of the day.
Wolves fans dont need to be sold stories as wolves fans will always remain wolves fans.
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PF Wolf
You wouldn’t be slightly biased with that stadium comparison would you? I think Villa would have something to say about that.
Even number 4 concedes you didn’t sell out every game last season at home (Birmingham being one off the top of my head, play-off semi against us being another from a few years back).
Your 50% is absolutely meaningless. I could say we’ve spent 40% of the last 10 seasons in the Prem compared to your 20%. The truth is, both of them mean absolutely nothing when next season comes around.
“Best times at the club for the last 25 years”- that’s not difficult when you’re comparing it to 3,000 at home vs Bury in division 4.
My bus post was a wind-up (13 Hussain- I think the driver’s name is Mick), but I think you’re being a little delusional with the worldwide, turning fans away rubbish. Albion and Wolves are both small fry in today’s world until either of us is regularly challenging for trophies.
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Eastwood
Don’t you worry about our signings, more will come before the season starts.
I applaud what MM has done at your place- magnificent job. I applaud your stadium plans and genuinely hope we have a Midlands top-flight for some time, but I think a few of you Wulfs are getting ahead of yourselves.
Championship runners-up we may have been, but we gained more points, scored more goals and conceded less than you did the previous season (what was that about our dodgy defence?).
It’ll be more of a dogfight for you boys this year than it was last!!
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webby wolf:
Villa – The Trinity Road Stand 2001
Blues – Railway End 1999
Albion – East Stand 2001
Walsall – Floors-2-Go Stand 2003
All have redeveloped there stadiums since we last did. But I admit they are all ugly misfit stands.
I know people have doubts because we don’t fill the ground we have apart from the odd few games. The key is for those odd few games how many more tickets can we sell. We sold out almost every game last time we were in the premiership. Those fans are still around I just imagine they can’t afford it week in week out any more. Back then I knew of loads of people who wanted to go but couldn’t get tickets.
Also over the past 10-15 years since the introduction of supporters number the club will have built up an s substantial database of who our fans are how many fans we really have and how many / which games they go to. They wouldn’t commit to something like this if we only had 30000 fans.
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Don’t worry about filling the ground – Our home attendance rating for last season was 97% – The seventh best in the league.
We are never going to get 100% as you need the away team to take all their allocation and with the likes of B’ham, Blackburn, Wigan etc that’s not going to happen. You also have segregation areas where seats can’t be sold.
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36,000 is nothing, particulary if we increase the away allocation. We took 50,000 to the Sherpa Van final when we were in the fourth division in 86. It was impossible to get a ticket last season unless you wanted to pay £40+ in the Billy Wright and even then you were lucky.
Playing in the big league, we can fill this new ground week in week out no problem.
This is what us Wolves fans know and our rivals are to jealous to accept. The Villa are well supported but when they are losing, you dont see there fans for dust. Fact, Blues and Albion have nowhere near the fanbase Wolves have, if they have ive never seen it, they are both probably punching above their weight already, ok their attendances are only slightly less than ours at the moment , but i remember Albion and Blues average gates in the old Div 2 and when we were winning the Leagues with Bully, with just 2 stands open at Molineux we had bigger attendances in Div 3 & 4.
The potential at Molineux is massive absolutely massive, up and down the country, on TV, even abroad, people always comment on how big a club we are. Of course more success brings more fans, but some clubs just dont have the potential Wolves have, only a handful do. Now we are growing in a mature and steady way and it suits us, we mean business, our stadium will look the business, our fans are the business, we just need to do the business on the pitch and all our potential will be forfilled.
Going from strenght to strenght the MMM way.
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Warren
I presume your stats are correct, re your perfomance last season, cant be bothered to check them to be honest.
But that just goes to prove that the fizzy pop league wasnt as strong as it was the year before, I.e teams taking points off each other.
Shot yourself in the foot there, smartypants!!!!
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Would this mean that Molineux would be considered a world cup venue for England’s proposed bid?
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28. unfortunatly the minimum required for a world cup venue is 40,000 all seating even if we had 40,000 wolves are to late to bid as the host cities have already been chosen.
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Bertie, How many times have you heard before’ the debts will be manageable’.Steve Morgan looks the business,but Rudolf makes a good point.It amazes me how values have changed.These days people seem more interested in shiny stadiums and club shirts ruined by a sponsors logo.How about the Cowshed end in the fifties ,three top flight Championships,two FA cups and a victory against Real Madrid.I just missed out on all that,but I would rather we tried to do it again and then build another stadium.And most of the money these days folks comes from Sky not season tickets.
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Just want to say a big thank you to Liverpool for not getting Mr Morgan on board.Also to the great Sir Jack for always wanting the best for the club.Really think we are stepping in the right direction now but must be patient Rome was not built in a day.
KEEP THE FAITH
UTW
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In the late 70′s we built at the wrong economic time and went bankrupt. Now is the right time and with respect I would certainly trust someone like Morgan than most of you. We need to speculate to accumulate, that is how a strong business gets stronger, but the timing is the most important part.
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Sir Lupi
All I can say is …..
Superb!
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The stadium plans are exciting news to hear! With the young & exciting squad being assembled, then what better settings to given to them to perform in.the future looks good, the future is golden!Cmon
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I´m not anywere as wealthy as Steve Morgan..that fact aside..I am wealthy enough to retire tomorrow!
To what?
It is not the end of the journey that`s worth while..it is the journey itself that is worth all the hussle.It really is.
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I am really concerbed about this. Borrowing at this curr4ent time is madness. No matter how manageable.
I am also concerned about how the Billy Wright will look. THe pitch is moving towards the southbank and closer to the Steve Bull. The Billy Wirght will look like a seperate building.
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We took 50,000 to the Sherpa final for God’s sake. If we continue our evolution in the manner of progress considering the last three years then we will be pushing the top ten well. I don’t doubt that Wolves fans across the region and the world will want to be a part of this. From top to bottom,the club is in the best hands it has been in eon’s. Embrace the future dear fellows and wenches. The Wolves are making a return to their rightful place.
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Sir lupi excellent post mate I could not agree more, I have a season ticket in the southbank and I did not see one spare seat all season apart from in the away ends, I could not believe that Chelsea didn’t fill theIr away end, I saw a few spare seats that they had not taken up. Anyone who says mol wasn’t full in the home ends EVERY game last season must have listened to the game on brmb (Albion station). What we must remember also is blues are the 2nd city of England,had a brilliant season,their tickets are £20 a prem game and despite all this their ave gate was £20,000. Compare that to the size of Wolverhampton,our ticket prices&our crowds.
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I cannot remember a better and more optimistic time to be a Wolves fan…
After all the angst of Dave Jones Prem season and then Glen Hoddell(OMG)I now hold my head proud.
I lived in Hong Kong for 10 years and I will travel from Asia to be at the new Molineux.
I will team with #15, Far East Wolf, and we get a group together, there are diehard Wolves fans everywhere…UTW
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30) Chris Hoggard. Late fifties ? Well I was in the middle of it, and rather than the Cowshed End (only remember North and South Banks, and stood on both), Molineux of that era would be remembered for the Dog Kennel stand.
Not that that makes me an expert on football investment, but, in my humble opinion development of the stadium and gradually building a successful team go hand in hand.
I would trust Steve Morgan with his construction background and business acumen rather than the local shopkeepers who built the John Ireland stand and sent us into a downward spiral.
In truth, history will be our judge, but if you want to see Wolves crowned as Champions at our ground (Preston 2-0 1958)then you must support our board in their plans.
We all know that Sky hold the Premiership purse strings and I sometimes wonder if them withdrawing their cash would be a good thing, but, we have to live with it. The shirt logos are a necessary income (how brave are Randy Lerner’s Villa ?)just as our season ticket money is. As for shiny stadiums. Do you really want to go back to the days of wooden cow sheds, disgusting toilets and bovril ?
(Terraces ? now that’s a different question !)
Football is just a reflection of life. There are those who want to progress and there are those who prefer stability. They feel safe staying in their comfort zone and let others take the forward steps. Nothing wrong with either.
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Is Sir Lupi actually being serious? The same Wolves who used to average 3,000 in div four?? Massive club.
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#41 dinglespotter
Actually, Wolves averaged 5754 in 86-87 and 9,854 in 87-88.
Nothing spectacular about either of those numbers, and happily for you we can only speculate as to what crowds the Baggies would get if they were broke, in the lowest division, with a derelict stadium at a time of record unemployment.
But that was then, and this is now.
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Sirlupi and many other posts are right we are a big club. I travel the world and meet Wolves fans all the time. Yes we might be old but we pass on the passion. There is something about our club that the likes of clubs like Chelsea can never have. Its a culture and a real history that has touched so many people.
I have a feeling that we are on the brink of something special yet again. Football is changing – just think Ballack and Cole thrown out of Chelsea beacause they won’t pay their demands!! Liverpool , Man U and many others burdened by debts and we are debt free. We have a management that seems to understand that and yet prepared to invest in the squad in the right way. Lets compete next year in mid-table – build the belief and confidence and then set the targets higher as the others flounder. The support is there – old gold and black is in the blood – is there a better colour combination.
Just to show how big we are the wolves website is in the top 10 of the most visited football club websites in the world. Thats the new power which the club should now harness and make the club a real world power. Off now to watch Spain get beat by Chile.
We are Wolves.
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Bertie, I am sure you know as well as me,ground redevelopments are fraught with risks.You tell me where you where in 58,but what about
’86 and ’87 where you there among all the empty seats in the John Ireland.They were full of fancy ideas when they built that stand.Truth is we are owned by a very successful builder and inevitably he was going to rebuild Molineux or build a new stadium.Very few teams have successfully rebuilt stadiums and also improved on the pitch.It is a dream that is very rarely achieved.For years we were told we had an advantage over other clubs because we had already rebuilt our ground,now that advantage is going to be lost.Maybe Steve Morgan will pull it off,but history is not on his side.
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Sorry Bertie I put at least one h in the wrong place,but I am sure you get the drift.I did remember from previous comments that you saw the successful 50s team.Point is a lot of those fans who buy replica shirts have not really seen a decent Wolves side yet.
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Bertie, what’s wrong with Bovril?
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42 greywolf, please dont respond with facts, it only confuses them from handsworth!
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