Wolves fans ready for move in new stadium
Saturday 29th May 2010, 11:29AM BST.
Wolves are to move visiting fans away from the South Bank permanently under their £40m Molineux redevelopment. Visiting supporters are to be situated in the new north east corner, between the Stan Cullis and Steve Bull stands, once work is complete in that area in two years’ time.
Opposition fans have long occupied some part of the South Bank area because of its close proximity to the rail and coach stations.
But all that will change when the development gets under way next summer.
“We’ll situate the away supporters in the new north east corner,” said chief executive Jez Moxey.
“They will occupy a section of the new North Stand, and then as we build the East Stand, they will be able to expand, whether a club wants 1,100 seats or say 6,000 seats for an FA Cup tie.”
“But we will never have home fans sitting above away fans, or vice-versa.”
Ultimately, owner Steve Morgan wants Wolves fans to create the most intimidating atmosphere possible for the opposition and having exclusively home support behind both goals will help achieve that.
“Molineux has a fantastic atmosphere when they’re really ‘at it’,” said Moxey.
“If we are to enclose this stadium and bring fans within touching distance almost of our players, the atmosphere could be the most intimidating it could get.
“Steve’s driving factor is this has got to give us that genuine home advantage feel to our team that sometimes in the past we haven’t had at Molineux.”
During the redevelopment, allocations for away fans will be slashed in keeping with the reduced capacity.
“We need 10 per cent or 3,000 of the capacity, whichever is lower, so we’ll be able to cater for about 2,200 away supporters during construction,” said Moxey.
“One of the really important benefits of doing this is solving the away fans problem for ever and a day.”
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Its very exciting but my concerns as a season ticket holder we have more season ticket holders than the actual amount of seats we will have when the construction starts.
I imagine it will be all season ticket but how are they going to decide who can renew? will it be based on loyalty points meaning fans who usually don’t travel away will need to go more to get more points?
I hope they look deeply into this and look for how long fans have held there season tickets for, fans who have followed the team for years through the turmoil should not be denied the chance of watching the team if they wish.
Fans who have only bought a season ticket when the side got promoted and have only held them for a year and then next season should not be given the chance over someone who has had a season ticket for 15-20 years.
It’s all up in the air at the moment so hopefully the club can find a way round it.
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1..Wolfdude…
great point…
Pls email the club with your thoughts…
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Great idea moving the away fans from the South Bank, I have always said we should have our fans behind both goals.
Wolfdude – agree with your comments 100%, I have written to Jez asking about this, there are a lot of questions need answering – 1. Are SC ticket holders guarenteed their seats until the “new” stand is built (I have had a ST since 1974ish) 2.When we are moved can we still sit with family and friends like we have done for the last X amount of years, 3. Will we have first refusal on having our “old” seats in the new stand or as near has! needs answering because some fans might not return if they are denied the above?
We are Wolves……
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tingle every time I see the new place
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By having a first phase build where 22,000 capacity remains there are 2,000 seats for away (3,000 for cup ties) leaving more than our existing season ticket base left to use. Of course what will happen is that this will become a reason for a massive hike in ticket prices as supply may not quite meet demand.
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Yawn, the whole thing looks like every other new ground in the country, where’s the identity?
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Wolfdude – I understand the concern. It is a very interesting point. I think the capacity at its lowest will be 21k and we have around 19k season ticket holders.
I would HOPE all season ticket holders will be relocated and recieve discount if they move to cheaper area or no extra cost for a more expensive area.
I can imagine that the ground will be all season ticket holders, with no TPS and general fans will have to sit in a couple temp stand.
The club will be out of order if they have to cancel season ticket holders. Maybe they will say you can only renew via earlybird next season if you dont want to pay extra for your move.
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the minimum capacity during redevelopment will be 21,500, wolves currently have 20,000 season ticket holders. stress less
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Having now had a day or two to allow the initial euphoria to settle, I find myself left with a few concerns. I’ve got a feeling that ultimately, stage 1,2&3 providing 38,000 seats will be as far as we get with this, and with the cost and real potential for ‘development ending relegation’ always a possibility. I can see us ending up with a horse shoe ugly duckling for many years to come if not permanantly.
The architects of the project claim to have harmonised the new with the old with colour, material and design! Well is it just me or am I looking at the wrong pictures because the new bit in no way harmonises with the Billy Wright in any way shape or form. I just wonder if the club are a bit twitchy about the chances of obtaining planning for the full 50000 seats at this stage? Maybe they have every intention of completing stage 4 in due course.
Dont get me wrong, I’m chuffed to bits that the club is developing the ground, but it would be such a shame to spend this kind of money and end up with an oddball incomplete ground for the next 30 years. (like Birmingham, Blackburn, Watford, barnsley etc.)
I’m all in favour of quirky original grounds (The Valley, Villa Park, Stamford Bridge, Highbury) and definately prefer them to the MFI prefab soul less bowls like St Marys, but it would have been nice to have had enclosed stands with more definition. I would have tried to focus on encorporating a massive southbank into the equation, a bit like what Spurs are doing with White Hart Lane. A big southbank may also have taken pressure off the capacity reduction during the rebuild.
As with all new stadium, big and shiny dose not equate to decent football ground. Just ask Arsenal Fans. Tottenham spent a lot of time consulting with their fans before finalising the new White Hart Lane. They were determined not to make the same corporate mistakes as Arsenal.
The Emirates though big and grand fails on many levels. The fans are divided by a huge corporate section travelling the perimeter of the stadium. There is no internal stand definition. They have lost the North Bank. The seats are too far apart with too much leg room, removing the close intensity required for decent footy atmosphere and singing. They sold their famous ground name to pay for it.
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I agree entirely. My mates & myself have had the same seats ever since the North Bank opened. We would not only expect guaranteed seats when the work starts , but also to be among those given first choice of where to sit when the new seats are allocated. Anything else would be grossly unfair.
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It seems an awful lot of money and disruption, for not much gain until “phase 3″ is completed..
I would have thought that expanding the north and south banks (including filling in the corners) rather than complete replacement would have been a better option.
I know this gives us the option of expanding up to 50,000, but is that really likely?
More likely that we’ll be stuck with an odd looking ground and the Billy Wright as far away from the pitch as the “John Ireland / Steve Bull” used to be!
Have they really thought this through properly?
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Hi
I can understand your points regarding being loyal through thick and thin. But a supporter can be in or out of a season ticket due to money and family. I had a season ticket for many years Dvi 1, 2, 3,4, and prem but commitment can not always be made,hough you are supporter through all. So it will be difficult, but money will be the dominating issue, if you can pay you will be there???
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I wonder if you will still get wet sitting half way down as you do now when it rains.
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Totally agree with Max (12) i cant afford a season ticket myself but do try and attend when i can afford to and if anyone was to tell me i dont support wolves cause i cant afford to go to every game i would slap them silly and just because you dont have a ST does not mean you dont support your team and its foolish to think so. the idea of making sure current ST holders have seats however is imperitive and i think this has been covered as in all stages capacity wont drop below the amount of ST holders (21,000 seats and 20,000 ST holders.
personally i think the plans for the new look ground look great and have total faith in the “higher management” of the club. remember too unlike some other clubs our owners have the interest of the club and suporters at heart and are not looking at football as a way to make a quick buck and thi will be an investment in the future plus they have already stressed the clubs success comes first. now if this means a 1/2 finished ground for a few years while we secure prem football i know i’d be happy enough. as i said this is a long term thing and remember as supporters, TRUE supporters you should have the faith and belief to push your team to greatness and this is what wolves are doing. with the foundations being laid down we cn again in time return to the glory days of old
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Southern Wanderer, appreciate your points but as a larger person with circulation problems, a bit more bum room and leg room would be very welcome indeed. Not that I have to worry for a while as my season ticket is in the Billy Wright Stand!
As for concerns regarding having enough seats during the building of the new stands, you can bet that they have considered this as it would be imperative not to impact the cash flow too much by reducing available season tickets (although equally increased season ticket prices will also see a reduction in the demand for season tickets anyway). As much as some hate Moxey, he is a very good money man and will have ensured that all this is taken into account – and Steve Morgan is no slouch as a businessman either.
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I dont think Wolves have even got 30.000 fans so
never mind 50.000,the best thing that could happen
would be to just fill all the corners in and
take the capacity to 35.000.Who ever came up
with this idea must have had a brain fart and
doesnt know his arse from his elbow.
If the biggest club round here Aston Villa
cant even fill their ground then what chance
would Wolves have.
Wolves,Albion,and Blues will always
be small clubs and could never get 50.000
fans due to all the number of teams to support
round these parts.
Someone needs to tell the Wolves board that
Birmingham isnt like Livepool v Everton where
theres just 2 teams to support.
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13) DorransLeavesBrom
A little bit of jealousy methinks, with your Potting Shed End and small trophy cupboard.
The size of the crowd at Molineux will of course depend on the success of the team and style of play on the pitch, but Wolves are very capable of pulling in 40k and 50k attendances. Even one of your own posted that !
Got an idea to put forward to Jez Moxey and Jeremy Peace.
During the disruption when our capacity will drop to 22k would the Albion fans like to come along and sit on our laps. We could all enjoy Wolves winning together. Wouldn’t that be spiffing !
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Just to add to this discussion….
The reduced capacity of 21,000 definitely won’t be able to cater for all current season ticket holders. Not only do we have to provide a certain number of away supporters tickets, but we also have to provide a certain amount for general sale under Premier League rules.
As much as I’d like to say we could fill a 50,000 seater stadium, the likelihood is we wouldn’t unless we were a top 5/6 club, which is extremely unlikely in a monopoly of a league such as this one. 36-38,000 is more than enough in my opinion, so we will more than likely end up with just the Billy Wright not being redeveloped.
However, the plans are extremely well thought out. At the end of the day, what other choice do we have with regards a year or two of pain for a thousand or so STH. We could either continue playing at Molineux, take the hit for a couple of years and stay in the city centre and more importantly on the Molineux site itself or move to a newly built bowl shaped ground out in the sticks, miles away from the city centre and out of your way. I know which I’d prefer as Molineux is extremely important to me and you’ll no doubt get first refusal on location near your original seat.
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16..you must be on about the blouses support surely?? wolves are more than capable of pulling in 30000 plus crowds no problem at all…bit of sour grapes on your part me thinks.. 6 points from tescos were gettin 6 points feom tescos!!!! utw
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This plan silences the North Bank with its plan for 2 tiers and corporate seats.
And after the £40 million investment we will end up with a silent Morth Bank and a lopsided ground with 4 different stands!
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We should build a completely new stadium near the M54.
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The Kop at liverpool was rebuilt deliberately with a single (massive) tier of seats.
The Holt End was redeveloped with 2 tiers…
As a Wolves fan, I know which option I would prefer for the North and South banks…
I want to be able to see every fan in the ground, as well as the match action. Also, I remember at Cardiff how wierd it felt being spilt into 3 tiers down our end..
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Steway, the mechanics of closure / construction are well thought out, but it’s the fundamental plan of rebuilding rather than augmenting what is already a very fine and relatively modern stadium that concerns me.
Far the cost of phase 1, they could extend north and south banks (still as a single, massive tier – like the South Bank used to be,) reroof (full cantilever) and fill in the corners.
There would be significantly less disruption, much less cost and a capacity of circa 36,000.
Then, if you wanted to further expand, rebuild the Steve Bull (loose 9,000 seats temp.)or even excavate the pitch down to put seats up to the touchlines – but that would be very expensive per seat..
The stadium keeps it’s symetry, the capacity never drops too low, the costs are lower and there is still room to expand.
The down side is that expanding up to 50,000 would be very difficult.
But where do you see us in 10 years? Maybe competing with Villa? And do they, here and now need a 50,000 stadium? Answer: No, and neither will we!
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READ THE PROPOSALS!
The plans are to increase to 36000 initially and then if demand requires it, to expand further. But it is also about increasing Corporate and commercial activities to create extra cash flows so that we can develop.
I keep asking this question, why are Wolves fans so cynical and always moaning?
Wolves have never averaged 50000 in a season :-
Top five average attendances at the Molineux:-
1. 45466 – 1950
2. 43690 – 1949
3. 43254 – 1947
4. 39636 – 1948
5. 39616 – 1951
I would rather have a Stadium full to 38000 than have 10000 empty seats but everything as ever depends upon what happens on the pitch.
Who knows we may need 50,000 in the future, we can dream, is that not what supporting a football team is about?
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40,000+ in a re-developed Molineux would be no problem at all!
Wolves have a far greater following than WBA will ever have and an increased ground capacity will bear that out.
Fantastic ground from the pictures and will make Molineux one of the best grounds around.
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Other grounds are trying to get around the problem of silent corposate seats behind the goal. At Molineux they are planning to create the problem.
The North Bank should be a large single tier stand for the fans, with the corporate facilities in the side stands. The plans for the new Anfield and new White Hart Lane include large single tier ‘Kops’.
We don’t want a Molineux Library.
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