I remember six years ago there was a debate here as to whether we should renovate The Valley one stand at a time or build a new stadium nearby. We were in League One at the time, just as we are now.
But given when we were in The Championship the stands were 1/2 empty on average (only 14,500 average attendance before Covid,) I wonder if there is simply no reason to do either? I know this is not relevant as long as RD owns it, but even if he did not I don't see the logic on doing anything but keeping The Valley standing from an economic standpoint.
Other clubs around the same time seemed similarly gung-ho about major renovations and rebuilds. Palace, Birmingham, Wolves... none have happened and plans have been delayed or scrapped. Wolves wanted a new 40,000 upgrade but decided to pass because even in the PL there was not enough demand to justify it. Even Chelsea scrapped their plans long before the Ukraine invasion forced ownership changes there. The owners of ManU would rather sell than sink money into their stadium, which says a lot given they make more money than any club on the planet. We are not ManU.
Is there really any reason to spend money upgrading stands at The Valley when we can barely fill half of it in The Championship? What's the incentive for any owner to do so? Liverpool expanded attendances with their new stand but we don't have a wait list for season tickets. We did not have a single sellout in our sole season in The Championship. The most we got was 25k in one match.
Times seem to have changed since the last time we were down here in League One. Not solely for us but for almost all clubs, it seems. I sense the younger generation does not care about football as much as video games and Tik-Tok. As older fans go away, why spend millions upgrading a stadium when the next generation does not plan on coming?
Curious how others feel about it, both for us and in general in football.
Comments
Says a lot about the Glazers.
You expand when you're filling the stadium.
Given we only sold 55% of the seats our first year in The Championship, I assume that would mean when we are in the PL? No doubt we would sell-out then, but given it would take 1-2 years per stand to upgrade, what happens if we go down in that 4-8 year gap? Even when we are filling The Valley, what owner would want to roll the dice? Look at what is happening with Everton; trying to build a billion dollar stadium that might finally open when they are in the second division.
The completion of the stadium bowl, South stand and quadrants and a secound tier on the East would of made The Valley one of the most atmospheric mid size stadia in the UK.
A real regret for me. At this moment in time, totally unrealistic, uneeded and the stuff of dreams.
So many consequences from our demise but this is the most tangible for me.
He's barely maintaining it.
As you say it's not a relevant question as RD owns it.
Or have I got that muddled with Matt Southall's first month's salary ambition?!?
If it was to happen Id rather have away fans in the corner and Charlton fans behind the goal, assuming it could be made to work for the police to be happy.
Could never see this happening until we become an established EPL team again though, and whoever owns Charlton owns the ground too or if the Jimmy Seed literally collapses!
...and as people have mentioned, there might be more planning permission roadblocks now that didn't exist back in the mid-00s.
The general public facilities around the ground do need improvement, the toilets, the bars etc. Even if the Curbs stand isn't expanded, the area of wasteland behind the stands does feel like a waste, maybe it could be dug out to create a covered bar area. The roof would be low enough to not affect the houses behind.
To be fair it's been reopened for 30 years and it's still the same as it was then so think there's bound to be a few issues with the stand.
It needs rebuilding but the question is who's going to pay for it.