Stadium Expansion

I would rather see them do a spuds and buy up the houses on liverpool, clifton and westbury roads. Possibly some of the old hospital buildings and then flip the ground 90 degrees

 

FML Okaka is knackered after 30 mins on a normal sized pitch.

 

Problem is those friggin flats are still there to haunt us.

 

And when it’s built I can tell the kids that I used to play there!

Win win

 

You can build a larger stadium but keep the pitch the same size. I believe that's allowed.

Actually pitches for new build stadiums are a regulated size these days. That's why all this about Wembley having a large pitch is BS.. its the same size as half of the football league clubs.

 

I thought all pitches in the PL are the same size, the only exceptions are where the existing stadium doesn't allow for 'full' size, I think Anfield has the smallest pitch in the PL.

 

Had the same discussion with some Man U glory hunters about our pitch size during Flores’ season. They wouldn’t have it that our terd if a pitch was exactly the same size as their theatre of dreams.

 

I seem to remeber tottingham have a tiny one at ***** Hart Lane.

 

I have no reason to dispute those ITK comments over the last couple of days. Thanks for sharing.

Indeed if I were the owner of our club in modern times with no specific personal ties to the town of Watford itself then I too would consider that the way to expand the fan base and, far more importantly, the international TV attraction of the club would be to associate it with London as much as possible. That could include relocating south east from Vicarage Road by prossibly up to 10 miles or so. West Ham have exactly the same strategy; aligning more with London increases the international appeal and thus in theory the TV and commercial revenues.

I am not the owner of the club however, I was born in Watford and the club means far more to me than a business to generate increased revenues. I am not going to knock Gino Pozzo given the investment (albeit principally loan based) his family have made in the club and we are in a far healthier position than 6 years ago.

But to talk of moving the stadium out of the town fundamentally changes what being Watford Football Club represents so I for one will strongly oppose any plans to muddle with the raison d'etre of our club by relocating our home stadium out of the town if that is the strategy than transpires over the next year or so.

 

Just as we all thought that the old Vicarage Rd site was going to be upgraded to 30,000 it now appears that a new site is being sought.
You have to look at what is going on at all our rivals to understand that if we stay, there are limitations. At the moment we have a Championship ground
that is landlocked. A new stadium will upset many but would be the best route long term. I would love to know the budget as there are some really dreadful new stadiums now.
I think the Spurs one will be special. I would be great if something similar was built for the first time on a smaller scale.

 

Where is the information coming from regarding a new ground?

 

Having said that there's a standardised pitch size for new builds it's a bit of a minefield at the same time.
Fifa want all internationals played on the same size pitch.. 105 x 68 meters (7,140 m2) When new stadiums are built they make the pitch at least that size but as the Fifa ruling is only a guideline some clubs tailor their pitch size to their own thinking.. but with the provision that they can revert to the standard if required. Most clubs have also experimented with different sizes according to their wants at particular times, for example if the manager wants it a different size.

Trying to find out exact sizes is also a bit of a minefield, as i discovered some years back when trying to write a paper on pitch sizing. There's a lot of different info out there.
This article.. http://www.football-stadiums.co.uk/articles/are-all-football-pitches-the-same-size/ is probably the most accurate and up to date one i could find. You see 11 of the 20 Prem stadiums follow the Fifa guideline but one of the new builds (Brighton) is larger. I actually thought Selhurst was the smallest in recent times but i also seem to remember that Mark Hughes wanted to enlarge the pitch at the Britannia because it was particularly small. Seems he never got his way.

 

See post #2785.. and when you do see mine at #2798. Because i put a lot of effort into it and it's bloody marvelous

 

The fields behind Bannister sports on Uxbridge Road with the junction of Oxhey Lane would be a good spot. I've often wondered why those fields haven't been developed, they don't seem to grow anything on them. Watford are already involved with the youth centre are on the other side of the road. Headstone Lane and Hatch End Stations half a mile away, Stanmore a short bus ride.

 

There are no facts - its all just property speculation

 

There are no facts - its all just property speculation

Its green belt land as is the land around Northwick Park hospital mentioned above and cant be built on.

 

Ah ha! You mean those posts that I’d already read!

You can present the information to some people but you can’t make them understand it!

 

I think he means we might be relocating.. but was very careful what he said

PS You've no need to go back and look at my genius plan to move to the Radlett Road playing fields site, as ive revised it and feel the need to re-post. See ive included some "Yellow Brick Roads/paths" from all over Watford so people will know they are heading in the right direction.

 

I pity the poor sod who finds out it’s Gino that’s put a bid in for their land. They’ll get about 35 quid by the time Gino has finished with them!

Might be able to sort out the atmosphere too by moving the silent section away from the singing section!

There’ll probably be a few resistant buggers who’ve had the same seat in the GT stand for 60 years who refuse to move!

 

Unlikely that a move there would be allowed. The council just recently built a clubhouse for the GAA club there.

Some possibles in the local area and closer to the M25 would be either Langleybury or near the film studios. Or closer to the M1, either Bricket Wood near the M1/M25 interchange, also there's some land next to where Porcellenosa is at Berrygrove which Hertsmere had recently considered allowing a sub power station to be built.

 

Looking at the 30+ new stadiums built since 1990 I actually rate that the success that the new stadium has brought to the club, both on and off the pitch, as being 'mixed'. Many have had a materially successful impact for sure (e.g., Stoke, Wigan, Burton, Reading), some mixed/little impact (e.g., Bolton, West Ham, Sunderland), some a negative impact (e.g., Coventry, Northampton). Of course aligning a new stadium with rich new owners also helps (e.g., Man City and Leicester). The same mix of success is apparent with clubs who have simply updated existing stadium given the right investment. So I think it is debatable to state that a new stadium is the best long term option for Watford.

I do agree we have a (lower) Championship sized ground but personally I also believe we have a (lower) Championship sized support and I prefer us to stay at Vicarage Road as I think it is right for us now. I would welcome some level of expansion similar in principle to the main stand expansion at Anfield which increased the capacity by approx. 20%. I think the limitations of Vicarage Road are not huge; they are in no way as bad as for our friends 15 miles up the road for example. Or for where Swansea were at Vetch Field, Millwall at the Old Den, Rotheram at Millmoor. Those grounds had to go for 21st century football to continue.

That's not to say I am 100% opposed to considering a new stadium as long as the location respects our history. Your comment about Spurs I think will be spot on.

What I will totally oppose is moving the club away from Watford to somewhere like Northwick Park as mentioned as a possibility in other posts simply on the premise that the move will attract new customers. I think that strategy is deeply flawed as the new stadiums which have worked best are those fundamentally close to the communities from whence the club originated. Its a firm 'No' from me to a Bolton or a Coventry or, heavens forbid, a MK Dons type scenario.

 

I love the Vic, and wouldn’t want to move. However, Udinese’s new stadium is lovely so if done right, I *guess* I could get used to it

 

I'm just drawing sandcastles in the sky (again) but i would doubt a small clubhouse would stand in the way of such developments what with the amount of cash being splashed about. Build them another new one elsewhere.

For me it would always be a better bet to move North of Watford, to those area you've suggested, because the way i see it we've always attracted more support from that way. I could be wrong.. and maybe things have changed.. but i always saw areas nearer London as being too "mixed" to garner much of a following.
There again i guess the owners would always see it as more prestigious to get nearer the capital.

 

I am certainly against a move away from Watford but I would accept a move to the outskirts of town if there are no other options including staying at the Vic. Currently we are not quite selling out each game, and although there is a ST waiting list I don't think our current fanbase and would increase such that we wouldn't need a ground bigger than 25k. Take Swansea, there ground holds more or less the same as ours and their catchment is much bigger than ours and they have no competition other than Cardiff near their location. I don't know whether they have a waiting list or sell out every game but I'm sure had they needed to they would have expanded the Liberty Stadium further by now.

If we were to move a few miles south say towards Harrow, would we attract extra fans? I wouldn't have thought that it would be worth the risk of alienating the existing fanbase particularly if we get relegated, as those with less emotional attactment would likely be those who are first to stop coming.

I'm guessing that this may be coming about if the club may have been told by the council that an extra tier cannot be added to the EJ stand. Particularly as Duxbury said a year ago that there would be no additional capacity added in the summer of 2017 but would be this coming summer, but nothing has been mentioned yet.

 

Rather than pushing for a move, is it possible an offer to WFC has been made to acquire the land by property developers?

With Riverwell (formerly called the Health Campus development) now breaking ground I'd imagine land in that area is of prime/near prime value right now.
http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/16055059.work-begins-on-building-new-homes-at-riverwell-site/

On a side note; how long has the new industrial estate on the new road (Watford Trade City(?) on Thomas Sawyer Way) been open? I only ask because still, after a few months now only ONE depot is being occupied. Considering the time it took to plan and build I'd have thought getting businesses into brand spanking new buildings should have been an easy sell - or is this another build for the developers rather than a build to meet demand?

 

Couldn't we just move back to our original site on Cassio Road. Loads of space there and even more history.

 

Kodak Factory - no thanks. Think of the traffic around Wealdstone - bad enough now.

 

I thought it was already earmarked for a housing/business estate anyway.
http://www.harrow.gov.uk/info/200074/planning/1558/kodak_redevelopment

 

Barely fits with the footprint we have now. Poor access and the locals would be up in arms.

I did manage to fit two Vics in the cemetery though

 

We didn't have any choice about moving when the corporate area of the UGT was expanded, even if we'd had those seats ever since the Rous was built. AND we didn't get any financial compensation.

I think you'll struggle to find any old gits
who've had the same seats for ever and refused to move

 

If that bloody hospital next door was demolished we'd have plenty of room to expand.

 

Or..
Too late now but we could have moved to the allotments and had more space.. and they could have doubled the size of the hospital. With the new access road this would have been ideal.

 

Blimey - move to the allotments. Opposition sides already complain about the slope we have now! Can you fit in on top of the tesco in lower high street? It would halve my walk to the ground

 

Well you'd have built it level obviously

Tesco's? I'm working on it....

There you go.. Watford Tesco Stadium. Ive enlarged it as well..