A
new Main Stand: Profitable prospect, or unnecessary nightmare?
02/12/02 | by Alex Campbell
I took my
seat in the Trent End surprisingly early by my unpunctual
standards, ready and waiting for the fixture with Bradford City.
And as the hopelessly repetitive City Ground PA man recited his
boring corporate drivel, I became submerged in a haze of
thoughts. The first was: “Why is it always extremely cold
whenever you predict that it’s going to be mild?” I was
literally freezing as I sat shivering in my sleeveless Umbro
T-shirt.
The next thought (and much more to the point) was: “Yes, a
new Main Stand would be nice.” As giant, revolutionary new
stadiums seem to be springing up across the nation, the forlorn
corrugated metal structure of the Main Stand is beginning to look
increasingly dated. And it is a fact that the Main Stand does not
really look part of what is a reasonably modern stadium. So
should Nottingham Forest order the re-building of what was once
the largest part of the City Ground? There are several pros and
cons that need to be explored before any conclusion can be drawn.
Forest would be looking to expand the main stand vastly, leaving
the full attendance of our stadium at 40,000. An expansion of
this size would bring many advantages. First and foremost, the
overall appearance of the stadium would be improved to no end,
and the Main Stand would once again become the Main
stand.
But the potential redevelopment would open many more prosperous
opportunities in addition to a spectacular appearance. For
instance, the stadium would once again be equipped to host
fixtures of international magnitude. The Rugby World Cup of 2007
is a fine example. Should the re-construction take place, our
ground would almost certainly be chosen as a host stadium. And it
has been rumoured that the relevant international Rugby
authorities would be willing to contribute in some way to the
payment for the re-build.
At 40,000 the stadium would once again be the biggest in the East
Midlands, therefore we must note that such ties as high profile
U21 games and possible future World Cup or European Championship
games may also be played at the City Ground, thus increasing
Nottingham Forest’s global popularity and recognition. Not
to mention the added bragging rights that all Forest supporters
would acquire, should the Reds once again have the largest home.
It would even offer us the prime opportunity to re-locate the
position of the away fans, something that Reds supporters have
wanted for quite some time.
But steady on, it’s not all that simple. The advantages of a
new Main Stand are clear but the disadvantages must be studied
too. For instance, the new stand would only be built if Forest
obtain promotion to the Premiership, but once construction begins
and the papers are signed there is no turning back. Should the
Reds (and heaven forbid this) struggle in the elite division and
sink to the depths of Nationwide Division One again, we would be
left with a giant stand and nobody willing to sit in it. The
Forest board must look beyond their Harts (Geddit? Oh, please
yourselves...) and into their minds to judge whether or not they
genuinely do see the Reds becoming an established Premiership
side again, in the near future. If they do not, then there shall
be no point in construction.
Another thing we must observe is cost. The management of
Nottingham Forest FC are currently sticking to a strict business
plan, to put all remaining finance fears behind them. A new stand
would cost in excess of £12m to complete. Even with financial
support from several areas, this is a very hefty sum and allows
no room for wage or squad improvement in the future, paying no
regard to any potential tragedies that may be occurring in the
football department.
We must also view the imminent relocation of the current users of
the Main Stand - the A-Blockers, the Junior Reds, the press,
everyone! They would all have to spend long periods of time,
seasons even, crammed into such sparsely populated areas of the
City ground as the corners of the upper Brian Clough. Not all
that desirable or fair for any Main Stand Red.
In order to increase the attendance, to the proposed figure of
around 40,000, the new Main Stand would have to expand enough to
hold as many as 10,000 more than currently, with the current Main
stand holding 5,703 and the full City Ground capacity standing at
30,602 (excluding segregation and other such security
arrangements).
Should all the given problems be considered and addressed, there
would be one other barrier standing between Forest and a new
stand: the local public.
The public kicked up a giant fuss regarding the new Bridgford End
in the early '90s, saying that the proposed stand would block out
light to their homes. The result was the stand not maintaining
it’s full height all the way round and dipping at one
corner. The new Main Stand would be almost twice the height of
the Bridgford End - would the residents move to block the
building of such a large structure? I think so. We know what
moody neighbourhood committee folk and angry Grandmothers can be
like, they’ll do anything to prevent the enjoyment of
others.
So overall and to conclude, there are two ways of looking at this
matter: the optimistic way of saying "we are going up
staying up and we’ll fill the ground forever" or the
pessimistic (and realistic, it has to be said) way of saying
"let’s hold on a minute here; let's wait until we are
an established Premiership side again".
The latter makes more sense to me. The idea of having a colossal
stand looming across Nottingham and nobody wanting to sit in it
makes me shiver. Just think of the financial disaster that would
be provoked by building such a stand and then failing on the
pitch. Still, despite my opposing views, the thought of glancing
across from the Trent End and seeing a magnificent 15,000 seating
extraordinaire does tempt me. Yes, maybe a new main stand
isn’t such a bad idea after all...
Speak again soon, unless I am bombarded with angry emails
complaining about the poor quality displayed within my article.
Alex Campbell's Derby Haters
website