Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

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Ben
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by Ben »

How many teams have moved to Olympic stadiums and actually stayed there?
There's quite a few that have either rebuilt it or moved to a purpose built stadium isn't there?
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Corney Beal
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by Corney Beal »

Bad run of luck or otherwise to.....

Want to replace the East Stand at Upton Park but to 'accept' that it would prevent access to the bus garage, cause light issues & T.V. reception problems in the flats & overload the transport system.
Bus garage now gone & flats higher than the proposed stand going up. Tottenham redevelopment despite worse links than Upton Park.

The Icelandics identify land by West Ham station and the Parcel force depot. Be told that the Victorian Gas Towers are listed preventing any building. Years later the listing overturned and residential building work commences.
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Denzil
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by Denzil »

Corney Beal wrote:Bad run of luck or otherwise to.....

Want to replace the East Stand at Upton Park but to 'accept' that it would prevent access to the bus garage, cause light issues & T.V. reception problems in the flats & overload the transport system.
Bus garage now gone & flats higher than the proposed stand going up. Tottenham redevelopment despite worse links than Upton Park.

The Icelandics identify land by West Ham station and the Parcel force depot. Be told that the Victorian Gas Towers are listed preventing any building. Years later the listing overturned and residential building work commences.
When you put it like that, it really does make for sad reading. Is there a way, in an ideal world of course, that the OS could be redeveloped into a football stadium? By keeping the shell, so it looks like it does now but with the seating redesigned. It's a great stadium and whilst the immediate vicinity is not exactly how I'd want it with decent boozers and a bit of an agg trek to the station, I don't think it's that bad. Basically I feel that the potential is there to make that a proper stadium whilst keeping the Olympic legacy alive. I'd just like to know if this is actually possible?
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by taffhammer »

Corney Beal wrote:Bad run of luck or otherwise to.....
Should have greased the right palms...Look at Liverpool .
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by Hammer.CA »

Ben wrote:How many teams have moved to Olympic stadiums and actually stayed there?
There's quite a few that have either rebuilt it or moved to a purpose built stadium isn't there?
I went to the old Parkstadion where Schalke 04 used to play which had 1 covered stand with a running track, wasn't good. Schalke moved to the new AufSchalke stadium, now called the Veltins (local brewer) Arena. The old place held 62,000+ and the new place which is virtually next door holds 62,000+. I've been there 3 times, it really is fantastic even when England lost to Portugal there in the World Cup 2006. The Pullman seats have holders for your drinks, everything you buy there with an electronic card which has the same name as the old miners tickets, a nod to the history of the area. This place has a retractable roof and a retractable pitch, the same as WHL will be I would imagine.
Still, at least we have a world class stadium to be proud of. :thdn:
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by Ladzini »

Denzil wrote:
When you put it like that, it really does make for sad reading. Is there a way, in an ideal world of course, that the OS could be redeveloped into a football stadium? By keeping the shell, so it looks like it does now but with the seating redesigned. It's a great stadium and whilst the immediate vicinity is not exactly how I'd want it with decent boozers and a bit of an agg trek to the station, I don't think it's that bad. Basically I feel that the potential is there to make that a proper stadium whilst keeping the Olympic legacy alive. I'd just like to know if this is actually possible?
Of course its possible, but it would require proper and significant investment not to mention us owning the stadium. Neither of these will happen with our current owners. As you pointed out; in an ideal world...we have someone willing to inject 150-200m (guessing..) into a full interior redevelopment. But then you have the problem of where would we play whilst the redevelopment is going on? Unless it was possible to do it in 4 months over a summer.

Given is it almost certain we are stuck here, I think the most urgent points to be addressed if we ever own it would be shifting all 4 lower curved tiers into slightly shallower 'rectangles' that come right up against the pitch and would also cover (most of) the gaps visible in the TB, BM and West Stand.
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WoodgateHammer
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by WoodgateHammer »

Ladzini wrote:
Of course its possible, but it would require proper and significant investment not to mention us owning the stadium. Neither of these will happen with our current owners. As you pointed out; in an ideal world...we have someone willing to inject 150-200m (guessing..) into a full interior redevelopment. But then you have the problem of where would we play whilst the redevelopment is going on? Unless it was possible to do it in 4 months over a summer.

Given is it almost certain we are stuck here, I think the most urgent points to be addressed if we ever own it would be shifting all 4 lower curved tiers into slightly shallower 'rectangles' that come right up against the pitch and would also cover (most of) the gaps visible in the TB, BM and West Stand.
I'm no architect or engineer, but surely given the already shallow angle of the lower tier seats as it is, if you bring seats within the edge of the pitch, the angle will have to be a lot shallower to avoid obscuring the view of those behind at the bottom of the upper tier - if that makes sense. This would also mean those in the lower tier now having a shallower angle, will have their view impeded....

So I'm not entirely sure how fixing the lower tier seating will help unless the entire interior seating of the stadium (which you mention) is addressed so that the angle from the very top and the back to the lower front at the edge of the pitch is consistent.

:?
Last edited by WoodgateHammer on Thu Feb 15, 2018 10:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Corney Beal
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by Corney Beal »

Ben wrote:How many teams have moved to Olympic stadiums and actually stayed there?
There's quite a few that have either rebuilt it or moved to a purpose built stadium isn't there?
Hertha Berlin still in the Olympic Stadium but they announced plans to relocate last year.
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by Corney Beal »

Should have greased the right palms...Look at Liverpool .[/quote]


Took Liverpool years to buy up all the adjacent terraced houses. Some held out but they got their way in the end.
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by Hammer.CA »

Corney Beal wrote: Hertha Berlin still in the Olympic Stadium but they announced plans to relocate last year.
Another poor ground although I haven't been in there since the renovations since for the last World Cup. That stadium doesn't reflect well on Berlin which is an absolutely great city to visit in my opinion.
The Olympic Stadium in Munich wasn't very clever either, 1860 fans hated it with a passion, partly because of Bayern and they didn't want to leave the Grunwald Stadion but they're back there now since they were demoted back to the regional league.
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by Knighter10WHU »

Corney Beal wrote:
Hertha Berlin still in the Olympic Stadium but they announced plans to relocate last year.
I hadn't realised this had happened. I went there a couple of years back and it was great for a one off occasion but I imagine it would be dreadful week in week out. Having said that, Hertha fans were exceptionally good and proved you could generate a good atmosphere no matter what the dynamics of the stadium were.

Link below for people interested in the Hertha development which is building a new stadium on the existing Olympic site in Berlin. Best case scenario for us would be something similar I imagine.

http://www.herthabsc.de/en/teams/newsta ... oVoZajFKUl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by Corney Beal »

Saw Hertha play about four seasons back. Felt similar to 'our' place in that I sat behind the goal but was able to move to the middle of the main stand via one concourse.
The views were fine and made me think ours would be okay but just that bit closer thus better in Berlin.
Atmosphere was okay but it was far short of capacity.
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by ornchurch ammer »

Corney Beal wrote:Should have greased the right palms...Look at Liverpool .

Took Liverpool years to buy up all the adjacent terraced houses. Some held out but they got their way in the end.[/quote]

Could have had a fortunate fire like Spurs.
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by sutts07 »

Marseille stadium is a great example of how to turn a curved athletics stadium into a top class football stadium.

As other have said, it would take huge investment/work/effort but it can be done.

First and major hurdle is owning the stadium and breaking the athletics deal. From there on in, anything can be done.
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by Frustrated Hammer »

sutts07 wrote:Marseille stadium is a great example of how to turn a curved athletics stadium into a top class football stadium.

As other have said, it would take huge investment/work/effort but it can be done.

First and major hurdle is owning the stadium and breaking the athletics deal. From there on in, anything can be done.
And there is the major issue.....our current owners don't care and will never spend money to buy the ground outright or improve it so it feels like a football stadium. It could potentially hold far more than 66,000 if it was redesigned and the seats started from nearer the pitch.....and what a stadium it could be if really built for football.

This would only ever happen if the government decide the losses made keeping it are not worth sustaining and they give us the stadium.....I am sure I'll see pigs fly first however.
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James P
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by James P »

Frustrated Hammer wrote:And there is the major issue.....our current owners don't care and will never spend money to buy the ground outright or improve it so it feels like a football stadium.
In fairness, I don't see why any owners would want to spend so much money converting the stadium to make it different but no bigger or more profitable. Our owners are the lowest of the low for sure, but there is no motivation for even the most benevolent billionaire to pour hundreds and hundreds of millions into the ground when it will never, ever get that money back.

The stadium will be an athletics stadium for the majority of our lifetimes. Accept it. If it makes you angry, look at who put us there.
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by Goldsmith »

Corney Beal wrote:Saw Hertha play about four seasons back. Felt similar to 'our' place in that I sat behind the goal but was able to move to the middle of the main stand via one concourse.
The views were fine and made me think ours would be okay but just that bit closer thus better in Berlin.
Atmosphere was okay but it was far short of capacity.
Few of us went to watch Hertha play on the Dresden trip a few years back.

Some of the group (including some famous old faces) sat in the upper tier behind the goal and we all agreed it wasn't actually that bad.

As you've said Corney, the slightly closer distance made a world of difference.
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Jon
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by Jon »

As many have said, the stadium was not built with conversion in mind. It took 4 years to get it ready for us and it's still a bowl designed to watch Athletics.

The Singapore example is the one that gets me.. They can convert from athletics to football in 48 hours...!!!

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - 2 minute time lapse video.

But let's face it, the LS doesn't need to host athletics. It's a white elephant and we should knock it down and build the Bernabeu. 8-) 4 tiers and look how close the fans are.

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Jon
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by Jon »

*5 tiers
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Re: Olympic Stadium Discussion and Questions

Post by goa127 »

Lazio and Roma share the Rome Olympic stadium. They still have the running track there. I went there about 20 years ago for the last game of the season when Lazio won the league on the final day. Good atmosphere and good view, but it was a warm day in early may! If the Birmingham stadium rebuild eventually gives us the chance to own the ground lots of improvements could be made for modest cost. It depends where you're located in the ground as to how satisfied you are . I'm in the East stand upper and like the view. If I could go 10 rows lower it would be even better but it's miles better than the view from the (borrowed season ticket) lower tier west stand at UP. Have to make sure I take my glasses, but that's just old age Different people like to watch football from different angles, I like to watch a TV type view, I know some people prefer a low down pitchside view which they don't really get at Stratford. I think the lower tier probably has most of the dissatisfied fans (although my son is round the north side lower and loves it) Although I have great memories of Upton Park in the days of Brooking ,Bonds etc. I'm generally happy at Stratford. It's not popular to say so and there's room for improvement, just the way I feel. If only things on the pitch were better!
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