New Riverside Stand! :)

Re: Craven Cottage expansion

...Craven Cottage = The Fulham Football Club - The Fulham Football Club = Craven Cottage. No matter what, the two have been, are, and should remain intrinsically linked, one without the other would be nothing.

Demolish the Riverside stand that holds no real love with the fans, especially as it is still a reminder of the odious Eric Miller, and build a carefully profiled two tier stand that extends over the walkway to add to the facilities.

If we can make it a 30 thousand seater ground then that is enough for our fan base, especially when you consider our close proximity to other London clubs with whom we are competing for custom.

Well done the club for showing that it recognises that the fans want to stay at the most beautiful ground (not stadium)in the world...

 

Re: Craven Cottage expansion

Heather, did you have a link to something tangible happening? Or is this the usual talk that never materializes?

LB summed up my thoughts on the matter perfectly. While I'd like to see them find a way to get capacity to 35-40k, it loses a lot if the stands are only 3/4 full.

 

Re: Craven Cottage expansion

This is a real proposal Matt. ST holders received the following e-mail at 9am BST today

"Dear (redacted),

Over the last few years, Fulham Football Club has enjoyed increasing success on and off the pitch. We are an established Barclays Premier League club, qualifying for European competitions and with over 25,000 of you attending home games on a regular basis.

To ensure the continued survival and success of our club for future generations, changes must be made to our Craven Cottage home.

We respect our traditions, our fans, and our local community (we’ve been residents at the Cottage for 115 years) and are aware that whatever changes we make must add to our history, the match day experience, and our neighbourhood.

To look at our ideas in more detail you can attend our exhibition at The Cafe at the Cottage, in the Johnny Haynes Stand, Stevenage Road from Wednesday 19 October – Saturday 22 October, or visit: www.fulhamfc.com/stadiumproject.

Club personnel will be on hand to answer your queries on each of these days at certain times. (Please check website for details).

We are at the early stages of the planning process and we’d like to hear your thoughts and comments on our proposed way forward. You can either pick up a comment form at the exhibition or fill in the online version on the website.

Please, add your voice. And let’s keep our football club Fulham, forever.

Thank you.

Alistair Mackintosh

CEO Fulham Football Club"

I understand we had permission from Fulham Council to expand to 30k seats in '07-'08 but plans were shelved due to our relegation crisis. That permission may have lapsed, so FFC seek to renew expansion in some form.

I would favor filling in the corners at the Putney and Hammersmith ends rather than to tear down the "Eric Miller," though I would say that, as I sit there. It seems more likely FFC would agree to allow permanent public transit along the Thames Path and some improvements in Bishops Park as the typical community quid pro quo in redevelopment matters. The MJ statue would be removed as part of any propsal, surely.

Fortunately too, this draws a line under any possibility that we might relocate to a soon to be vacated Stamford Bridge. The UK Press reported widely on Tuesday that CPO Plc will hold a vote on the 27th on a proposal from CFC to re-acqure their freehold. I say, let them buy it and then groundshare a 60k all seater in White City with the other lot! Soon, there will in every sense be "Only one team in Fulham!"

 

Re: Craven Cottage expansion

Can't argue with a single word by LB. CC is the club's home and moving into the Undead's old digs is unthinkable. Expand to a 30-32K and hopefully improve the acoustics to the Hammersmith End so the true noise produced by our supporters can be heard.

 

Re: Craven Cottage expansion

http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Images/FulhamFC_ ... -87170.pdf - from the local newspaper in Fulham regarding the Club's plans for expansion.

 

Re: Craven Cottage expansion

How extensive a renovation would this be? Something that could be accomplished during an off-season? Or would we be looking at a temporary relocation?

 

Re: Craven Cottage expansion

While we don't know the details, this seems like a really good idea. We need to have more seats to pull in the revenue to stay in the top flight. (It is not good to depend on large subsidies form the Chairman.) I have, sadly, not made it to the Cottage, but form what I read, the plans would not affect the most historic parts of the ground, and might even enhance the link between the ground and the river. This could be like the Red Sox' renovations of Fenway.

 

Re: Craven Cottage expansion

They should expand but try to keep the old style stadium. Build a stadium with new materials but in old style everybody else is making modern stadiums we could have modern stadium but with old style look in there

 

Re: Craven Cottage expansion

Good news. Maybe Mike, Ed, or someone w/knowledge of the local politics can tell us what kind of roadblocks or opposition that expansion might encounter? As supporters of the club I think we are all ready to break ground asap, but as we all know, governmental red tape and the power of a few individuals and their interests can muck up the best plans, even if the majority of the local residents are in favor of the project.

 

Re: Craven Cottage expansion

Looks like the locals like it, at least on paper.

http://www.fulhamchronicle.co.uk/fulham ... -30237101/

 

Craven Cottage expansion

Great news! Definitely headed in the right direction.

 

Re: Craven Cottage expansion

Was wondering when an opposition group would finally chime in.

 

Re: Craven Cottage expansion

Was only a matter of time, wasn't it joe?

Hopefully the club can satisfy their concerns to the satisfaction of the authorities, and this opposition will not unnecessarily delay a much needed upgrade.

 

Re: Craven Cottage expansion

Having read the article more thoroughly, I don't understand their arguments.

Why wouldn't ANY route through the stadium along the river be preferable to going AROUND it? Ive never been there, but it seems obvious that creating a viable route for pedestrian traffic along the river instead of having to negotiate the majority of the perimeter of the ground AWAY from it would be better.

A 1972-era stand being replaced by a modern structure of ANY size would also seemingly be preferable. Is the current Riverside Stand really that "charming." Again, I've never been, but it doesn't really appear to be.

"Charm" will not keep the team in the Premier League, only results will. And the results will not continue if we don't improve the ground as needed to keep fans happy and generate adequate revenue. I seriously doubt that the plan as proposed would damage the park as much as they suggest it would. In fact, the expansion may increase attention to and draw more people to the park. Is that bad?

The same should be true for the proposed cafes. Who wouldn't want to enjoy a bite and a swig next to a park? You could walk off dessert through it afterwards.

I hope the local authorities don't allow many of these arguments to delay the project. The pros would seem to outweigh the cons...by a substantial margin.