bigger crowds

[suavegav]

I know its early days, but if crowds keep improving, should Hibs be thinking of filling in the corners between FF-East and East-South Stands.
how many extra seats would it create, would it be worth while?

on the plus side, ER would go from being a brill arena to a superb stadium.

thoughts fellow Hibs fans. :flag:

[stonewaller1875]

I know its early days, but if crowds keep improving, should Hibs be thinking of filling in the corners between FF-East and East-South Stands.
how many extra seats would it create, would it be worth while?

on the plus side, ER would go from being a brill arena to a superb stadium.

thoughts fellow Hibs fans. :flag:Probably 500 or so seats per corner

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[Michael]

Stadium is the perfect size as it is now IMO. For big games it's difficult to get a ticket which will encourage people to buy a season. I think if the stadium was any bigger it would put people off.

[Sir David Gray]

I think we'll need about 3 or 4 years of regular crowds of about 18-19000 before this is even considered.

It would be nice to think it might happen but, like other clubs, we have a very fickle support. This needs to be a regular occurrence.

[Onceinawhile]

Chances of getting planning permission?

[stonewaller1875]

Chances of getting planning permission?Should be an issue as Hibs own the land and it would not effect any surrounding buildings views etc

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[Onceinawhile]

Should be an issue as Hibs own the land and it would not effect any surrounding buildings views etc

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The 500+ flats behind the east?

[stonewaller1875]

The 500+ flats behind the east?** shouldn't

The east stand is already there so I can't see how filling the corners in would effect them TBH

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[Viva_Palmeiras]

Here’s when we focus on the team and sporting excellence without distraction. Otherwise we dilute the competitive advantage we seek to achieve by sorting our infrastructure ahead of our rivals.

[Swedish hibee]

I don't get why Hibs.netters are obsessed with crowd size? Every day there's a post on it..

[Hibee87]

All hypothetical but how would the corners work with east and FF? Im sure it coukd be done but having a 1 tier east and 2 tier ff would cause restricted views no?

West and FF could join easily i guess as could the west and south but the east connecting im struggling to picture

[WhileTheChief..]

It should be our no. 1 priority if Heart’s capacity goes above ours. Just to annoy them really.

[Finbar]

I think if they filled in the corner between the east and the famous five it could really help the atmosphere in the stadium.

[1van Sprou7e]

There it is...

[stonewaller1875]

It should be our no. 1 priority if Heart’s capacity goes above ours. Just to annoy them really.It wont they don't have the space [emoji847]

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[JohnM1875]

I’d honestly rather we spent every penny in maintaining a good squad.

Our Stadium is honestly much better already than it needs to be! Don’t see the point in blurting money on an increased attendance when, if standards in the pitch drop again, you can gauarantee the attendances will drop just as quickly. Then its money spent for nothing.

[WhileTheChief..]

Ok, if they claim there’s is bigger than ours :greengrin

[Scouse Hibee]

I know its early days, but if crowds keep improving, should Hibs be thinking of filling in the corners between FF-East and East-South Stands.
how many extra seats would it create, would it be worth while?

on the plus side, ER would go from being a brill arena to a superb stadium.

thoughts fellow Hibs fans. :flag:

Nice thought but realistically will probably never be required.

[tamig]

All hypothetical but how would the corners work with east and FF? Im sure it coukd be done but having a 1 tier east and 2 tier ff would cause restricted views no?

West and FF could join easily i guess as could the west and south but the east connecting im struggling to picture
It needn’t be an issue with the right design. The corner sections would likely have lower seating decks.

[staunchhibby]

Bigger crowds more money for players.

[SouthsideHarp_Bhoy]

Here’s when we focus on the team and sporting excellence without distraction. Otherwise we dilute the competitive advantage we seek to achieve by sorting our infrastructure ahead of our rivals.

This a million times!!

[Nicho87]

When this does happen at least we can go to Mrs budge on the best way to go about it. The last thing we want to do is make a complete tit of ourselves.

[SirDavidsNapper]

I feel the stadium is now finished and we are now reaping the rewards of that and investing in the team.

[DarlingtonHibee]

I feel the stadium is now finished and we are now reaping the rewards of that and investing in the team.

This

[Viva_Palmeiras]

I don't get why Hibs.netters are obsessed with crowd size? Every day there's a post on it..

Petrie and the infrastructure dudes must have a wry smile to themselves...

But we (through choosing ‘bad’ managers) effectively sacrificed sporting excellence in favour of infrastructure. So I think it’s time for sporting excellence to get a fair kick of the ball as it were...

[Crazyhorse]

Probably 500 or so seats per corner

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I think ER is perfect at the moment. If we ended up with a waiting list for season tickets etc due to massive increases in our support I would say the stadium could be expanded to around 25-26k by filling in the corners.
It would look fantastic but for me investing in the team is the right thing in the short to medium term.

[Crazyhorse]

It should be our no. 1 priority if Heart’s capacity goes above ours. Just to annoy them really.

Don't worry that is something we will never have to worry about.

[MyJo]

The truth is its not needed, only Hearts, Rangers and Celtic get the south stand to themselves so for 12 out of 18 matches at easter road per season there is a couple of thousand empty seats in that stand that can be used rather than spending money on filling in the corners.

But it would be cool if we could put in a single tier of safe-standing terracing between the east and FF for the singing section to go. Maybe utilise the space in that corner to put a reasonable sized building between the stands that could be used for things like the NHS hub and supporters bar that will also help generate income for the club

[Greenfly]

I feel the stadium is now finished and we are now reaping the rewards of that and investing in the team.

Dead right. The stadium is now very good, perfectly adequate for current needs and has taken a lot of years to get there. It's definitely time now to concentrate finances on the footballing side. If that's done properly and consistently over some years there might be real demand for more space at ER. Only then should we consider such a major building project. Success on the park has to be the priority now.

[houstonhibbee]

We still have around 2000 unsold seats in the south most games
First step is to give those over to hibs fans except hearts and when that gets sold out or becomes season ticket seats then we can look at adding more capacity
We may never get there
Let's just focus on getting into and competing regularly in europe first then the crowds will come

[jakedance]

We don’t need it but it would be very cool to develop a safe standing area (to the height of the FF lower tier) in the East FF corner, backed by a big screen. The away end at Ibrox is the template to follow. http://bit.ly/2imrMG1

That corner of the stadium has a fair bit of space available if you look at satellite images so I could see it being developed if the club could come up with a viable use for it (a bar, restaurant, relocated ticket office or flats even).

[Scottie]

I don't get why Hibs.netters are obsessed with crowd size? Every day there's a post on it..
:agree: I used to laugh at the 'Saville' across the city going on about their crowds every week now it's us. :grr:

[EastThomasSTboy]

I would defo go for a safe standing area, tagged onto the East and FF, but only if finances allowed, with a rear bar, etc.

Should be cheaper to construct and those that used to stand in that area of the old ER (to get a quick getaway!!) would feel right at home again.

[cammy1969]

what would the cost be over a mill a corner would be my guess, monies that could be spent on the team look how far we've came last few years. with ground, training centre all in a good condition and payed for bar small morgage on ground.

now is the time to invest on the playing side it was neglected for a long time for the ground tc ect with a weak huns and **** now the time to push on and widen the gap imo

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

The ground is surely only too small when the demand for season tickets is more than the amount of seats.

[Jack]

I don't think the roofs are the same height. That could cause problems!

[Lancs Harp]

I don't think the roofs are the same height. That could cause problems!

Its not that much of a problem Jack, Forest and United to name but two have joined stands of differing heights. Its 2017 we wouldnt be constructing a period StoneHenge.

[houstonhibbee]

:agree: I used to laugh at the 'Saville' across the city going on about their crowds every week now it's us. :grr:

We are seeing unprecedented levels of support so worthy of discussion
I just wouldn't bring hearts into the discussion they way they do with us

[Hibernia&Alba]

Crowds were at around 8000 just a couple of years ago. It would take more evidence of their necessity, before the expense could be justified.

[monktonharp]

It should be our no. 1 priority if Heart’s capacity goes above ours. Just to annoy them really.I like

[monktonharp]

I don't get why Hibs.netters are obsessed with crowd size? Every day there's a post on it..hardly a daily occurance , is it?

some, like myself like to see us maximise the crowd attendance at ER thereby maximising the cash flow/to the club/to the playing side of the team and also providing maximum support to the team at away matches when our support can urge on the team to make possible draws into wins. where's the problem you have with it?:confused:

[monktonharp]

I’d honestly rather we spent every penny in maintaining a good squad.

Our Stadium is honestly much better already than it needs to be! Don’t see the point in blurting money on an increased attendance when, if standards in the pitch drop again, you can gauarantee the attendances will drop just as quickly. Then its money spent for nothing.ok but some on here, and loads over in gorgie thought we had already made the place too big:rolleyes:

[monktonharp]

We still have around 2000 unsold seats in the south most games
First step is to give those over to hibs fans except hearts and when that gets sold out or becomes season ticket seats then we can look at adding more capacity
We may never get there
Let's just focus on getting into and competing regularly in europe first then the crowds will comefair comment:agree:

[southern hibby]

If only I could win the Euro millions Hibs would have corners filled in and a penny or two chucked at the playing squad.

If I won a real big whack then wouldn't stop there I'd build a school with living quarters for about 50-70 kids and then have a real sporting academy so we could have kids from around the world training with us.

Then I'd.......... You'll have to wait till I win to find out.

GGTTH

[monktonharp]

If only I could win the Euro millions Hibs would have corners filled in and a penny or two chucked at the playing squad.

If I won a real big whack then wouldn't stop there I'd build a school with living quarters for about 50-70 kids and then have a real sporting academy so we could have kids from around the world training with us.

Then I'd.......... You'll have to wait till I win to find out.

GGTTHyou've got some big ideas, but I'm next to win it :greengrin

[NAE NOOKIE]

I doubt at the moment that this is high on Hibs list of priorities .... Leeann Dempster alluded to a desire to build a full size indoor training pitch at East Mains and if we spend any significant money in an off field project in the next 18 months it will probably be that.

What I don't agree with is folk who say the stadium is 'finished' ... no it isn't. The east stand is far too disconnected from the FF and south stands and in order for the stadium to flow and be joined up the three stands need to be joined together at the FF and south corners. That doesn't have to be with seating and I don't know why folk get so hung up on the idea that it has to be ... there are dozens of fantastic and atmospheric stadiums around Europe where the corners are filled with buildings, not seats.

My only hang up about it would be that any fillers in the corners must fill in the gaps in the same way as Ibrox or Boavista's stadium or the Sampdoria / Genoa stadium .... it must tie the ground together and not just be some random structure shoved in the gap, that would be a disaster IMO. In fact if you want to take it all the way I would love to see the roofs of the FF east and south extended out by at least two or three metres at the same time giving the ground a far more enclosed feel.

That would surely make ER a more intimidating ground .... but that doesn't mean it lacks atmosphere at the moment, as the racket made during the recent derby proved ... you could probably hear the 'super John McGinn' song in Princes street :aok:

[southern hibby]

you've got some big ideas, but I'm next to win it :greengrin

Baggy half lol.


GGTTH

[Steve-O]

I doubt at the moment that this is high on Hibs list of priorities .... Leeann Dempster alluded to a desire to build a full size indoor training pitch at East Mains and if we spend any significant money in an off field project in the next 18 months it will probably be that.

What I don't agree with is folk who say the stadium is 'finished' ... no it isn't. The east stand is far too disconnected from the FF and south stands and in order for the stadium to flow and be joined up the three stands need to be joined together at the FF and south corners. That doesn't have to be with seating and I don't know why folk get so hung up on the idea that it has to be ... there are dozens of fantastic and atmospheric stadiums around Europe where the corners are filled with buildings, not seats.

My only hang up about it would be that any fillers in the corners must fill in the gaps in the same way as Ibrox or Boavista's stadium or the Sampdoria / Genoa stadium .... it must tie the ground together and not just be some random structure shoved in the gap, that would be a disaster IMO. In fact if you want to take it all the way I would love to see the roofs of the FF east and south extended out by at least two or three metres at the same time giving the ground a far more enclosed feel.

That would surely make ER a more intimidating ground .... but that doesn't mean it lacks atmosphere at the moment, as the racket made during the recent derby proved ... you could probably hear the 'super John McGinn' song in Princes street :aok:

Dare to dream and lets get a roof on the whole thing!

[NAE NOOKIE]

Dare to dream and lets get a roof on the whole thing!

If for no other reason than to keep the bloody Seagulls out :greengrin

[cabbageandribs1875]

i think we really need to think about hiring Murrayfield for the bigger games, although we would sell all 67k tickets at least more of us could attend :cb

[J-C]

Safe standing in the corner between east an FF and put the singing section there

[ruthven_raiders]

Increasing capacity should be a long way off, think money will be spent on upgrading existing facilities, two stands now 20 yrs old. Safe standing behind goals, better catering facilities, maybe giant screens in the stadium and also a new bar in the East stand. So plenty things to be getting on with outside increasing capacity. Also full sized indoor football pitch at East Mains.

[Clarence]

Nothing wrong with the atmosphere against bigger clubs and when we are winning. The priority should be maintaining that even when we are 0-0 with the likes of Ross County after 35 minutes and the grumbling starts.

[BSEJVT]

As a couple of other posters have stated, the next thing will be a full size indoor pitch at East Mains.

I think we need that to be compliant for some sort of youth academy accreditation? and would expect an announcement on this relatively soon.

After that my guess would be using some of the unused space in the East Stand for a supporters bar (if this is feasible) or creating one elsewhere if it is not.

I am curious to see how the club will fund / spin these.

There are many many people who will go mental at any more monies being spent on infrastructure as opposed to the team on the park which (unless these are paid for by sponsorship, which I think quite unlikely) will inevitably be the case. I have great sympathy for that view.

I am conflicted about this as well, the pain associated with the construction of the East Stand and the purchase and construction of East Mains was both brutal and very real and was very hard to bear.

I wouldn't volunteer to suffer that again, but the club needs to move forwards and the indoor space is apparently a necessity, and a large number of Hibs supporters are very keen on a new supporters bar.

I doubt that these combined would be anywhere near as costly, but didn't the Oriam (where I have never been) cost a ridiculous amount of money?

Having said that I have no idea of what other facilities it holds that we wouldn't need which would reduce the cost.

How would folk feel if the vast bulk of any fee received for SJM was used in the construction of the indoor pitch?

I would like to see ER fully enclosed, or as near as access requirements would permit, but not at huge expense to the team on the park and for this expense to be both funded and constructed over a good few years

[keep the faith]

How about people stay for the full 90 mins before we start asking for more room in the stadium!!

[GoalsMcGinley]

Safe standing is on the agenda I believe. Could be in place within the current structure as early as next season I’m told.


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[GreenCastle]

Full size Indoor pitch at East Mains wouldn’t be cheap - I think Scotland only has about 5 indoor pitches and all come at a large expense.

Oriam wasted a lot of money on fancy bits of the facility and is a really badly designed building - small gym, main sports hall and even not enough indoor seats.

We need to continue investing in the team to maintain the crowds - we have a consistency right now which will allow us to keep growing and winning games. That will bring more fans to the ground.

A supporters bar / section would be my first priority at ER - to allow people to meet earlier and stay around ER longer.

I would love to fill the corners but wouldn’t be cheap.

Safe standing would make sense but our fans do it anyway and the club don’t mind so is it worth it ? Only way I feel it would work is FF lower and move the ever increasing family section to west lower. But that would mean many ST being moved which people wouldn’t be holy with at a time where ST sales are at highest.

[DH1875]

Safe standing is on the agenda I believe. Could be in place within the current structure as early as next season I’m told.


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Where?

[Bostonhibby]

If for no other reason than to keep the bloody Seagulls out :greengrinWe could get a giant owl to sort the seagulls out.

If we're doing anything else at ER it's got to be the helipad. Seems to come up quite a bit over the years.

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[essexhibee]

I remember when the East was being built somebody uploaded a mock up of what the stadium would potential look like with corners filled in..does that exist still on here anymore?

[NAE NOOKIE]

Looking at this thread one thing it does show is that things never stand still at a football club and there's always stuff to do. So far we would like:

A safe standing area
At least two corners of the ground filled in
A full sized indoor training pitch
A new supporters bar
A Helipad :greengrin

I doubt the whole lot would leave much change out of 10 million quid which is a fortune to us ... with a debt of 4 million quid ( I think it is by now ) still owed to STF its going to be a long time before we see all of that come to pass. But as I've said so many times, this stuff should always remain on the agenda .... just because we cant afford it at the moment should never mean it isn't an ambition for the club in the long term.

[Renfrew_Hibby]

If we were to fill in the north east corner, that would provide around 1,600 seats and raise capacity to 22,000.

We could make the entire corner safe standing and it would be a real focal point for the section 43 guys or whatever they are called now.

The space under the corner would be massive and could be utilised in numerous ways by the club.

As I've said before, in a dream world, I would fill in all 4 corners. The NE & SW could be fully done and the other two would only be lower tiered due to space limitations. This would still give us an overall capacity of 24,500.

The NW & SE corners which would only be lower tiered would have TV screens situated above them, ala Ibrox.

[Renfrew_Hibby]

Looking at this thread one thing it does show is that things never stand still at a football club and there's always stuff to do. So far we would like:

A safe standing area
At least two corners of the ground filled in
A full sized indoor training pitch
A new supporters bar
A Helipad :greengrin

I doubt the whole lot would leave much change out of 10 million quid which is a fortune to us ... with a debt of 4 million quid ( I think it is by now ) still owed to STF its going to be a long time before we see all of that come to pass. But as I've said so many times, this stuff should always remain on the agenda .... just because we cant afford it at the moment should never mean it isn't an ambition for the club in the long term.

To be fair to the club, Dempster has hinted at a full size indoor pitch at East Mains is something they would like to develope. I think that is the next stage of developing our infrastructure before any stadium expansion/improvements.

[Renfrew_Hibby]

All hypothetical but how would the corners work with east and FF? Im sure it coukd be done but having a 1 tier east and 2 tier ff would cause restricted views no?

West and FF could join easily i guess as could the west and south but the east connecting im struggling to picture

Norwich City successfully filled in a corner connecting their large single tiered stand to a two tiered stand, very similar to Easter Road

[Deansy]

:agree: I used to laugh at the 'Saville' across the city going on about their crowds every week now it's us. :grr:

But unlike them, 'NO CHARITIES WERE HARMED' in our crowds increasing - we've achieved it honestly !

[Keith_M]

All hypothetical but how would the corners work with east and FF? Im sure it coukd be done but having a 1 tier east and 2 tier ff would cause restricted views no?

West and FF could join easily i guess as could the west and south but the east connecting im struggling to picture


Because the single tier East Stand is the same angle as the Upper Tier of the FF, it wouldn't be a problem.


However, Hibs will, quite rightly, only think about extending the stadium if we keep the higher crowds going for a few years. It would be a bit silly to increase the capacity then the crowds drop to previous levels.

There's also the return on any investment to be considered. Any extra seats will only actually make money when the attendance is greater than 20,400 (current capacity). As we've only sold out one game so far, the money spent on the construction would effectively be wasted.

[GoalsMcGinley]

Where?

I’m not 100% sure. I would think the East standard this would the easiest to facilitate a safe standing area with it only being the 1 tier.

Maybe move the signing section back there. That’s an experiment that hasn’t really worked in my opinion but that’s a whole other thread.


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[CMurdoch]

No need for extra capacity at Easter Road.
Full sized indoor training pitch is first on the agenda together with the continued pay back to STF (£3.5m?)
More than enough to keep us going meantime.
How much would the indoor training pitch cost? Ball park figure.

[Jack]

If we were to fill in the north east corner, that would provide around 1,600 seats and raise capacity to 22,000.

We could make the entire corner safe standing and it would be a real focal point for the section 43 guys or whatever they are called now.

The space under the corner would be massive and could be utilised in numerous ways by the club.

As I've said before, in a dream world, I would fill in all 4 corners. The NE & SW could be fully done and the other two would only be lower tiered due to space limitations. This would still give us an overall capacity of 24,500.

The NW & SE corners which would only be lower tiered would have TV screens situated above them, ala Ibrox.

From the mists of time, when Scotland hinted at holding Euro Championships and around the time of the East being planned, that filling in the corners, all 4, would increase the capacity to 30,000 the number required to host Euro matches.

[Greenworld]

Because the single tier East Stand is the same angle as the Upper Tier of the FF, it wouldn't be a problem.


However, Hibs will, quite rightly, only think about extending the stadium if we keep the higher crowds going for a few years. It would be a bit silly to increase the capacity then the crowds drop to previous levels.

There's also the return on any investment to be considered. Any extra seats will only actually make money when the attendance is greater than 20,400 (current capacity). As we've only sold out one game so far, the money spent on the construction would effectively be wasted.There are other ways to achieve this in development with an outside body.
For instance hotel development with the corner stand being part of the deal .

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[Renfrew_Hibby]

From the mists of time, when Scotland hinted at holding Euro Championships and around the time of the East being planned, that filling in the corners, all 4, would increase the capacity to 30,000 the number required to host Euro matches.

Yeah but the 30,000+ capacity would only have been realized by building a 3 tiered East stand with the upper tier being massive and removed post tournament leaving around 24/25,000.

[hibsforeurope]

The way crowds are going just now this increased attendances should lead to an increase in profits. We managed to limit the losses from out time in the championship so that should be paid back after a season or 2 in the Premiership.
I would imagine the money to pay for the new indoor pitch, lets face it it's not going to be all singing all dancing like Oriam, will come out of the cash profits made. I can't see us taking on more debt to pay for it.

[dangermouse]

From the mists of time, when Scotland hinted at holding Euro Championships and around the time of the East being planned, that filling in the corners, all 4, would increase the capacity to 30,000 the number required to host Euro matches.

That also included a temporary third tier on the East that would be removed post tournament IIRC.

[Speedway]

I think if they filled in the corner between the east and the famous five it could really help the atmosphere in the stadium.

But that's where the hotel's going.


No need for extra capacity at Easter Road.
Full sized indoor training pitch is first on the agenda together with the continued pay back to STF (£3.5m?)
More than enough to keep us going meantime.
How much would the indoor training pitch cost? Ball park figure.

About £800,000

[SirDavidsNapper]

The capacity of Easter Road is spot on. Its big enough to accommodate everyone in our biggest games when we're doing well and generates a superb atmosphere. When things were going badly we were getting 8k at some games. Imagine that in a 25k stadium. It would look like Rugby Park. The stadium is the last thing we should be concentrating on unless it's purely cosmetic touches. The full size indoor pitch at East Mains would be money better spent.

[jgl07]

Safe standing is on the agenda I believe. Could be in place within the current structure as early as next season I’m told.

Can't be done anywhere but the FF Lower Tier. That wouldn't be a smart move to try and relocate 1,800 season ticket holders. There is no evidence that so many people would wish to move to a standing area anyway.

The only place safe standing is ever likely to happen is in one of the corners filled in. That's the way Celtic went.

[Hibbyradge]

When this does happen at least we can go to Mrs budge on the best way to go about it. The last thing we want to do is make a complete tit of ourselves.

:faf:

[Clarence]

The population of folk living within a mile radius of Easter Rd will continue to grow over the next 10 years considering all the development going on in east central edinburgh. We need to focus on making the games entertaining so that those residents chose to come along. Easier said than done mind.

[Renfrew_Hibby]

I agree that we should be developing East Mains before expanding the stadium.
We could instantly enhance the appearance of Easter Road though by replacing the seating, which is now 23 years old behind the goals and 16 in the West. The colour is fading and it can be drab looking. Google the new seating plan for Real Betis to see what can be achieved just by improving and upgrading the seating.

PS we could add 96 seats to our capacity overnight by removing the double wide stairs either side of the central section of the upper FF, the padded seats section.

[Ozyhibby]

The way crowds are going just now this increased attendances should lead to an increase in profits. We managed to limit the losses from out time in the championship so that should be paid back after a season or 2 in the Premiership.
I would imagine the money to pay for the new indoor pitch, lets face it it's not going to be all singing all dancing like Oriam, will come out of the cash profits made. I can't see us taking on more debt to pay for it.

John McGinn’s transfer fee will be used.


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[hibsforeurope]

Didn't think it merited a new Thread but the availability of new parent and child tickets at the family section price needs to be looked at. Currently there are no seats next to each other in the whole of this pricing bracket.
I'm not sure how this can be fixed to make more tickets available, perhaps a cheap child ticket purchased with a full price adult could be offered anywhere in the stadium. Or there is a clamp down on people using the FF lower making it purely for parents with children.

For what it's worth i think the safe standing should be the whole of the FF lower. But as someone who, in the next few years, will be looking to bring a child along with them to games the family section needs to be expanded.

[Hibbyradge]

I read a post on Facebook which said that our lowest attendance this season, has been higher than our average attendances since 1959.

Incredible.

[Earlydelivery]

I read a post on Facebook which said that our lowest attendance this season, has been higher than our average attendances since 1959.

Incredible.
Seen it incredible considering we had that fabulous side of the 70s with enormous capacity . And massive old firm following.

[BSEJVT]

Didn't think it merited a new Thread but the availability of new parent and child tickets at the family section price needs to be looked at. Currently there are no seats next to each other in the whole of this pricing bracket.
I'm not sure how this can be fixed to make more tickets available, perhaps a cheap child ticket purchased with a full price adult could be offered anywhere in the stadium. Or there is a clamp down on people using the FF lower making it purely for parents with children.

For what it's worth i think the safe standing should be the whole of the FF lower. But as someone who, in the next few years, will be looking to bring a child along with them to games the family section needs to be expanded.

This issue of reduced price child tickets is an extremely difficult issue for the club as the restriction in KFK ticket numbers shows.

When nobody went and the stadium was empty is wasn't an issue but as the stadium fills up having oodles of reduced priced tickets reduces income which is. Not least when quite a few of the seats are and remain empty for many matches.

Not an issue I would like to have to decide upon

[Famous Fiver]

Why not announce corners getting filled in, sell 30,000 season tickets and rent Murrayfield while the work is going on?

Fanciful and stupid?

Oh wait, somebody has already beaten us to a version of that warped id

Come on down, Mrs Budge!!

[Keith_M]

Didn't think it merited a new Thread but the availability of new parent and child tickets at the family section price needs to be looked at. Currently there are no seats next to each other in the whole of this pricing bracket.
I'm not sure how this can be fixed to make more tickets available, perhaps a cheap child ticket purchased with a full price adult could be offered anywhere in the stadium. Or there is a clamp down on people using the FF lower making it purely for parents with children.

For what it's worth i think the safe standing should be the whole of the FF lower. But as someone who, in the next few years, will be looking to bring a child along with them to games the family section needs to be expanded.


I think they already added restrictions on reduced price kids tickets, so that they can only be purchased along with an accompanying full price adult ticket.

Thing is, there's nothing to stop people with no kids at all buying Season Tickets in FF Lower, so it's not a truly dedicated family only stand. If demand exceeds supply, the club might change that and only allow entry to people with kids.

I don't have a strong view on that either way, but it might happen.

[WhileTheChief..]

About £800,000

You reckon? I’m thinking this will cost millions. An empty shell the size of a football pitch with the required height is some undertaking. Then add in all the stuff to kit it out and it’s going to cost a small fortune.

I’m thinking the club plan on selling McGinn to fund it in a similar vein that the Fletcher money basically paid for East Mains.

In LDs catch up interview at the beginning of the season she said it was something that we would have to deal with relatively soon.

Them corners and screens are gonna have to wait a while!

[SquashedFrogg]

You reckon? I’m thinking this will cost millions. An empty shell the size of a football pitch with the required height is some undertaking. Then add in all the stuff to kit it out and it’s going to cost a small fortune.

I’m thinking the club plan on selling McGinn to fund it in a similar vein that the Fletcher money basically paid for East Mains.

In LDs catch up interview at the beginning of the season she said it was something that we would have to deal with relatively soon.

Them corners and screens are gonna have to wait a while!

You seriously think the club plan on selling McGinn so they can fund this? I agree it's on the agenda, and agree it needs serious financing but I suspect NL wouldn't hang around much longer if SJM transfer fee wasn't put back into team.

I think we are much stronger and financially better positioned than a few years back. Infrastructure costs aren't fully reliant on player sales as they once were.

If anything, McGinn fee will fund landscaped mono-block badge in car park :)

[WhileTheChief..]

I just think that it’s inevitable that McGinn will be sold for a decent fee.

Lennon has said that he hopes he can bring success to Hibs on the pitch and help make the club some money along the way.

I’m sure the board would still be supportive of NL but I think it’s fantasy to suggest that we’d spend the whole fee on a couple of players for a few years.

If the indoor thing is some kind of requirement for elite academy status or whatever it is that’s going on then there’s a good chance we will get some funding from the SFA or SportScotland.

LD would never have mentioned it unless plans were already well underway. I reckon they’ll announce something by the end of the season.

[NAE NOOKIE]

You seriously think the club plan on selling McGinn so they can fund this? I agree it's on the agenda, and agree it needs serious financing but I suspect NL wouldn't hang around much longer if SJM transfer fee wasn't put back into team.

I think we are much stronger and financially better positioned than a few years back. Infrastructure costs aren't fully reliant on player sales as they once were.

If anything, McGinn fee will fund landscaped mono-block badge in car park :)

Hibs don't need to plan on selling SJM because its inevitable and Hibs know it .... from that point of view they should and will plan in advance what to do with that money. If we walk away from any deal for McGinn with say 3 million quid I guarantee you it wont all be invested in the team ... The most Hibs will pay for a player is quarter of a million quid, because go past that and wages become a factor. Hibs wont use the money to increase player wages across the board either, not on the back of a one off windfall.

Neil Lennon will be well aware of this and yes he will expect to get some of the money to invest in the team, but he has to have been made aware when he signed up that he is never going to get every penny of any substantial transfer fee we might receive for any player.

[Brightside]

Ah the old days ( 2 years ago) when i used the have almost a row of the west lower to 4 of us......

Enjoy what we have.....build slowly.... then who knows.

[Steve-O]

I read a post on Facebook which said that our lowest attendance this season, has been higher than our average attendances since 1959.

Incredible.

http://www.fitbastats.com/hibs/club_records_league_attendance.php

Some surprising stats here. Crowd v Hearts last week was our highest since 1992/93.

We've had some pretty wild fluctuations in crowds over the years between average / highest / lowest.

[mutley]

Do we have a cap on how many season tickets we can sell, leaving room for walk-ups?

I think until we have a waiting list for ST and filling the South Stand for most games (other than when it’s given entirely to away team) then consideration should be given to increasing capacity. But I think we would need to keep these high attendances up for a number of years before any plan would be looked at .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[we are hibs]

Do we have a cap on how many season tickets we can sell, leaving room for walk-ups?

I think until we have a waiting list for ST and filling the South Stand for most games (other than when it’s given entirely to away team) then consideration should be given to increasing capacity. But I think we would need to keep these high attendances up for a number of years before any plan would be looked at .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


Sure hibs said something before about the season ticket capacity being 16'000

[Crazyhorse]

Increasing capacity should be a long way off, think money will be spent on upgrading existing facilities, two stands now 20 yrs old. Safe standing behind goals, better catering facilities, maybe giant screens in the stadium and also a new bar in the East stand. So plenty things to be getting on with outside increasing capacity. Also full sized indoor football pitch at East Mains.

I agree with all your points except the last one. Selling players like McGinn to fund more infrastructure projects at East Mains is a sure way to guarantee we will NEVER need extra capacity at ER. We need to continue to invest in the team as the number 1 priority, if we don't we will go backwards as a club.
Building Edinburgh's biggest and best football stadium was excellent decision making by Petrie... East Mains I'm less convinced about.

[Baldy Foghorn]

I know its early days, but if crowds keep improving, should Hibs be thinking of filling in the corners between FF-East and East-South Stands.
how many extra seats would it create, would it be worth while?

on the plus side, ER would go from being a brill arena to a superb stadium.

thoughts fellow Hibs fans. :flag:

No, keep the Stadium as it is, money going to the playing squad

[InchHibby]

I think, for the time being, the ground is perfect, but I really would like the section between the Famous Five and East filled in specifically to house the singing section. Build it as a standing area only, I’m positive this would sell out every week. It would probably hold about a couple of thousand but I certainly think it would be money well spent.:agree:

[lucky]

The ground does not need further redevelopment at this stage. East Mains does require a full size indoor pitch to compete it. But most importantly we need a competitive team on the park so that’s where any investment should be spent

[JIm]

I agree with all your points except the last one. Selling players like McGinn to fund more infrastructure projects at East Mains is a sure way to guarantee we will NEVER need extra capacity at ER. We need to continue to invest in the team as the number 1 priority, if we don't we will go backwards as a club.
Building Edinburgh's biggest and best football stadium was excellent decision making by Petrie... East Mains I'm less convinced about.

What aren't you convinced about?

[Hibbyradge]

The ground does not need further redevelopment at this stage. East Mains does require a full size indoor pitch to compete it. But most importantly we need a competitive team on the park so that’s where any investment should be spent

How/when do we pay for the indoor pitch?

[The Leith Dutch]

I'd like to see us at a point where it's perceived that getting a ticket for a home match at ER is difficult.
Having more people wanting tickets than can get them would go a long way to keeping the attendances up.

Deep squad of players who can't get in the team despite being good + Deep support who can't get into the games = happy days.

[Hibbyradge]

I'd like to see us at a point where it's perceived that getting a ticket for a home match at ER is difficult.
Having more people wanting tickets than can get them would go a long way to keeping the attendances up.

Deep squad of players who can't get in the team despite being good + Deep support who can't get into the games = happy days.

We're getting there.

You already have to be quick to get a ticket in a prime area.

[ruthven_raiders]

How/when do we pay for the indoor pitch?

Leanne is looking at the full sized indoor pitch as her next priority, I'm sure funding will be in place. Sure Lennon won't want his transfer budget compromised tho, and I'm sure leanne is aware of this 😊

[Hibbyradge]

Leanne is looking at the full sized indoor pitch as her next priority, I'm sure funding will be in place. Sure Lennon won't want his transfer budget compromised tho, and I'm sure leanne is aware of this ��

I'm sure the manager's budget won't be affected. He just won't get all of SJMs transfer fee to spend.

[lucky]

How/when do we pay for the indoor pitch?

The indoor pitch is seen as a priority by the club so I think it will happen in the near future probably paid for by the increased attendances. But for me I’d hold off until we are an established top 4 club

[RyeSloan]

I'm sure the manager's budget won't be affected. He just won't get all of SLMs transfer fee to spend.

Exactly. Investment in infrastructure is strangely enough an investment. Spending on the team not always so.

Sure we need to get the blend correct but that why we have smart people running the club.

The fact is we can't go and sign a £3m player to replace SJM...we can't support the wages even if we wanted to.

As for developing the stadium, I think there is an investment case for the one corner between the east and the FF if it comprised safe standing and fans facilities/bar.

The same arguments were made re the redevelopment of the East. We don't need it, we don't have the fan base for it etc. But the smart thing to do is to anticipate the demand and be ready for it.

Of course the first team comes first but that does not mean we should ignore development of our stadium and training centre when it is prudent to do so. I would suggest that using large cash windfalls from player sales to increase the effectiveness of our training centre and develop the stadium AFTER the appropriate amount has been allocated to the manager to replace the sold player is exactly what we should be doing.

We could also use it to pay down the remaining debt...that has the benefit of immediately increasing the available cash flow for the coming years.