Future Super League Stadiums

[Evil Homer]

it seems like quite a big and expensive process for a 3000 seat increase. I wish they would build one with a capacity over 25k so they could host internationals instead of the usual hull, wigan and huddersfield. I believe the matches in leeds would be the best attended ones. Also for matches with Bradford or Hull, they could even get 30k to these games if the stadium was big enough. RL needs to move forward, not limit itself like this.

I see there's a space issue at one end, then why not make one of the side stands (maybe the one on the right) a two-tier stand (and build underground parking if you're worried about losing all those spaces).

i know i know, all this requires money, but surely you'll get a return on investment long-term, it would become the 'go-to' venue for many high-profile matches.

It's not just an increase in capacity, the stadium needs modernising, as Johnny says the facilities are 100 years old and they have actually had to reduce the capacity of the South Stand over the last year because of safety issues. I agree with what you're saying about larger stadiums, but I think that applies more to the clubs that are building sub-20k stadiums, Headingley will be 25k which is big enough IMO. The Super League attendance record is only 25k, it's not like Australia where RL is the dominant code and hyped matches can attract massive crowds. The redeveloped Headingley could still hold internationals, with Elland Road available if a larger capacity is required.

In answer to your question about two-tier stands, the one behind the posts does have two-tiers. The stand you suggested is the South Stand, which is famous for being one of the largest terraces in the world, while the North stand is shared with Headingley cricket ground, which is a Test venue. I don't think it would really be possible to build another tier on either of those stands.

 

[langpark]

I know it's not like the NRL, i actually do watch and properly follow SL, unlike many aussies

But i think leeds are not like the rest. They are not a Cas or a Wakefield, they are actually quite a large city so despite their already big following, they have big potential to still grow even bigger, whereas some of the clubs from smaller towns, have reached their potential and can't really grow any bigger, cos their towns are so small (if that makes sense).

I remember a few years ago they were getting quite a few sellouts when playing against other big teams. So we will never know how many people they could have got to some of those games. And they have something like 10,000 season ticket holders as it is don't they?

 

[Johnny_L_O]

Hey langpark.

It was one of the options for the Southstand making it a double tier. The top teir would have been seated and the bottom terracing like now. The main problm with this is planning permission. There is space in the south stand car park to build back and up but its the residents just over the road who would object. Light being the main reason. As for the north stand, as has been stated above, it joins onto the cricket stand and there is very lmited room.

As far as the a bigger capacity goes it isnt really something that we require. In the city we are the 2nd sport and our biggest Super League attendance is only 23,035. On top of that we havent actually had a crowd of over 20k for 3 years now. We are just very consistant. Last season we only had two 17k crowds but averaged 15.5k.

The work itsself though will bring so much more money into the club. As you can see in the picture the big windows above the seats in the North Stand are actually a few tiers of corporate boxes. This is something we are lacking at the moment and the corporate aspect of our sales seems to sell out most weeks.

And the main reason for the redevelopment is modernisation. Im sure one day Caddick will actualy buy out the people in the houses behind the western terrace and then we can build a bigger stand and push the attendance towards the 28-30k mark.

 

[langpark]

Lets hope so. I guess you're right but i still believe there is even bigger potential at leeds.

Either way i can't tell you how glad i am that they're staying at headingly and not moving out to some soulless new stadium in the middle of nowhere, as many clubs are doing these days.

 

[Wellsy4HullFC]

No and no. Headingley is synonymous with Leeds RL, they will never move, and once the redevelopment is complete it will be a much nicer ground than Elland Road. Arguably it is already.

And Castleford and Wakefield have already stated that they don't want to groundshare.

Only someone who has never been to both grounds would consider Headingley to be a nicer ground than Elland Road.

Headingley is a dump at the moment. The North Stand is very uncomfortable to sit in (wooden seats in the 21st Century!?) with poor sight. The South Stand has had to have its capacity reduced due to being unsafe. And the Western Terrace is one of the worst in the SL (only Belle Vue's touchline "stand" and Hull KR's South Terrace are worse).

Headingley is a great place to go watch rugby, but definitely has nothing to do with the quality of the stadium. It desperately needs renovating. It should look great when they get the two new stands completed (whenever that will happen, could be years yet). It concerns me that, as an away fan, we will still get stuck in the crappy Western Terrace with no roof and shallow steps so short people like me can't see a bloody thing! I understand there is little they can do because of the houses to the back (I think the public footpath would be an easy obstacle to get around. They could always have it go through the stand, or redivert it to go through the Turnways estate behind it should they get the houses).

Part of me thinks it would have just been easier to completely get rid of the Western Terrace, move the pitch up that way, and just have three big stands with a scoreboard/screen and advertising wall at the Western end.

I remember reading somewhere that Headingley could only go up to a certain capacity anyway due to the area it is in. Access roads to the area aren't brilliant, so increasing the traffic flow due to a bigger ground would be a major problem (not to mention lack of parking). This is a shame, as Leeds are arguably the biggest club in Super League with the most potential to get even bigger. They are pretty much SL's Brisbane.

 

[langpark]

They are pretty much SL's Brisbane.

Lang Park is a brilliant design. Not only is it in the city centre, but you get free public transport to and from games, the buses go the entire way on the Busway unhindered by traffic and leave you at the terminal just behind the southern stand. So most people park at their local bus stop and go in by bus, only a fool would try and drive to a game there.

 

[Wellsy4HullFC]

Lang Park is a brilliant design. Not only is it in the city centre, but you get free public transport to and from games, the buses go the entire way on the Busway unhindered by traffic and leave you at the terminal just behind the southern stand. So most people park at their local bus stop and go in by bus, only a fool would try and drive to a game there.

I didn't mean stadium wise. Lang Park is a fantastic stadium. Access into Headingley would probably prevent any of the bus ideas being possible. Literally every route to Headingley is choc-a-block during peak times. It's student central!

 

[Sam_the_man]

I didn't mean stadium wise. Lang Park is a fantastic stadium. Access into Headingley would probably prevent any of the bus ideas being possible. Literally every route to Headingley is choc-a-block during peak times. It's student central!

Surely an under ground bus and train sub station could be built under the car park or stadium?

 

[Wellsy4HullFC]

Surely an under ground bus and train sub station could be built under the car park or stadium?

I'm sure it could. But I'm sure they don't think it would be worth the £10s-£100s of millions it would cost to do such a thing!

I've always thought Leeds/West Yorkshire would be served well by an underground similar to London (but on a smaller scale!). A line that ran from Elland Road to Wellington Street (YEP) to Leeds Station to Leeds Uni/LGI to Headingley Stadium to Kirkstall would probably wipe out a vast chunk of traffic around the busiest parts of Leeds
But the reality is, it costs hundreds of millions to do!

 

[Wellsy4HullFC]

Surely an under ground bus and train sub station could be built under the car park or stadium?

I'm sure it could. But I'm sure they don't think it would be worth the £10s-£100s of millions it would cost to do such a thing!

I've always thought Leeds/West Yorkshire would be served well by an underground similar to London (but on a smaller scale!). A line that ran from Elland Road to Wellington Street (YEP) to Leeds Station to Leeds Uni/LGI to Headingley Stadium to Kirkstall would probably wipe out a vast chunk of traffic around the busiest parts of Leeds
But the reality is, it costs hundreds of millions to do!

 

[Johnny_L_O]

Surely an under ground bus and train sub station could be built under the car park or stadium?

Yeah, busses and trains arent reallt the problem. There are plenty of busses on match days (not free though) as its a student area and they go to quite a number of places. Also there are 2 train stations nearby. Headingley is just down the hill about a 5 minute walk or so from the ground and Burley Park is just around the corner, litterally 2 minutes away.

The problem is that Headingley is a dense housing area and the only place to park is on side streets as the club car parks only hold maybe 200 cars or so. These arent really for the paying public either.

What you have to remember is that Leeds isnt a new City. Its ben around a while and the road systems, even though modern, are just concreted over the old roads that are 100's of years old. There is no room to build big car parks or widen roads and unless we moved to a new stadium in the middle of nowhere, which the fans dont want, we have to do with what we have.

Its never bothered me anyway. I have the same parking space about half a mile away over Burley Road and if you dont leave it til the last minute the roads arent too busy.


http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/sports/gallery2/d/920-1/headingleyair-ba33073.jpg

Theres a picture from a wider angle than the one before. It shows how little room there is. And its like that for miles around apart from the odd small park here and there.

 

[Wellsy4HullFC]

Yeah, busses and trains arent reallt the problem. There are plenty of busses on match days (not free though) as its a student area and they go to quite a number of places. Also there are 2 train stations nearby. Headingley is just down the hill about a 5 minute walk or so from the ground and Burley Park is just around the corner, litterally 2 minutes away.

The problem is that Headingley is a dense housing area and the only place to park is on side streets as the club car parks only hold maybe 200 cars or so. These arent really for the paying public either.

What you have to remember is that Leeds isnt a new City. Its ben around a while and the road systems, even though modern, are just concreted over the old roads that are 100's of years old. There is no room to build big car parks or widen roads and unless we moved to a new stadium in the middle of nowhere, which the fans dont want, we have to do with what we have.

Its never bothered me anyway. I have the same parking space about half a mile away over Burley Road and if you dont leave it til the last minute the roads arent too busy.

I live just off Burley Road now, and when I was a student I used to live off Ash Road in Headingley. I could always find somewhere to park, even on match days. But I know the area. I know where to look, where there probably won't be any cars, where there won't be as much traffic, etc.

From past experience (and from hearing constant experiences from my family/friends coming up from Hull to see me!), Leeds is a very very hard place to navigate round if you don't know the area. Miss one turn and you're stuck in the city centre on the loop of doom! And that's before finding where to park!

The best thing that Leeds could do would be a Park-and-Ride, with some kind of direct shuttle service to the ground. Elland Road would be a good shout on non-United days. Straight off the motorway and right next to a train-line. If they built a station at Elland Road, they could do a line to Headingley via Leeds Station (or direct, but having to go into station to change tracks).

No idea how much that would cost, mind you! Would be good for Leeds United as well though to have a stop outside Elland Road (and for RL when we have games there!).

 

[Evil Homer]

A couple of images of the new St Helens stadium in progress (taken from The Chairmaker at RLFANS)

 

[roughyedspud]

they don't take long to build these days

 

[JasonE]

Great photos, impressed by the speed of the progress.
Is that more advanced than Salford's ?

 

[Goldfields_Titans]

Seems Skints are a little in the lead but Barton needed more ground prep.
One of the latest images from Barton:

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

Will the stadium be able to have extra stands put on in the future if needed?

 

[Evil Homer]

Will the stadium be able to have extra stands put on in the future if needed?

I doubt either club will need it to be honest, not in the near future anyway. Saints should have been a couple of thousand bigger IMO but it's probably only likely to sell out once a year or so.

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

I know that SL is not as big in the Uk as it is here, but we are projecting a 200% increase in crowds in about 10-15 years. Do those in the SL have any sort of similar goals?

 

[roughyedspud]

200% really?

would'nt that require just about every game to be staged at SFS,ANZ and suncorp?


but to answer your question.....other than bettering the previous seasons average i doubt it extends further than that?