The problem with any West Stand Redevelopment

A lot of money had been spent on the West Stand Recently:

1) Refurbishment if media and scouts room.
2) Refurbishment Of directors room and corridors.
3) General painting.
4) Cladding to both gables inc. structural work.
5) Cladding to TV Gantry.
6) New walkway and ladders to TV gantry.
7) New lighting in areas.
8) New CCTV in areas.
9) LED floodlights to Northside of Stand (on back facade).

Realistically, there could be knocking on £300k spent just there, if not more. Maintenance works costs a fortune.

The 3 issues going forward, which may cause issue in regards to safety are:

1) Timber Seats and flooring on upper part. Structural and fire.

2) Asbestos sheeting to roof - no issue currently, but if they start to break up they will be an issue.

3) Rewire to full building.

I think regulations over the next 10years may tighten up to the extent that if will need a million chucking at it, or it won’t be re-certified. I reckon the structure will be ok if kept maintained though - it’s just refs sometimes surpass that.

 

Where is this from? I know they had issues with the footings when building - but thought that was mainly due to ground conditions. To build over a major water main is not normally permitted - neither would the main be expected to be installed originally under a large commercial building on private land. Normally they are under main roads for a reason - so you can renew easily when required.

The roof couldn’t be much bigger than it is. It’s just open to the elements. It blows in. It’s a fair size cantilever system they have in already.

 

I do understand your point of view.

I've been trying to work out how to articulate my thoughts. Basically, there aren't many fans who can point to a part of their club's ground and say that it's been there since the very beginning. It's a tangible link to the club's founding, and to every player in every team that's ever represented Barnsley at Oakwell. Everybody's favourite player has played in front of the West Stand, and supporters have sat in it for every home game the club have played at Oakwell. I just think that's tremendously valuable, and it would be a huge shame to have it knocked down and replaced with something off the peg.

To be clear, I wouldn't even be against gutting the whole thing and rebuilding everything inside it from the ground up, including new facilities (providing they fit). But I think that any redevelopment of the stand should take the structure itself as a starting point and work around that. As you correctly point out, there's a bit of a Trigger's Broom situation here, but that's always the case with older buildings to some extent.

 

The article attached was from a construction trade magazine back in 1993, and was published in issue 18 of South Riding fanzine, where I've taken this from. Suggests that the footprint for the East Stand was compromised because of the water main due to the required clearance around the pipe.

Lots of factors in any design.

 

Great article mate.

It was the statement that it was built over it that was strange to me - but this makes sense. Thinking about it, I think you could see part of it from Beevor Court? Only small section, but I’m sure there’s a large green pipe there.

Interesting about the retaining wall too in front of the pitch.

Here’s a question though - anyone got a cross-section of Stand showing the unused floor bit (or where it would go).

 

Moncur would be blowing out of his arse by the time he got to the pitch.

 

Like a secret floor?!?

£300 a seat sounds well reasonable! I’m sure if that was the case today, they could get some investment from fans....

Not that I want to see the end of the West stand.... I was looking at the old tin lampshades just last year and thinking how cool they looked. Unless we start filling Oakwell oriy gets condemned, I really can’t see the point....

There was once talk of Barnsley buying up all the houses on the street so they could extend the west stand, but I guess that’s just pie in the sky nowadays. Although the land that was the school is available?

 

There is room to add another floor in the East Stand - it was designed to take it if ever required. I’m guessing it would be above the ground floor concourse and below the executive floor. It’s the only place where I can see plenty of space.

The school land is owned by developers now. They’ll no doubt sit on it for a while to see what happens. They might build themselves or sell on again.

 

Just a point - not that I've measured it - but there's a lot of space from the dugouts to the road, more than you might realise. There's a wide concourse behind before the turnstiles, then the pavement at the back is very wide. Not saying you could fit an East Stand sized stand there, but one certainly a lot deeper than the West Stand.

 

Didn’t someone on here take measures off Google Earth and then transposed the East Stand over the old West Stand - showing it fitted quite easily? I agree it would fit.

 

Aye.

Supertyke (had to correct as my phone called you superglue lol)

He showed it comfortably fit in the same space I believe

 

That's right. At Grove streets narrowest point near the Ponty the east stand would fit with a little room to spare. It would mean the exit gates open almost directly to the pavement but they do anyway in the west.


My view (or superglues view anyway) is that OK he West should be carefully dismantled and re-erected somewhere else with a modern glass frontage and used as the oakwell hall of fame, club museum and other heritage based projects. Done correctly it could be a real feature for the club and attract a lot of positive attention.

As most of the stand isn't original anyway (only two thirds of its width is the original stand) it could be built on quite a small footprint. Imagine if they bought the few houses at the bottom of the car park and built it there as a proper iconic piece of architecture as you drive up pontefract Road. If I was a billionaire it would be first thing on my list.

If you look at the stand objectively nothing related to the lower tier is over 20 years old so that's not worth saving.
The ends of the stand are about a tear old and ghastly to look at. Not worth saving.
The gantry is an eyesore and certainly not original. Not worth saving.
All you are left with is a pitched roof from penalty area to penalty area, a few uprights holding said roof on and a lot of wooden seats.

 

Best idea I’ve seen. Would cost millions, but yeah - take down and rebuild at bottom of car park - turn it into the new club shop, box office and fan area with bar and cafe etc. Inside could be a large open plan space with glass frontages.

The club could then convert the existing box office and shop into enlarged offices for the staff etc.

Absolutely not economically viable, but it would be a masterpiece and would probably win design awards.

 

Economically it makes no sense but it would be a thing of absolute beauty and would put he club on the map for all the right reasons. Would probably cost a couple of million to do but if I was a billionaire it's the kind of thing I'd be doing so can point proudly and say 'I did that'. A bit like how Chien Lee built a training facility for nice that was way over the top architecturally and wasted a lot of money but in reality but looked great.

 

Totally with you pal.

Although Cryne saved the club financially - it’s John Dennis’ legacy that you see every day - New stands, car park and academy.

Chien Lee could really develop that bit as a legacy. It would be a thing of beauty and be a commercial success ongoing (when ignoring the initial costs).

 

Really interesting thread. One thing I would be interested to know is, who is currently paying for the maintenance of the West Stand? My understanding is that all the land is owned by the Cryne family/Barnsley BMB partnership and the Club has a some sort of lease on the ground. If that is the case, the Lee/Conway board presumably wouldn’t/can’t spend money carrying out any major redevelopment to the West Stand, until such time as they own it, at least in part.
I am filled with the same nostalgia as others and sat in the stand in 1964 for the only game I ever attended with my Grandfather. I do not think we need a much bigger capacity even if we were established in the Premier League, maybe a total of 25k, but there are facilities we badly lack, some of which over time could produce a good return on capital - commercial activities, large well appointed Social Club, Museum etc.
Obviously our media facilities badly need an overhaul which will have to happen at some point and which even could produce a bigger revenue stream if the club establishes itself at a higher level.
So, much as I like to look at the Stand with great fondness, it is not really fit for purpose anymore and I would be in favour of a new Stand, creatively designed, which vastly improves the facilities at the Club, including the rehousing of the dressing rooms.

 

Nobody’s seems to know for certain
Although I have seen people arguing here about who owns what ground , land .

I was in Morrisons in town the other day and the manager at tills said the total refit there had cost millions
But said it won’t actually cost them a penny as they can knock it off there tax bill under upgrades repairs , the refurb

So why havnt upgrades repairs been done at oakwell year on year if a % of turnover can be claimed back every year on these sort of things

Do Barnsley F.C. rent the ground off Barnsley council so it’s the councils Responsibility as landlord to maintain repair and upgrade it
If you rent a house you can’t even paint the walls can you ?