In an earlier post (unless I miss understood) there was a mention that the Fan-Zone would be relocated to the area between the Holmesdale & AW - how that would effect any new look wrap around between the 2 stands would be interesting to see.

Also - as you say getting rid of that gantry has got to be an absolute blessing, that was one of the things that pushed me to pay for a season ticket as the only tickets available at short notice / per game were at the back of the AW & the view was rubbish.

I can't find the thread where we were discussing match day revenue before and after the new stand.

Anyway here it is according to click bait.

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One more point

Surely there would be big issues with local residents at the thought of a Pl club building a ground there? I also believe there are planning permission issues associated with their ground - the new stand they are planning had to be restricted in height due to planning issues I seem to recall.

That's interesting (if true, of course).

If the sums are right, we are spending £150m to increase the overall capacity by 8000, whilst adding corporate facilities. These improvements generate some £8m a year. Based on that, the stand will take the best part of 20 years to pay for itself. I think that sounds about par for the course. I think Arsenal hoped to pay off the costs of building their stadium inside of 25 years.

Matchday ticket sales and hospitality income is not, of course, the only benefit of the project for Palace. By getting in an extra 8000 people we will have more active supporters, many of whom will buy merchandise, food, drink etc, as well as (in time) bringing their own kids to Palace, hopefully.

The stand will also improve the perception of the size of the club to sponsors, media and players, so not every gain can be shown on a balance sheet.

What the sums do illustrate however is the implications of building a new Arthur or Whitehorse stand, especially during the period in which the Main Stand is being paid off.

The AW will seem even more ramshackle once the Main Stand is finished. Even if we can get planning permission to replace the existing stand with a structure comparable to the new Main Stand (not something to take for granted given how close the houses on Park Road are), the sums may not add up.

The current AW holds 9500 (before the corner is filled in). A new AW stand mirroring the new Main Stand would only boost capacity by 4000 seats, whilst likely not containing the same money-spinning corporate facilities as the Main Stand. We could be spending another £150m to make only £4 a year, if that.

It may be possible to retain the bottom two-thirds of the existing AW stand, erecting a new upper tier across the top. That may reduce construction costs compared to building a whole new stand, and perhaps deliver a larger overall increase in capacity compared to building a replica of the new Main Stand, but we would still be paying off the costs of a new AW at the same time as paying off the Main Stand. We would also be banking on Palace filling a near-40,000 seater ground - it doesn't matter how many seats you add if nobody buys a ticket to sit in them.

Just as a 'back-of-fag-packet' sum it's not obvious that the benefits outweigh the costs, let alone the risks.

If we were to do a deal with Sainsburys (can't see any reason why that relationship might be strained...) and replace the current Whitehorse stand with a mirror of the Holmesdale, incorporating a new supermarket underneath, we would gain an extra 6000 seats. That is a better return than we would get from the hypothetical AW project, but still less than we are getting from the Main Stand. As with the AW, a new Whitehorse stand would likely not contain the same corporate facilities as the new Main Stand, thereby further reducing the comparative returns.

It's no wonder Selhurst gets rebuilt one stand every second generation.

Edited by TheBigToePunt (30 Oct 2023 2.44pm)

Edited by TheBigToePunt (30 Oct 2023 2.47pm)

I think the bottom line for the club is that at some point wooden stands will be banned on safety grounds so revenue is not the only driver it is the fear that we will lose our safety certificate.

One more point

I thought that was what happened with the main stand a few years ago?

I'm a blind man, i'm a blind man, now my room is cold,
When a blind man cries, Lord, he feels it from his soul.
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