Re: Stadium news There are also a new batch of pictures on the official site from later on today, with part of the roof now being installed. Work is continuing at a great pace, seven days a week at the moment, and from (certainly on weekdays) about 8am to to about 7pm. Pictures at: http://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10432~1706213,00.html
Re: Stadium news Work has now started on the next section, with the base for the concrete stepping now in place. A week on Sunday Bloomfield Road will be on television with rugby leagues Northern Rail Cup final being on Sky Sports. It will be interesting to see how far the stand will have progressed by then. Also, once they finish the SW corner, the South stand is apparently going to have four floors (the other stands all have three floors) - and maybe the hotel. One rumour last week suggested that the stand will contain a Burger King. It is certainly due to have a Supporters Bar and the Oystons Estate Agent sign on the site mentions a bar/restaurant too.
Re: Stadium news Indeed! Went past the ground this evening (on the way home from the superb Gurkha restaurant) and it is so great to see the stand rising. Never thought I would see it at all to be honest! Seasiders Way running down the side of the West stand with the new piazza area is looking really smart too.
Re: Stadium news Latest fan picture, taken yesterday showing how much more of the corner has now been done -
Re: Stadium news Most of the concrete stepping in the SW corner has now been installed. There is just one final section at the top, where the hospitality balcony will be, to be fitted. The webcam now shows also the end of the SW corner, where it will join to the South stand. And from the image it does look as though the South will be at least one metre higher than the Kop, NW, West and SW. Looking forward to seeing the place on Sunday on Sky Sports for the Northern Rail Rugby League Cup final.
Re: Stadium news Now the egg chasers have been and gone, work has begun again on the stand and with the SW corner structure steelwork, concrete terracing, and part of the roofing in place, this week they the have now started on the South stand itself.
Re: Stadium news It has been confirmed that the South stand has had some amendments made. The proposed hotel has now increased in size and will occupy the 2nd and 3rd floors and on both floors it looks like there will be rooms with balconies overlooking the pitch. The 1st floor looks likely to be office/retail space, while on the ground floor, the concourse will be a lot wider than the current concoruses in the West and Kop. The club are in discussion with Blackpool Council about the possibility of opening at least part of the stand before the work is complete, in order to get some seats in use by the time of the visit of Newcastle United in September. The plan is to have at least 1,000 of the new 3,500 seats open for the visit of Newcastle United on 16th September, taking Bloomfield Road's capacity to about 10,650. Chairman Karl Oyston has also revealed plans for season ticket holders in the Kop to move to the new stand, freeing up space for away fans to sit under cover in the Kop. Oyston added the opening of the new stand could trigger a game of musical chairs, with away supporters no longer confined to the exposed temporary East stand. He also confirmed that the seats in the South stand will be emblazoned with ARMFIELD. The stand will be known as the Jimmy Armfield South Stand. Meanwhile the Gazette have a short video of work ongoing at Bloomfield Road from within the stadium - http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sports-news/South-stand-progress-video.5459459jp
Re: Stadium news The latest from the webcam shows the SW corner in place, with the first section of the South stand also now started. And at the back of that first section can be seen where the two floors of the hotel balconies will be.
Re: Stadium news The steel for the next section of the South stand has started to be installed today. Also, more roof supports have been fitted. I'll add an image shortly.
Re: Stadium news A webcam image from this morning showing how much of the roof support has now been installed over the weekend, as work continues 7 days a week.With two cranes working on the roof support. Also of course, the steel support for next section of the South stand concrete terracing has started to be installed. And in the South West corner the concrete flooring has now been installed at the back where the hospitality balcony will be. The Travelodge over the road on Bloomfield Road has now all but gone from view on the webcam. And of course, there is also a lot of work going on "off-cam" at the back of the stands, installing for instance the stairs which will lead up to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors from the ground floor. Any away fan who has booked into the Travelodge on a match day hoping to see the game from their room, which a number did last season, will see nothing on the pitch! And since the above webcam image, timed at 10:46am, a lot more steelwork has been installed in the latest section, ready for the next bit of concrete terracing.
Re: Stadium news Just a day after the next section of steel appeared and the concrete terracing is already in place in that section. They really are pushing on now. A webcam image from this afternoon showing the terracing in place and work going on to install the steel at the rear - the hotel area.
Re: Stadium news The latest news on the stand - The club has increased the number of hotel rooms to 56 in the development, which will also include a ground floor Supporters Bar. Space on the first floor has yet to be allocated a use, while the hotel will occupy the second and third floors, linking through to the function rooms in the West Stand. The changes also include enhancements to the external look of the stand in order that it will fit in better with the rest of Blackpool's "Central Corridor". Chairman Karl Oyston said, Revised plans have been submitted to Blackpool Council for the £8.5M South Stand development. The application to the council is not expected to delay the building of the stand, which is already well under way. The £8.5m investment will include £2.5m to fit out the hotel and around £500,000 on the new Supporters Bar. The head of development control at Blackpool Council, Ian Ward, confirmed the new application was aimed at enhancing the appearance of the stadium. He said, The latest phase of the "Central Corridor" which is the main route into the resort has seen a £1.8m upgrade by ReBlackpool which includes a new pedestrian plaza alongside the stadium. And of course in March 2008 the Football Club unveiled the 124-room Travelodge Hotel on Bloomfield Road following a £6.3m investment.
Re: Stadium news Any idea when these rooms at the new hotel will be ready? Cost to rent on game day? Just wondering.
Re: Stadium news They haven't said yet who will be running the hotel, just that it will have 56 bedrooms (on two floors) with 28 rooms (14 on each floor presumably) overlooking the pitch! No doubt they won't be cheap! Hospitality match tickets now cost about £100. Since the last webcam image above from the 21st, work has begun on the next section, installing the steel supports for the terracing today. It is looking likely that the structure of the stand will be in place in about 4 weeks time. It will then be a matter of finishing fitting it all out and hopefully at least some of the seats in the South West corner will be ready to be used by some time in September. The rest of the stand, including the hotel, Supporters Bar and the rest of the seating is still due to be ready by late October/early November time.
Re: Stadium news The latest fan pictures, taken yesterday. The first one, from Bloomfield Road, looking at the rear of the stand, shows how the South stand roof will be slightly higher at the back to accomodate the additional floor. The following two pictures show the SW corner, with netting in place ready for installation of the roof, and then the first three sections of the South stand (which now has another section of the concrete terracing installed since the last webcam image posted in this thread on 21st.
Re: Stadium news More sections of the concrete terracing have been installed. Also another time lapse video on YouTube shows the how quickly the stand is rising. The first time lapse video was nearly 8 minutes long, with very little activity. Whereas this is just under 3 minutes long and shows the stand rising superbly. This goes up to 28th July, last Tuesday - and since then another section of the concrete terracing has gone in and more of the roof supports - [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4XYiCQiK7o"]YouTube - Bloomfield Road - The South[/ame]
Re: Stadium news Forgot to add that work is continuing 7 days a week, and weekdays starting often at 8am and going on to up to 7pm. When BBC Radio Lancashire interviewed Ian Holloway inside Bloomfield Road on Friday, discussing the new transfer fund, there was a point where it got very noisy with the work on the South. And in typical Holloway fashion he just had to have a go at the worker making all the noise, shouting, "Oi mate, give it a rest for a minute, I'm trying to do an interview here!"
Re: Stadium news Final completion is still expected to be late October/early November! And at last we have a picture of a game being played with the stand rising in the background! Looking at the picture, there is still quite a way to go yet. The section which has just the suporting steel has now had the concrete terracing installed on it. It looks like there probably another three sections (maybe four) to go. Still starting to look good.
Re: Stadium news Since the last picture above which has 5 sections with the concrete terracing in place with the steel supports ready for the terracing in the 6th section, the stand has reached virtually into the corner, and is now nine sections in total, with the terracing now being installed in the 9th and presumably last section. Once that is in place, it will then be a matter of fitting out the stand. The club are still hopeful of having 1,000 seats available in time for the home game against Newcastle United on Wednesday 16th September.
Re: Stadium news All of the stand steel structure now seems to be in place. It doesn't seem that long ago now when they started on the SW corner. All this rapid development after so long where the most action on the south was watching the weeds grow. With work still going ahead seven days a week, the seats at the far end of the West stand were taken out on Sunday, in preparation for the new seating arrangement which will be slightly different. And today the great sight of new seats being installed in the SW corner.
Re: Stadium news There is a new set of pictures on the BFC official site, mostly taken from within the new stand, as they now push on with fitting out the stand - http://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/page/Gallery/0,,10432~1790020,00.html
Re: Stadium news A picture taken at last nights reserve game. Most of the seating is now in place, with just the A from ARMFIELD to go in.