City Chairman on Pop Concerts & Academy Scouting

[mitcho_uk]

The Walkers Stadium

It has been rumoured for a while that the Walkers is not suitable for concerts, and it has been confirmed today in a report from the Leicester Mercury. What are your thoughts?

The Walkers Stadium is unfit to host major pop concerts - because tens of thousands of dancing fans could cause it to crumble.

Huge numbers of people jumping in rhythm may lead to cracks and even cause parts of stands to collapse, Leicester City officials confirmed today.

While the stadium is perfectly safe for 32,000 football fans, the same number of music lovers moving in time could create a "swaying motion" in the building structure.

City chairman Andrew Taylor said the venue could only be brought up to concert standard by "beefing up" steel supports at a cost of about £200,000.

It means that no gig at the stadium could currently be played before more than about 14,000 people - effectively ruling out performances from megastars who have played at neighbouring clubs in recent months.

Mr Taylor revealed the news after fans complained that rivals Coventry and Derby had attracted acts such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams.

He said: "It sounds a bit wacky, because a lot of football songs are based on popular songs anyway.

"But the problem is to do with people moving to the beat of the music. We don't comply to official regulations for pop concerts at the moment. In order to comply, there needs to be superstructural changes to the south and north stands. Essentially, it would involve the beefing up of the steel to the external part of the stadium."

Tim Abbott, architecture lecturer at De Montfort University, said: "Large numbers of people moving in time create a swaying motion in a structure such as a stand or bridge. If the structure is not constructed to absorb these movements it may eventually fail. This could lead to cracks or to partial or total collapse.

"This was also a serious concern at the opening of the Millennium Bridge across the Thames a few years back. The bridge had to be quickly reconstructed to absorb these movements."

No major concerts have been performed at the Walkers Stadium, although Status Quo were lined up to play in front of 14,000 fans last year.

The gig was cancelled, but Mr Taylor said this was because it was "not promoted properly", rather than safety fears.

He said: "Bringing the stadium up to concert standard would be reasonably easy to do. But if you have got a decision between spending £200,000 on a player's wages for a year, which could help you reach the Premiership, or spending the money on putting on a pop concert, buying the player is our priority.

"I would like to stress the stadium is totally safe for watching football."

City fan Ian Bason, 45, from Glen Parva, said: "Lots of fans have heard rumours about this for quite a while, so it doesn't really surprise me.

"As a fan, I can understand why the club would not see it as a priority to spend money putting on a concert instead of on the team."

Industry sources say clubs makes tens of thousands of pounds profit from staging a major concert. However, it is believed some concerts at other Midlands clubs failed to make any profit.

 

[harry]

IMO a good group of business professionals would and should be able to see the benefits of speculating to accumulate, and I mean this aimed at off field and commercial activities, unfortunately our board lack the foresight to organise a gig that would involve financial outlay to stage, whilst failing to grasp and realise the notion that if a top act such as Kasabian could be tempted then profits, the stadiums profile and ability to attract further top names would be greatly increased.

However it seems to me at present that the club seems happy to pay significant salaries to high ranking executives who at present have failed to deliver many if any new revenue streams and only seem to possess the ability to identify potential cost saving schemes, which appear to be to the detriment of the club.

IMO this shortsightedness and lack of ambition clearly demonstrates that regardless of on the field expectation and potential the lack of professionalism and invention off the field will always result in the club being held back from realising it's true potential. How long before a couple of the stars are sold to mask the poor performance of the club commercial ventures.

Spot on.

I could raise £100K of the £200K needed to upgrade the stadium SACK JOE BUCCI..........

They are all so short sighted. The same goes for no reserve games this season. Why not reinstate FNF with a series of friendlies against teams in a similar situation. With the right advertising they could get 6/7 thousand.

 

[BOB HAZELL]

Spot on.
SACK JOE BUCCI..........
.

......when she comes back from her holidays.

 

[Cate Fox]

has she actually done anything Bob?

 

[BOB HAZELL]

Yes, CF....

She's done a great job promoting the corporate facilities at LCFC. Check out the packed hopsitality rooms and the sponsors suites for the Burnley game on tuesday night - she's well and truly swelling the City coffers'!!!!!!!!!

 

[bocadillo]

Re: The Walkers Stadium

It has been rumoured for a while that the Walkers is not suitable for concerts, and it has been confirmed today in a report from the Leicester Mercury. What are your thoughts?

Isn't it a little odd that the Mercury should refer to Ian Bason simply as a 45 year-old fan from Glen Parva? Or is this a different Ian Bason from the one who is the chairman of the organisation that arranged for the questioning of the Football Club's chairman, which questioning led to the discussion on the subject in various quarters, which discussion led to the Club's chairman making this current statement to the Mercury.

 

[Cate Fox]

Re: The Walkers Stadium

huh? :icon_lol:

 

[Cate Fox]

I am assuming you're being sarcastic Bob :icon_lol:

 

[bocadillo]

Spot on.

I could raise £100K of the £200K needed to upgrade the stadium SACK JOE BUCCI..........

They are all so short sighted. The same goes for no reserve games this season. Why not reinstate FNF with a series of friendlies against teams in a similar situation. With the right advertising they could get 6/7 thousand.

There is a basic flaw in your thinkng. You have forgotten that it is a business that we are supporting a football club. The people that you seem to be criticising know everything there is to know about business - and short-term jobs with minor radio stations.

 

[Durham Fox]

Re: The Walkers Stadium

So the next time the ground is full to capacity if we all stamp our feet at the same time the stadium will collapse?? I feel really safe now

 

[Yorkshire Vixen]

Re: The Walkers Stadium

So the next time the ground is full to capacity if we all stamp our feet at the same time the stadium will collapse?? I feel really safe now

:icon_lol: if we have another season like last season there wont be any danger of it collapsing :icon_bigg

 

[bocadillo]

Re: The Walkers Stadium

So the next time the ground is full to capacity if we all stamp our feet at the same time the stadium will collapse?? I feel really safe now

This news has got to bring to an end all the discussions about sharing with the Tigers. We don't want no swinging chariots - just think of the damage that they would cause!

 

[OldGit]

All this bit of the thread started from "if you had £200k". They haven't - to free £200k for the work on the stadium it would have to come from cutting existing budgets. I know one suggestion has been made for finding half of it, but even if that were a serious proposition I can think of other priorities to use any cash freed up.

And as for doing the work plus holding 5 concerts before January, what happens to the football while the structural work is carried out? And even I know that booking decent acts plus all the ground work has to be started well before now to meet that time scale.

I am all for the stadium being used in every (profitable) way possible - it is a grossly under-used asset, but projects like this take time, planning, and budgeting over a fair period of time. No doubt if the club had moved into the stadium while continuing its premiership existence things of this sort would be under way by now, but as it is , it's like building the squad with no money - takes time. And there are other things it can be used for that would take little or no investment of this sort.

What I would like to hear from the board is some sort of outline plan for developing its non-football uses and how that would be linked to various financial scenarios. I'm sure they must have done some work on that.

 

[Durham Fox]

Agreed OG. I can't see the work ever being done personally.

 

[lazzer]

i seen it boc

 

[bocadillo]

i seen it boc

So did I - but a bit too late, unfortunately.

 

[Jeff]

Re: The Walkers Stadium

No major concerts have been performed at the Walkers Stadium, although Status Quo were lined up to play in front of 14,000 fans last year.

The gig was cancelled, but Mr Taylor said this was because it was "not promoted properly", rather than safety fears.

It was obvious at the time it wasn't being promoted properly. But that wasn't the excuse they gave when they cancelled it. They said it was cancelled because they were "unable to book enough artists to fill the additional days".


If the stadium is going to be used for concerts it's not going to happen now until next summer, so they should be thinking ahead and planning for that.

 

[Cate Fox]

that would involve someone with half a brain and I beginning to wonder whether there is anyone capable at City

 

[highland fox]

that would involve someone with half a brain and I beginning to wonder whether there is anyone capable at City

How about Tiatto..he seems to have only half a brain.

 

[Cate Fox]

dont mention that name in my presence, I hate that little fecker...