South Stand

There has been some ground work going on at the site.
I suppose electrics and plumbing in and ready, to reduce the time to build once we get the green light.

Personally I have no issues with a delay. It is the expectation management that is awry, again.
Once completed it looks like a genuine upgrade to the Mem and we should all welcome that.

Now, where is our PR person to manage fan information? Oh, and to shut Barton up and sit him on his ass.

It's going to make a huge difference and dare I say make the mem look like a football ground!!! 😂

I personally want a brand new stadium as that's the only way I can see us ever reaching our potential of premier football one day.We could get 25-35k in a new stadium if playing inthe top flight.

But I grew up next to the mem and love the old girl, but we cant really expand her due to the parking and roads around glos Rd.But if possible I would love to see the east stand replaced with a two tier stand like the pantsdown stand in BS3, and the west stand and north end stay in there current styles, but maybe expand and gutted and maybe a 2nd level to the blackthorn end to take the ground 20-25k.Abit like Portsmouth have done to their ground.

Not sure whether they started selling season tickets for the South Stand yet.

Might be the case they've only sold in the South-West Stand so far, which if correct means if they're not ready they could at least put the old temporary South-West Stand back up while work continues.

While it's great that a bigger and better stand is finally being built, they were taking chances it would be ready in time for the new season. 
The talk around me when it was announced involved scratching heads, knowing there would be at least 12 weeks of planning process to go through, then whatever the build time is on top.

They could have waited until next close season, when planning had been granted, to give ample time for the build before the next season.
I suppose they've taking the gamble any reduced capacity during next season will be offset by the increased capacity when it's finally ready.

But I don't understand why the decision to build a new South Stand wasn't taken sooner. Even a couple of months beforehand and they could have been on site straight after the final game last season.
I've been taking about moving the pitch to the north, and using the rugby in-goal areas, since Bristol RFC moved out. 

Perhaps Wael was waiting to make sure we were going to remain a L1 side last season, or it took longer than expected for the finance company to agree to loaning us the money, or it took that long just to find one that would.

I doubt it was just a case of Wael just getting up one morning and deciding he wanted to build a new stand at the Mem.

What I can't understand is why Rovers don't confirm one way or the other if the new stand will be ready for 12th August, if not, what the plan is, surely Barnsley and the EFL must be demanding answers by now, given Barnsley haven't even been able to sell any tickets for the match?

And It will come to pass, with no feasible options available, that the new temporarily permanent South Stand will in fact be the first major phase of a very gradual Memorial Stadium rebuild.

From what I know - Blackpool, Bournemouth and Fulham all have one of these permanent Temporary stands that we are building at the Mem, and all were built quickly for when they got into the premiership.I think Worcester and Exeter Rugby clubs also have these.

This is not a Micky mouse structure we are building here, it's costing money and is a longer term build unlike the south tent was meant to be ( which lasted over 20 years😂)

Of course the goal has to be a state of the art new build at the fruit market, and I believe that will happen with Wael within 5-10 years. But I love the mem site and once the south stand is completed why can't we knock down the East stand and do the same there? Something like I said Blackpool have done with their away end which is like the one we are building which runs the whole side of the pitch..

I guess the only problem with doing this is that the centenary stand holds alot of corporate functions and pre matchday meals, bars and of course the club shop and club offices - so knocking down this side, then of course all these would need to be replaced within the new structure.

Last year I was offered a job with a company that works at the mem through out the week and on match days.During this period I got talking to the owners of the company that holds the main cleaning contact at both the mem and Ashton gate.They are city fans,and they admitted that while Ashton gate is a far better stadium,when it comes to the corporate side with hospitality and functions etc...we are not that far behind what they offer and is of a high standard.This meaning rebuilding the east side with a temporary/permanent structure would involve a lot more money and work then replacing the old south tents.

But with that being said, we could turn the mem into a very tidy stadium doing this for not much cost that could hold championship football while we wait for a new ground.

I couldn't agree more, the problem is by the time it comes to developing the Mem there will be so many charges on the ground it will be impossible to develop the Mem without clearing that up first. We are now being told don't listen to social media, work has started on the South Stand, looks as if social media is telling the truth unlike the club.

I don't agree...

With the new south stand that will be fit for championship football.

The west stand has all of our boxs for functions etc..So the structure it's just needs tarting up abit like Pompey have done.Im sure the thatchers could be made bigger/larger with better facilities also.As for the East side, surely knocking down the blue stand and building something like at the south end/or Blackpool, Bournemouth and Fulham would be possible for the short term and increase the mem up until a 15-20k stadium without majority moving the footprint apart from the Centenary side of the ground?