Quote: Fantastic Mr Catpiss "I can't say i was overly impressed, yeah its new and yes its miles better than knowsley road but i wasn't bowled over.
Maybe its because there's been a spate of new stadia lately, or maybe i was expecting something much much more from what the PR has been about it.
it felt somewhat daft, going inside, and then still being outside before heading up to the terraces.
It's not overly impressive inside either, one main stand, not too dissimilar from the one at leigh, and the others, i thought it was supposed to be a bowl? It looked and felt to me, half finished.
Do we know what the corporate £££ is like for them on a matchday? how many boxes or actually dining facilities?'"
What were you expecting? It's in line with modern stadiums and for a rugby league facility, wholly owned by the club, it's a fantastic outcome is it not?
It's apparently doing really well from a commercial point of view, with conference suites, meeting rooms and dining facilities being used daily by businesses. Corporate boxes have sold out regularly throughout the season as well and the bars are making a wedge on matchdays and we've just opened a really posh coffee shop that is open throughout the week. The club is also showing away games at the stadium and we're making plenty of wonger through that as well.
The cladding will give it a far more finished sheen. The open concourses and lack of cladding is obviously an issue, but the club's designers quoted other stadiums like the Galpharm for example where this exists. They tested the height of the walls and the direction of the wind movement and concluded the stadium didn't need cladding, but could be added for £x. After experiencing some pretty nasty weather early doors this season it became evident it did need cladding. Saints are therefore paying to add this at the end of the season. Once that's done it'll be like the HJ's big cousin.