It's not that it gets us extra points. It's just part of the criteria for the full points for stadium.
I'm surprised it isn't already big enough but it's a simple fix to make sure we guarantee that extra point.

Yes, it's not a stand-alone criterion, but it's part of a wider score.

Extending the gantry means we meet a full, "scoring" part of that wider criteria.

Everything Ellis does now will probably be to secure any increase in IMG points guaranteed like the gantry. I suspect we will see the LED boards appear soon so they count on this seasons gradings. Ultimately, if he can spend a few hundred k upfront he should if we get into SL get some of that back with the SL money instead of championship money.

Did they give any indication as to the size of squad we are hoping to have next season?

Yes, the thing is with the LED boards is there isn't really any income to generate by them whilst we aren't on TV and as long as we get them in before October, they count towards our score regardless.

The investment on these are a lot bigger than I expected, I have a friend that works a company that supplies these throughout Europe, apparently for a singular 3m panel they are around 7k, so your looking at circa 230k just for one side of the pitch.

710k for 3 sides of a pitch does seem incredibly expensive. I’d have anticipated 250k probably for the 3 sides.

It does, I was thinking the same tbh and that around 250k figure is what I had heard thrown about. I was surprised by the figure. I'm sure Ellis will have done his homework and get food value for money if we are looking at putting them in.

I heard from a friend who does lighting and shop banners etc and he reckoned they'd be at least over 100k a side but he'd never done a ground and didn't know exactly the dimensions we need, so was just guessing.

100 metres long for us....but only 68 metres long for Cas

Matt Ellis quoted it as £300k, though can't remember if that was at the forum or elsewhere.

That could well be a verbal rounding-up of a figure somewhere above the £250k also mentioned on here.

It may have come from a conversation I had with someone at the club.

Ah hah, Will we have enough electric/power to drive these for a whole match along with all other power hungry usage at the same time ?

I’d hope so. Most sites have a capacity above the draw to make additions for such upgrades.

The 250-300k is a chunk of cash but if it gets you extra guaranteed points and into SL a year sooner (with an extra 1mill funding, larger crowds and exposure on tv) it’s worth every penny for sure.

Tbh between now and up to the IMG assessing the only things that need doing are the LED and some cosmetic upgrades in places to refresh the look (things like toilets/bit of paintwork etc).