New stadium update...

[tomasjj]

I'll practice my foxtrot...



Just to re-iterate again, my architect mate reckons the revised AFL design is pretty impressive and if it holds 70,000 that is a significant improvement on the original 'Parrybowl' design. If it saves us £200m into the bargain then surely we must be better off?

I just hope it carries the option of a further expansion.

[JohnDoe]

I think the new stadium should still look like a spaceship.

[Exiled_red]

Just wondering why we're going back to AFL if HKS designed the last version and Hicks has worked with them before?

Would it not be easier to go back to HKS and ask them to do a toned down version?

[Skillz]

I'll practice my foxtrot...



Just to re-iterate again, my architect mate reckons the revised AFL design is pretty impressive and if it holds 70,000 that is a significant improvement on the original 'Parrybowl' design. If it saves us £200m into the bargain then surely we must be better off?

We cannot put ourselves in a position that we lose ground during the construction phase. For me the most important thing is that we are both self sustaining and strong on the pitch.

Everything else follows.

[Imy]

I'd be a lot more confident if HKS were doing the redesign given their track record of having designed some truly breathtaking stadia, but AFL's last effort was truly underwhelming. That's why I'm concerned. Otherwise in principle I'd be happy with a 70k capacity stadium and £200m saving in running costs.

Maybe the old AFL design was created based on brief that there was a relatively small budget, so maybe with a slightly increased budget and different brief the design will be much improved?

Also the HKS design may still be styled like a spaceship but with less of the steel and the cost incurring materials?

[Skillz]

Just wondering why we're going back to AFL if HKS designed the last version and Hicks has worked with them before?

Would it not be easier to go back to HKS and ask them to do a toned down version?

Competition = less cost

[dom9]

Just wondering why we're going back to AFL if HKS designed the last version and Hicks has worked with them before?

Would it not be easier to go back to HKS and ask them to do a toned down version?

They are doing both, in effect holding an architectural competition.

[dom9]

Competition = less cost

Only in terms of the materials used to build it.

The onus is on both sets of architects to build something stunning with less glass and steel.

For AFL, that would mean a big improvement on the original design.

For HKS, it would mean a downscaling of their design.

[Lucky]

Look some of us are suggesting that G&H are incompetent cowboys and that may very well be the case but perhaps they've been playing a clever game:
They unveil plans for an amazing stadium that could potentially seat 70+k get it approved, then go off to borrow the money.
They manage to sort the finances, based on this design say £500m...
Somewhere along the line they decide costs have spiralled and need to tweak the design. They then build something that costs £300m
All the time paying off the interest and giving Rafa money from the SURPLUS, in effect using the borrowed money to pay for itself!
The stadium is built and starts to finance itself.
Our reputation is sold off, slightly tarnished, but we get a new stadium out of it, without G&H having spent a penny.
Furthermore they've played the Rafa situation IMHO to divert attention from the finance issue. When they announce that Rafa will stay and he buys the players he needs in January we'll all be too relieved to care about their cowboy deals.

[Yozza]

Look some of us are suggesting that G&H are incompetent cowboys and that may very well be the case but perhaps they've been playing a clever game:
They unveil plans for an amazing stadium that could potentially seat 70+k get it approved, then go off to borrow the money.
They manage to sort the finances, based on this design say £500m...
Somewhere along the line they decide costs have spiralled and need to tweak the design. They then build something that costs £300m
All the time paying off the interest and giving Rafa money from the SURPLUS, in effect using the borrowed money to pay for itself!
The stadium is built and starts to finance itself.
Our reputation is sold off, slightly tarnished, but we get a new stadium out of it, without G&H having spent a penny.
Furthermore they've played the Rafa situation IMHO to divert attention from the finance issue. When they announce that Rafa will stay and he buys the players he needs in January we'll all be too relieved to care about their cowboy deals.

Do you believe in UFO's too?

[Lucky]

No, that one's not getting built either

[sonsofthedesert]

PARRY ON NEW STADIUM LATEST
Paul Eaton 17 December 2007
Rick Parry today reassured Liverpool fans they will have a stadium to be proud of in time for the 2011-12 season.
Parry admits the Reds have had to rethink plans for the futuristic designs revealed earlier in the year, but he is confident the new 70,000 seater stadium will still be a fitting home for the club.

He said: "We are now considering two schemes but the stadium will be a 70,000 seater.

"The new stadium will be a significant improvement on the original plans and a slightly different version of the new ones.

"And it will be a massive improvement on where we were 12 months ago, if not quite as dramatic as the plans unveiled in the summer.

"The single tier Kop remains fundamental to the design and we are not expecting any delays – it should be on schedule for 2011."

[Red_Al_77]

Talk about spin. I thought Punch and Judy were businessmen. The financial markets saw the credit crunch coming months ago yet we pressed on with the new design. These old buggers have done nothing impressive yet. If they were really the best option and the best the club could attract as potential buyers it doesn't say much for how we presented the product. Has been a season to forget so far.

[Roboklopp]

I think the main thing about this is the deceipt (or at best misrepresentation). Had they come in & said "We're building you a 70K" bowl, then that would've been hailed as a great step forward by us. However, as with the dollar-flashing exercise, we seem to be watching the owners back-track big style.

To make so many big promises in frton of all the world, his wife & dog & then renege on them at the 1st instance just reveals yourselves as dishonest charlatans.

[rushscored4]

I'd be a lot more confident if HKS were doing the redesign given their track record of having designed some truly breathtaking stadia, but AFL's last effort was truly underwhelming. That's why I'm concerned. Otherwise in principle I'd be happy with a 70k capacity stadium and £200m saving in running costs.

Let's wait till we see the AFL re-design or the scaled down HKS plans.

Just wondering why we're going back to AFL if HKS designed the last version and Hicks has worked with them before? Would it not be easier to go back to HKS and ask them to do a toned down version?

If you read both the threads you'll see that's exactly what we're doing.

I think the main thing about this is the deceipt (or at best misrepresentation). Had they come in & said "We're building you a 70K" bowl, then that would've been hailed as a great step forward by us. However, as with the dollar-flashing exercise, we seem to be watching the owners back-track big style. To make so many big promises in frton of all the world, his wife & dog & then renege on them at the 1st instance just reveals yourselves as dishonest charlatans.

I agree and said the same yesterday in the Thomas Frost!

If G & H had announced this summer that they had asked AFL to revise their plans, make it more exciting with a bigger Kop and a 70,000 capacity we would all have been thrilled. However, they proudly presented the HKS 'spaceship' design which blew us all away so now we're disappointed! It's all about managing expectations...

By the way, from what I've been told, the revised AFL design does not look like a bowl any more.