| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started 22:40 - Oct 24 with 3798 views | Illinoisblue |
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| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 22:57 - Oct 24 with 3420 views | FrimleyBlue |
I hope they put a nice roof on it. |  |
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| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 01:47 - Oct 25 with 3044 views | urbanpenguin |
As an architectural historian, it's crazy to see how much has changed in such a short period. Most people might think this photo is old, but I've worked on buildings dating from the 1600s so I maybe have a different read of place and space.
I've seen this photo before, it's great because it shows guts and construction of something we all know. But look at the rest of the ground, it's so recent and yet everything there has changed and likely will again soon.
And what is that on the training pitch / fan zone? A horse home? A triage for the market or butcher? Even that stays so much, how in such a short period the town, industry, fabric of place has moved so much |  |
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| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 03:52 - Oct 25 with 2890 views | Bluespeed225 |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 01:47 - Oct 25 by urbanpenguin |
As an architectural historian, it's crazy to see how much has changed in such a short period. Most people might think this photo is old, but I've worked on buildings dating from the 1600s so I maybe have a different read of place and space.
I've seen this photo before, it's great because it shows guts and construction of something we all know. But look at the rest of the ground, it's so recent and yet everything there has changed and likely will again soon.
And what is that on the training pitch / fan zone? A horse home? A triage for the market or butcher? Even that stays so much, how in such a short period the town, industry, fabric of place has moved so much |
Thats the old livestock market, now the car park. The fanzone is behind the opposite, West stand. Used to go a look at the animals as a kid! |  | | |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 06:19 - Oct 25 with 2683 views | Benters |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 03:52 - Oct 25 by Bluespeed225 |
Thats the old livestock market, now the car park. The fanzone is behind the opposite, West stand. Used to go a look at the animals as a kid! |
I like looking at the old lorries and cars,what were those buildings at the bottom right of the picture? |  |
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| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 07:20 - Oct 25 with 2493 views | Churchman |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 03:52 - Oct 25 by Bluespeed225 |
Thats the old livestock market, now the car park. The fanzone is behind the opposite, West stand. Used to go a look at the animals as a kid! |
That’s correct. It’s the cattle market in the foreground. Attached is a little piece about it.
https://colinmoss.info/the-inf
I don’t remember the animals tbh, but I do remember the grids and structures that were there for many years.
The Portman Stand was I believe prefabricated, hence being able to build the main section in the summer of 1971 (extensions completed by early 1975). The old Chicken Run was easy to remove (and relocate to Foxhall Stadium) and that the large area at the sides and front of the Stand was initially terrace.
I remember sitting in it during that period, on odd occasions, and it felt modern, spacious and huge against the rest of the stadium.
How times change. |  | | |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 07:43 - Oct 25 with 2367 views | BotesdaleBlue |
I've always wondered why the 'new' stand wasn't initially built to cover the full width of the east stand. As previously stated, the side extensions (fitted out with orange seats!), was added and completed in the 1974/75 season. One reason could have been cost. I seem to remember from reading an article in an old programme that the initial cost of constructing the newly built East stand in 1971 was around £150,000. How much capital infrastructure would that get you in 2026?
I remember the stand initially being named the Portman Stand, or simply the 'East Stand', before being renamed as the Cobbold Stand, although I can't recall when the renaming took place. Can anyone remember? |  |
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| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 07:52 - Oct 25 with 2316 views | Churchman |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 07:43 - Oct 25 by BotesdaleBlue |
I've always wondered why the 'new' stand wasn't initially built to cover the full width of the east stand. As previously stated, the side extensions (fitted out with orange seats!), was added and completed in the 1974/75 season. One reason could have been cost. I seem to remember from reading an article in an old programme that the initial cost of constructing the newly built East stand in 1971 was around £150,000. How much capital infrastructure would that get you in 2026?
I remember the stand initially being named the Portman Stand, or simply the 'East Stand', before being renamed as the Cobbold Stand, although I can't recall when the renaming took place. Can anyone remember? |
Wiki says 1990s was when it was renamed. My failing memory tells me that’s about right.
As for its full version, I sat in one of the extensions for the 1975 Aston Villa 5th Rd FA Cup tie and that was one of the earliest matches it was open for. 31,297 were there that day.
The seats were indeed orange and I believe the extensions were added when they were due to cost and build time without impacting on capacity, though happy to be corrected on that. | | | |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 07:53 - Oct 25 with 2313 views | DJR |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 06:19 - Oct 25 by Benters |
I like looking at the old lorries and cars,what were those buildings at the bottom right of the picture? |
I would have walked passed them on my way to the ground at that time but can't remember them.
The map at the top of the first link (at the top left of the map), and the second linked article, indicate they had a military connection, at least at one time. Indeed there was a drill hall on Great Gipping Street and on Portman Road, very close to each other. Great Gipping Street leads into Portman Road and I still walk along it on the way to games.
https://ipswich-lettering.co.u
https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ [Post edited 25 Oct 8:06]
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| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 07:54 - Oct 25 with 2307 views | MattinLondon |
At the time that they were built were the Pioneer and Cobbold stands considered to be so much better than what most other clubs had? |  | | |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 08:21 - Oct 25 with 2177 views | oldburian |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 07:43 - Oct 25 by BotesdaleBlue |
I've always wondered why the 'new' stand wasn't initially built to cover the full width of the east stand. As previously stated, the side extensions (fitted out with orange seats!), was added and completed in the 1974/75 season. One reason could have been cost. I seem to remember from reading an article in an old programme that the initial cost of constructing the newly built East stand in 1971 was around £150,000. How much capital infrastructure would that get you in 2026?
I remember the stand initially being named the Portman Stand, or simply the 'East Stand', before being renamed as the Cobbold Stand, although I can't recall when the renaming took place. Can anyone remember? |
The two extensions were added with the aid of the income from Norwich for sales of Miller and Morris. | | | |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 08:30 - Oct 25 with 2139 views | Churchman |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 08:21 - Oct 25 by oldburian |
The two extensions were added with the aid of the income from Norwich for sales of Miller and Morris. |
John Miller went for £47,500 and Peter Morris (Diesel) for £60,000 so that’d make sense.
Morris in particular was a very good midfield player who made over 200 appearances for us between 68 and 74. | | | |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 08:35 - Oct 25 with 2106 views | flykickingbybgunn |
The echo of those old stands is still to be seen in the lower parts of ones we now have.
Particularly the west stand (pioneer) where the new upper works were built behind and above the existing stand.
There are still some humps and bumps left from the livestock market. |  | | |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 09:08 - Oct 25 with 1982 views | WubbleU |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 07:54 - Oct 25 by MattinLondon |
At the time that they were built were the Pioneer and Cobbold stands considered to be so much better than what most other clubs had? |
Yes, very much so.
There was so little stadium devopment at that time. Most main stands were pre-2nd world war, like the old Highbury stands which are now flats. I remember Chelsea building a massive one a year or two after us, not sure on names but the one where their tunnel is. Then Spurs did one that always looked really impressive from the old away end; that would have been very late in the 70s.
Otherwise, not much happened until the disasters of the 80s. The old grounds were brilliant but in the end death traps, a different time. | | | |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 09:28 - Oct 25 with 1869 views | NthQldITFC |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 08:30 - Oct 25 by Churchman |
John Miller went for £47,500 and Peter Morris (Diesel) for £60,000 so that’d make sense.
Morris in particular was a very good midfield player who made over 200 appearances for us between 68 and 74. |
So we sold him to Norwich when he was 74?
Probably still get in their current team at that age. |  |
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| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 09:32 - Oct 25 with 1850 views | mellowblue |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 08:30 - Oct 25 by Churchman |
John Miller went for £47,500 and Peter Morris (Diesel) for £60,000 so that’d make sense.
Morris in particular was a very good midfield player who made over 200 appearances for us between 68 and 74. |
That was quite good money. Johnny Miller was always a fringe player and Peter Morris was displaced by Brian Talbot about then and with Bryan Hamilton and Colin Viljoen still going strong was not needed. Morris was a decent, industrious player though. I remember Meeting Talbot when he visited my school , I had watched him play the previous evening at P.R, told him he had played well and he seemed quite pleased. Probably 73-74 season. | | | |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 09:48 - Oct 25 with 1774 views | Churchman |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 09:28 - Oct 25 by NthQldITFC |
So we sold him to Norwich when he was 74?
Probably still get in their current team at that age. |
Much quicker and more mobile than Jonathan proper bloke Douglas at 74, that’s for sure!
Perhaps our friends up the road should sign them up. | | | |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 09:48 - Oct 25 with 1774 views | backwaywhen |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 03:52 - Oct 25 by Bluespeed225 |
Thats the old livestock market, now the car park. The fanzone is behind the opposite, West stand. Used to go a look at the animals as a kid! |
That was part of our playground as we grew up in Curriers lane , playing over there when empty at weekends , time spent watching the farmers and livestock on market day .
Going home with cows sh#t on our shoes and having to leave them by the the door for mum to clean
Favourite was always to go over to the practice pitch and watch players training…happy days. | | | |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 12:58 - Oct 25 with 1480 views | flykickingbybgunn |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 07:43 - Oct 25 by BotesdaleBlue |
I've always wondered why the 'new' stand wasn't initially built to cover the full width of the east stand. As previously stated, the side extensions (fitted out with orange seats!), was added and completed in the 1974/75 season. One reason could have been cost. I seem to remember from reading an article in an old programme that the initial cost of constructing the newly built East stand in 1971 was around £150,000. How much capital infrastructure would that get you in 2026?
I remember the stand initially being named the Portman Stand, or simply the 'East Stand', before being renamed as the Cobbold Stand, although I can't recall when the renaming took place. Can anyone remember? |
To put that £150,000 into perspective my weekly gross pay was £9.3s before 15th Feb and £9.15 after. | | | |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 14:09 - Oct 25 with 1329 views | OldFart71 |
I was at PR for the first game of the new stand opening. I spoke to Bobby Robson. That's when he asked me to get of all things a french stick for his missus.
He took me down to the roundabout where the old St Matthews baths were where he turned right as if to go towards where the Heart foundation is now. Half way in between the roundabout and the Heart foundation as it is now he dropped me off and I nipped across to Tooks bakery. Bobby then drove round and passed M&S which wasn't pedestrianized in those days. Pulled up outside Tooks and I handed him the french stick.
It was a wonderful stand then, but obviously outdated and no longer fit for purpose today.
The old ground had real character. I used to stand with my dad in the North stand, half way up behind the goal. I have seen many European games and was at PR when over 38,000 were in the ground against Leeds in what was an epic series of games.
When we finally beat them the headlines were " Leeds slip on a banana" which was the Clive Woods goal. What a great player he was,
I fully understand the status that ITFC achieved and why so many refer to their history.
In the grand scheme of things a small club. I know MA says the ceiling for the club isn't set and that we can be anything. But when you look at the real class we had in the late 70s to mid 80's you do question if we can reach those height. Those days we were feared by teams here and abroad and no wonder with the likes of Mariner, Beattie, Hunter, Mills and Burley . At one time 10 out of 11 were Internationals with Paul Cooper the exception.
Sadly our downfall was lack of real backup to the first 11. But no matter what, a truly magnificent part of Towns history, | | | |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 16:28 - Oct 25 with 1082 views | BotesdaleBlue |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 14:16 - Oct 25 by grow_our_own |
Think this is pre-wings:
but with the front terrace. When attendances dropped in the '80s, we didn't need the 38k capacity any more and post-fitted the exec boxes and seats in it. I wonder if exec boxes make financial sense today instead of selling thousands of extra seats. From a stadium architecture point of view, they worsen Portman Rd by wasting precious pitch proximity. The exec box roof is dead-space where a prime view of the action could be had. I expect they'll be properly designed between tiers in the new stand.
Great that we cleaned the sky-lights at the back, restoring the original design's iconic "flying-roof" aesthetic. I hope this is incorporated into any new stand design. [Post edited 25 Oct 14:20]
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Some interesting points there GYO, and love that photo. Those grey seats had a open section where your lower back would be and were highly uncomfortable as I recall.
I would pick you up on one thing though, regarding the build date of the executive boxes. I believe they were installed along part of the length of the stand, just a little time before you state, as I'm sure I remember them being in during the 1978/79 season. Like the stand itself, they were later extended at both ends at a later date. The terrace seats were obviously put in at the same time.
Apologies if I am wrong on this, but it is what I remember, having been an East Stand terrace stander during that period. | |
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| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 16:50 - Oct 25 with 1003 views | lurcher |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 16:28 - Oct 25 by BotesdaleBlue |
Some interesting points there GYO, and love that photo. Those grey seats had a open section where your lower back would be and were highly uncomfortable as I recall.
I would pick you up on one thing though, regarding the build date of the executive boxes. I believe they were installed along part of the length of the stand, just a little time before you state, as I'm sure I remember them being in during the 1978/79 season. Like the stand itself, they were later extended at both ends at a later date. The terrace seats were obviously put in at the same time.
Apologies if I am wrong on this, but it is what I remember, having been an East Stand terrace stander during that period. |
I think the boxes were fitted in the summer of 78 after the cup win. |  | | |
| A reminder of the early mock up of the new Cobbold on 17:13 - Oct 25 with 931 views | unstableblue |
This fly through shows a concept design of the Cobbold
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/art
Very different style to the current design
But I think this was just to show scale in the context of the new aquatic centre and other developments on the car park |  |
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| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 19:30 - Oct 25 with 753 views | longtimefan |
Despite being there, I still find it remarkable that 38,000 people fitted into basically those stands (with the wings on the Cobbold) for the Leeds FA Cup tie. | | | |
| Breaking: Cobbold Stand redevelopment has started on 20:43 - Oct 25 with 623 views | DJR |
My dad worked in a small department at Eastern Electricity which tended to be shunted around its estate.
He worked in two of the buildings in the photo, one the modern building behind the West Stand which was the Central Accounts Office, the other in one of the older buildings behind the West Stand on the right of the photo.
And when I went with him to football, he parked in the car park of the Central Accounts Office which adjoins the players entrance.
And as an aside, I still struggle when I hear the name of one of the side stands as to whether it is the East Stand or the West Stand. [Post edited 25 Oct 20:55]
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