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IBC: Agreement in Place For 3,635m² Behind Cobbold Stand Tuesday, 22nd Oct 2024 15:59
Town have an “in-principle agreement” in place for around 3,635m² of land behind the existing Cobbold Stand ahead of a future redevelopment, according to Ipswich Borough Council (IBC).
On Saturday, Blues chairman and CEO Mark Ashton said the club had “agreed to buy the land behind the Cobbold Stand” with the replacement of the 53-year-old structure a medium-to-long-term aim.
An IBC spokesperson confirmed: “The redevelopment of the Portman Road area is an exciting project and partnership between Ipswich Borough Council and Ipswich Town Football Club.
“There is an in-principle agreement in place, though the specific terms are yet to be finalised.
“The comprehensive design work included in the Portman Road masterplan, features plans for an aquatics centre, a multi-storey car park, a hotel and designated space for Ipswich Town Football Club's development and expansion.
“The area in question covers approximately 3,635m² and is an integral part of the masterplan.”
It’s understood the area will cover both the physical building of the the cantilevered structure and also its overhang.
Photo: Matchday Images
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By my calculations of the current stand being around 135 metres long (from Google maps), that is around 27 metres in additional width added to the current stand.
A quick measure suggests that's about 20m wide if it runs from the back of the North Stand to the back of Churchmans. That would be the full width from the back of the Cobbold to the far side of Portman Road plus nearly half as much again.
Of course, I could be talking bobbins and it might be a gigantic circle!
Haha, beat me to it. It's 180m from back of North to back of Churchmans, but you may be right that only the length of the existing stand is purchased. I either case, well into the car park.
I wanted to know what 3,635m2 looked like "in the flesh", so to speak, so for reference purposes I looked up the size of a [typical] football pitch on google and the response was: -
"The size of a football pitch in square meters (m2) can vary depending on its dimensions, but is usually between 4,050 and 10,800 m2"
So that gives an impression of the size in rough terms - not a big as Town's pitch (whatever that may be), but a fair old size, probably as much as we could reasonably have hoped for I would say.
If it only covers the middle third of the pitch, that means it can go back as far as the back of the car park. That would be absolutely huge! Could be the tallest stand in the world of that's the case.
Onwards with confidence and positive plans ; ITFC has effectively been allowed to sit in the doldrums for too long ! Once again we see that we can absolutely rely on what we are told by MA and the board ; super news ., COYB
This shows that however we do this season has no bearing on the commitment by our owners and our club's future. If we happen to go down, we are in a much stronger position to keep building and come back even stronger. But, I still feel this is going to be a season of two halves and may go on to survive.
Actually victorysquad, technically K-Mac already has silverware as we did get a trophy for second place in league 1 and championship! Let’s hope there is more to come! And yes Samwhite- the council own the rest of the land so we would just own this section. Obviously the club decided it was worth buying instead of leasing it.
A question I have always wondered is whether the north & south stand were built to accommodate the Cobbold stand to join seemlessly at the corners once designed? Would they remove the screen and the club shop in the corners to accommodate for this?
I think something like Crystal Palace’s new stand would work really well. I think they built it over the existing stand to preserve their capacity. Worth a watch:
Good to see IBC and ITFC working together. I can’t see the Cobbold Stand being redeveloped for a number of years but it is important to secure the land. Ashton has already said that 4,000 seats would not be available for 18 months during any rebuild so that is something that is not going to be an easy sell to current supporters.
Strange that the club will own the land behind the Cobbold Stand but wont actually own the stadium as the council owns that. Not a moan, just an observation!
Lets hope they remember the thousand odd season ticket holders in D Block they kicked out and relocated if and when they rebuild the Cobbold! Whilst i am slowly understanding they didn't have much choice it still amazes me away fans are getting some of the best seats in the house and the club failed to offer equal alternatives
Curious. Given the used car salesman’s penchant for exagération one presumes this is a leasehold agreement based on pie in the sky development which may or may not occur to the entire site in the current economic climate.
I like the principle of the Selhurst Park development – a modern stand with multi-purpose spaces, museum, hospitality, that will allow summer concerts with larger capacities. All of this MA has mentioned, and we need to find more revenue from somewhere. He talks about Portman Road being a 365 day operation not a 19 home match day operation. The whole town will benefit from a stadium that brings in more business.
However, purely aesthetically, that Selhurst Park development is not to my taste. Far too Reebok Stadium (or Toughsheet as it is now known). And would be very out of keeping with the other stands.
It's all very exciting getting a massive stand to look at but we need to get it right on the pitch first and start recruiting players that are of Premier league quality .
Maccaisggid DBlockdiehard same here chaps got kicked out of upper west stand fir extended press area. Front row seat near the halfway line. Had it for 39 years. Made lifelong friends etc. Now in SAR upper. The facilities are better than the WS - half time there was a joke over the last two years. I like to think that Cobbold st holders will get first dibs in the new stand and those of us who lost their seats in other areas, and could do again when they hand the SAR over to away fans!
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