Your opinion - The future of the cottage beyond the riverside redevlopment?

[Adam87]

Very eager to know peoples opinions on here into what he club are going to do next regarding the stadium and any future plans you could see happening after the riverside is built?

I cant be the only one thinking we are awfully restricted and worry that not much else will happen....... :016:...I hope this wont be the case...... :033:

[HillingdonFFC]

I was told by someone who worked on H&Fs planning dept that Fulham would find it almost impossible to expand at both ends. This however was a few years back. The reason he gave for the Hammersmith end was natural light for the adjoining apartments being affected by a taller stand. I`m not sure that would apply now because I was looking at the back of the stand recently and the trees there have formed a canopy and tower above the stand, Im not sure a bigger stand would have any effect on light at all?
Cant remember exactly what his reasons for the Putney end were, think it was something about encroaching into a park/open space?. Another restriction would be access, I think any larger capacity stand at the PE would need turnstiles/entrances via the Bishops Park wall.

[Adam87]

The apartments at the back end of the stand are a massive issue into expanding the hammersmith, we cant just exactly buy the area like for example some clubs do to get space for expansion. The cost of those apartments as well are probably ridiculous too. So I don't see how we can make the stand bigger or just redevelop it, but either way over time those temporary stands will have to replaced at some point.
Your right with the park, we are going to have to plea to the council and ask for a bit behind the Putney end, I always thought and hoped we could turn the Putney end into the new home stand, like a Liverpool style Kop if you will, I think we have a chance of redeveloping the stand but it lies with the council weather we can have space.
I do think though if we can make it look great and it fits in with the park then we have a chance......the council will always ask...."so what can you do for us then?"....and then it becomes a question of putting a lot of money back into the park and making it appealing to the general public etc...

I guess at the back of my mind, with all the other clubs around us looking to expand or build new stadiums I don't want us getting caught behind. But maybe the issues with restrictions is going to play a big factor.
But it doesn't seem like our new chairman likes hanging around from what I have seen of the jaguars so it will be interesting to see what happens.

[Rupert]

The Cottage will always be a limiting factor on any ambitions to better ourselves. If we are happy to carry on playing there then I think it is both unrealistic and unreasonable to expect managers or owners to turn us into a regular top 8 team. If we are happy with mid-table status, with the occasional foray into the big time or the odd cup run, then we have a chance of fulfilling our hopes.

[Yellow Jacket]

I have none.

[MJG]

I'm 100% certain (but of course cant find any record of it) that at the time of the refub both the stands at the ends of the ground had been designed so a 2nd tier if required could be added, but of course would need PM.
But I also thing there is some confusion about the life expectancy of both stands. Again I'm sure its 25 years, but others have quoted 15. If its 15 we already have to start planning for the next development now.

Personally I think the old stand has the best chance of development. You can keep the facade as required under the grade 2 rules, but we could then double tier that stand, without going higher than as the roof level now. Thus we wont upset the people who bought a house without noticing a football ground at the end of their road.

[Holders]

If we'd had the money at the time we could have bought a bit of the ground where the flats are now when it was just derelict warehouses.

[epsomraver]

Face facts, we do not have a big enough fan base to expand any more than the 30k, there was some rumour of extending the Putney end, so we end up with two tiers , the view from the back of Hammersmith stand is bad enough, we do not sell out the ground each game , that is a fallacy, Do we want to do a Southampton?

[HillingdonFFC]

If we'd had the money at the time we could have bought a bit of the ground where the flats are now when it was just derelict warehouses.

It was a wood yard, called Blake's I think?. My dads uncle worked as a foreman there for years and always told this story . When it was being wound down the owner approached Tommy Trinder and offered it to Fulham for peanuts .The guy said it could be used for parking, training etc but Trinder who was reportedly tight as the day is long wasn't interested.
Incredibly shortsighted as it went on to be worth absolute millions, summed Fulham up at the time.

[epsomraver]

Any body who had the foresight to get riverside property has made millions, but who thought a property next to what was almost an open sewer would be worth a lot of money

[Holders]

If we'd had the money at the time we could have bought a bit of the ground where the flats are now when it was just derelict warehouses.

It was a wood yard, called Blake's I think?. My dads uncle worked as a foreman there for years and always told this story . When it was being wound down the owner approached Tommy Trinder and offered it to Fulham for peanuts .The guy said it could be used for parking, training etc but Trinder who was reportedly tight as the day is long wasn't interested.
Incredibly shortsighted as it went on to be worth absolute millions, summed Fulham up at the time.

I didn't know that it had been offered for peanuts but I do remember us using it for parking for a while. It really did seem a missed opportunity but I think we must have been in the 2nd then so perhaps didn't see the need.

[MJG]

Face facts, we do not have a big enough fan base to expand any more than the 30k, there was some rumour of extending the Putney end, so we end up with two tiers , the view from the back of Hammersmith stand is bad enough, we do not sell out the ground each game , that is a fallacy, Do we want to do a Southampton?

Epsom I would tend to agree with you and its very much baby steps for us.
But as your fully aware back in the early 90's who would have thought we would have anywhere near 10K fans let alone 25/30K. 
I still think we have maybe 16K fans in reality and the rest are premier lge tourists. Those tourists allow us to get to 30K on a good day with the new stand, but for us to build the hardcore above 20K we need to win something i think. plodding along 8-16 every year will not do that.

[Holders]

We need to grow organically so that maybe we can rebuild one or both of the two ends larger at some time as the next step when/if crowds justify.

We can't change the facade of the JH but the plan for the bowl stadium 15 years or so ago showed this with a new roof so maybe there's scope for alteration so long as the front isn't changed or a new roof too high.

[epsomraver]

Organically , does that mean Bull sh*t only then?

[Holders]

No, it means to grow the fan base and the club gradually, financially sensibly and sustainably not abruptly and above our means like some others have tried to.

[epsomraver]

Totally agree, I do want to go and watch Fulham in some concrete monstrosity as some grounds have become, as MJG agrees, we do not have the fan base, there is too much choice in London and we were out of the top flight for too long.

[cmg]

I am reliably informed by a thirteen-year-old on Twitter that Dempsey will use the cash he gets from his impending move to the Sheboygen Shitkickers to buy Craven Cottage and turn it into a Burger 'n Bud amusement park and gas-production facility.

Remember: you ignored it here first.

[Lighthouse]

While Fuham is the Cottage there is no doubt that to improve and expand we will need a new ground one day. IF we could be shown a ground and plans that is not like other concrete blocks and somehow convinces people it will be worth it then it will happen. The Cottage is so important but one day we will move.

[MJG]

While Fuham is the Cottage there is no doubt that to improve and expand we will need a new ground one day. IF we could be shown a ground and plans that is not like other concrete blocks and somehow convinces people it will be worth it then it will happen. The Cottage is so important but one day we will move.

out of interest by when do you think we would leave the cottage? next 10 years? next 20 Years? next 50 years?

[Rupert]

While Fuham is the Cottage there is no doubt that to improve and expand we will need a new ground one day. IF we could be shown a ground and plans that is not like other concrete blocks and somehow convinces people it will be worth it then it will happen. The Cottage is so important but one day we will move.

out of interest by when do you think we would leave the cottage? next 10 years? next 20 Years? next 50 years?

If the global warming theories are not complete nonsense, we may not have a choice. Unless we take up water polo.