Sentinel: Behind the scenes as Port Vale spend £1.2m to make Vale Park 'Championship ready'

[News Feed]

Behind the scenes access to the changes to Vale Park for the new season

View the full article

[Jacko51]

Amazing amount of work going on.

[Doha]

Not <ovf censored> about, is she?

Go on Carol. Amazing to read that article after everything we've been through this century. Doesn't feel real.

Hopefully the turnstiles upgrade undoes some of the capacity restrictions in the sense that there's likely to be new, bigger gates alongside the new turnstile blocks for emergency evacuation.

[valiant_593]

How things can change. Could have never imagined this a few years ago. 

[robf]

Flipping heck - that's an awful lot of work that's been done or is being done.

I'm sure that this sort of work will help in terms of improving the overall capacity but it's also good in the sense that it improves safety (turnstile/ barrier replacements), it improves the matchday experience (the PA system, bar in the Bycars, TVs in the Hamil, better turnstiles), there's improvements that will benefit the players' comfort (the lounge, dressing room improvements etc) and there's things that will help the players' development (better training pitch, gym and the training zone).

Good work by the Sentinel too - really informative article. 

It all sounds so positive and fills me full of enthusiasm for the future!

[mbycars]

Fantastic, this club is going from strength to strength.

[robf]

I think it's also worth bearing in mind the shortened break due to the play-offs and the RW concert. 

To do all this in such a short period of time is even more impressive. 

It's allowing me to daydream a little about where this club could be in a few years time with this rate of ground improvements and things like a revamped academy still to come... 

[Doha]

23 minutes ago, Jacko51 said:

Amazing amount of work going on.

Not half.

There's a lot going on in that article, so to summarise -

Throughout

1 £300,000 "top notch" PA system
2 All toilet blocks refurbished
3 Access controlled doors at a grand a piece

Hamil End

1 Refurbished kiosks
2 Concourse TVs
3 Segregation fence outside moved, I believe I read on the official twitter

All in preparation to become a Vale home end

Railway/Paddock

1 New automated turnstile block on Bycars side **
2 Facilities and infrastructure upgrades to support live concerts becoming a regular occurence 

Bycars

1 Toilet block demolished to build new kiosk = alcohol sold in Bycars
2 Facilities and infrastructure upgrades to support live concerts becoming a regular occurence 

LS

1 Players gym being moved to accomodate concourse fitout and eventually open unfinished LS section to fans
2 £500,000 Robbie Williams suite

Training/players facilities

1 £50,000 already spent on training pitch
2 £50,000 already spent, more to come, on new changing rooms, physio room, analyst room etc specifically just for training days, away from the matchday facilities
3 New players lounge
4 Continually revamped home changing rooms
5 Academy expanded, new head coach headhunted from Crewe, new U19/first team development squad structure

 

 

** Hopefully they demolish and redo the Hamil side soon too. I recently heard someone describe that side of the ground, the turnstiles and Speedy's equipment storage blocks, as looking like a working farm! For the anoraks amongst us, SOT council's planning portal reveals they have recieved PP to knock them all down - https://planning.stoke.gov.uk/online-applications/files/67ADBC22EAF098EF338D6745AC373D39/pdf/66954_DEM-DEMOLITION_PLAN-364618.pdf

[valeparklife]

Unbelievable work.

Changes that will leave a legacy!

Very pleased to see we're adopting automated turnstiles, been to tons of clubs that have these already and wondered when we would get them! 

[cactuselves]

Awesome and exciting! In the Ale and the Vale pod Carol suggested that she was accelerating spend on both the facilities and playing squad, some clear evidence of the former in the above - lets see who we sign now :) 

Also agree with Rob, credit when it is due, that's a great article from the Sentinel. I assume that the club are pushing this sort of info out to the media more than in the past, which will give the media more to write about, us more to read and promote our Clubs good name. Happy Friday :)

[Brian]

This sort of planning has never happened before in my time as a vale fan. Love it!

[Jacko51]

Good to get this all done before inflation bungs the costs up even more.

[Fosse69]

2 minutes ago, Jacko51 said:

Good to get this all done before inflation bungs the costs up even more.

Indeed, and also send the Oatcake into a fear driven downward spiral.

[Doha]

Mini Gallery: images of the summer construction work at Vale Park 2022 - onevalefan.co.uk

WWW.ONEVALEFAN.CO.UK

 

 

 

Are they digging out the hill at the back of the family stand to install some sort of facility? Possibly a new toilet block or kiosk at the bottom of the hill for the railway?

[Fosse69]

10 minutes ago, Doha said:

Mini Gallery: images of the summer construction work at Vale Park 2022 - onevalefan.co.uk

WWW.ONEVALEFAN.CO.UK

 

 

 

Are they digging out the hill at the back of the family stand to install some sort of facility? Possibly a new toilet block or kiosk at the bottom of the hill for the railway?

Possibly a beer bar, entrance and turnstiles for next seasons away entrance? Or just clearing the rubble from a derelict building.