Apologies if I've missed this, but are they going to be building another couple steps of terracing down to ground level or will it be that raised?

Couple of reasons I ask. Firstly, they haven't put barriers at the front, as though they perhaps haven't finished building this bit yet, they haven't built the steps required to get into the terracing, and also it looks like they may have left a wide channel from the edge of the pitch to where they have built to allow for plant access.

If it is staying like that, there looks to be a huge distance from the terracing to the edge of the pitch, or is that an illusion created by the pics?

Either way, it looks awesome!

It will be raised but there will be steps down either side of the exits to gain access to the seats/terracing. It is raised to allow room for disabled/wheelchair seeting at the front of each stand.

The concourse will be cemented certainly the yellow sheet area will be and then I think they will have an "advertising" barrier between stands and pitch area

Cheers, will the grass area be extended (ie the 2m runoff area added) or is the pitch really that far from the terracing? Or does it just look worse on the photos?

I think it looks fine, great for getting out afterwards, plenty of room soon dissapears when 4,000 people are all leaving at once, Wigan of course don't need so much room as people start to leave 20 mins before the end so their concourses are much narrower

Maybe it won't look as big a space when the concourse is concreted and the barriers and steps put in. At the moment it looks a large space to me - if you look at the workman on the pitch, he is probably 2m in, which is probably where the touchline would need to be, and that seems a good distance from the fans.

I like it when the stands are right up close to the pitch, as I say maybe it's just the picture.

To be fair have a look at the distance at Widnes, pretty much the same distance fron the bottom of the stand to the pitch.

What does it matter how big the steps are in front of the pitch? You won't be allowed to exit there anyway will you?

Does anyone have any information about the important stuff, like how big the bar/food areas within the ground are and whether there will be terrible queues at said vending points? Also, are the toilets big enough to ensure I don't have to queue?

Fair enough then. As I said earlier, I like it when the fans are close to the pitch, feel it really improves the atmosphere and it just looks a decent distance. If it's comparable to other similar grounds though then it'll be brilliant.

Doesnt look any different than the concourses at Warrington

Looks to be about 7 metres wide (As you say no diff to warry's) and if it's not going to have anything else then at least those in the front seats wont have their view impeded by fans milling around getting beer throughout the match (Or stewards in the way for that matter). We had this problem at Harelquins as the very front seats are so low down compared to the concourse area our view was obstructed throughout the game

Yep, you're quite right, cheers.

oooh oooh we now have RED in view of the camera......

I'll give a fiver to anyone who can get their backside on that webcam and post it on here.

But how would you print screen it whilst displaying your back side to the camera? It would have to be a 2 man effort.

One thing I do like is that fact that the roof is on top of the terracing not 30 feet above it like at the HJ. I'm sure the roof being deep and closer to the terracing will make the noise carry better to the pitch.

I'd pay a fiver each.

each cheek?

It looks a little boring at the moment but that main stand should look pretty good covered in red.

It is very much a smaller version of Brightons new ground.

I am not just excited about this stadium as a Wigan fan for the derbies but also just as a fan of RL. When saints started building it I thought I would drive past in disgust but I just don't, I just get a buzz of excitement thinking about attending as a fan.

Saints are one of the top 3 clubs in the country and one of the biggest names in the game, to see them move into a new stadium is fantastic for the game in this country. Not only will I enjoy attending in the away end as a Wigan fan, I will no doubt attend a semi-final of the cup there at some point, I'm sure many internationals will be played there, maybe even a WCC. I think they should move the Championship finals to this new venue and give it the games it deserves.

The stadium is already building a history that our current ground will just never have despite the fantastic facility it is.

I say RED, of course at night its the darker grey on the light grey.........

Fantastic response, the sooner all rugby grounds are like ours the better

back of the east stand



ne corner as you can see the wall is getting bigger



views from retail park







south stand





and close up of the red cladding



studio/ boxes



and a wide shot from the Renault agents

I find it slightly ironic that the HJ Stadium gets criticised and called the Lego stadium, yet the red cladding looks just like, yep, huge blocks of Lego!



Just kidding, looks awesome, great pics as usual, living in Edinburgh I haven't had chance to actually see the build so I love this thread.

It's looking really good, can't wait to visit. Will still miss Knowsley Road though!!

Surely not, it was a hole

Some pics i took earlier today





new surface being laid.



looking closely at the surface it doesnt look like a road surface. Infact from its colour and texture the surface reminds me of the pavement on the promenade at Cairns in Australia.



A pic of the red cladding. Some panels look dirty so i suspect they will need a wash just before stadium opening



looking at what i think will become the ticket office, you can see that a window has been broken



Looking at the East stand the brickwork has now risen to near enough full height



here we see a side on view of the East stand



moving northwards we can see the brickwork is high in this corner. A gap has been left for a large steel gate to allow access to the pitch area.



While taking a pic i couldnt help but notice that the roofers have missed a bit.
You can see a gap between the guttering and roof. Should make for an interesting water feature behind the Video Screen during bad weather, if it isnt rectified



Moving northwards and we can see the progression of the blockwork









While taking the above pics i noticed that spotlights have been placed at the back of the stands. These look temporary affairs and appear to allow the workmen to continue to work as nights start to draw in.



moving onto the corner of the North and West stand we can see metal panels to carry electrical cabling



Brickwork on the West stand is pretty much complete, save for a section in the North West corner. As a result scaffolding has been taken down and we can see what will probably be the final look of this stand.



The pitch just gets lusher with every passing week



finally, i also noticed that work has commenced on the floodlights. Looks like they have put the brackets on ready for the lights to go in.