fair comment but if you get there and its peeing down you can upgrade on the night

And still not be with the away fans...

I remember in 2003 when the Hull fans "invaded" the South Stand when it was raining. What happened? Stewards were trying to get them out of it. I remember going to toilet, then trying to go back into the stand only to be told by the steward I had to leave. I was 16 years old and on my own, with the rest of my family in that stand, and he was telling me to get out regardless of what I said.

So, when Leeds say "you can go anywhere you like", they really mean "you can go anywhere you like, as long as there isn't a significant number of you".

id rather leeds spent the £2/3m on development and infrastructure than buying some houses just to put a roof on the western terrace

No you're right, there is a "soft segregation" between home and away supporters at Headingley now, that is its not official but they go to great lengths to try and achieve it.

Its possible of course to pay over the odds and sit in the North Stand wings and there may be space in the Carnegie Stand for away supporters but I believe that if you buy tickets in advance from your own club then you will only be offered Western Terrace tickets (other than the North Stand seats).

And it works both ways too - while Leeds supporters can freely go and stand on the Western Terrace, if they have a Southstand ticket they are not allowed to transfer to the WT or use the turnstiles at the Kirkstall end of the ground, I tried to transfer out of the southstand and only managed it by finding a dateless steward who was too confused to argue and opened a gate that he shouldn't have, I think he'd only been told not to let anyone IN, not OUT.

All of which is irrelevant if any planned building doesn't comply with local planning laws, and building something higher than a structure thats already there in a predominantly residential area is always going to be a problem whether or not you own ALL of the houses for miles around.

Building a stand that is no higher than the current terrace would drastically reduce the capacity of that terrace (its surprisingly big) and hence be totally pointless from a business point of view, the reduction in capacity probably wouldn't even cover the extra couple of quid per head that you might be able to charge to stand under cover (and would any of you be happy to pay £22 to stand in any stadium ?)

Exactly, and from a Leeds business point of view it makes sense, as it's not as if it would be utilised much anyway. Stinks as an away fan though.

However, if they did buy them houses, they'd probably do more than just "put a roof on". You'd be able to extend that stand significantly. No need to at the moment, but maybe in the future. Although again, with parking and access problems that Headingley suffer from, you'd have a lot to do to be able to get planning permission for a larger capacity.

Wrong, we cant go backwards due to the ginnell. We'd have to go upwards which would also mean going back.

Or we could have everyone sat on the person in fronts shoulders like they do at Real Madrid

Aye we could. Scandlous there and Camp Nou.

Only way we could do some form of roof is by losing some capcity and the walkway at the back, which i presume is required for an emergency exit.

Let's see the Whinos fans reaction to 1,500 Wiganers suddenly taking up their space in the South Stand. That will go down well won't it?

Its never going to happen, the southstand is all ticket for the most popular games (and you can guess that they are not made available to other clubs) and there is no access to it from the sides like there used to be - you stay on the Western Terrace like you've been told

I still can't see any reason that a roof can't be put on to the existing terrace, albeit it would have to have some supporting pillars as there isn't space for a cantilever roof. If Blyth Spartans can manage it then I'm sure Leeds Rhinos can.

Unless a Southstand ticket is bought

Except Blyth Spartans have a shed load of land available around the ground and don't have a public walkway to deal with.

In my opinion the Western Terrace will get done eventually, in maybe 10 years time, but the matter of the houses and walkway are difficult to overcome. As I understand it Leeds have already bought a couple of the houses behind the WT but there are several others that would undoubtably complain about rise in height of the stand.
Even putting a roof on would obviously require planning permission that would be tricky to get through since it would still have to be higher than the height of the current stand and as has been said the walkway directly behind the WT means it can't be taken further back.

With the South Stand needing "urgent" work on it, obviously that has taken priority and the facilities and old wooden seats of the North (Main) Stand need upgrading too. So in the short term thats going to have to take priority since planning permission won't be a problem for either North or South Stand developments.

It's also inaccurate to say that money hasn't been spent on Headingley in the past, it most certainly has. Before the Carnegie Stand was built there were several refurbishments in the North Stand including the dressing rooms and players lounge and a refurbishment of the South Stand roof. I also remember the South Stand bar and changing rooms being refurbished. Also the hotel with all its associated conferencing and banqueting facilities was built along with a new club shop and training facility, which probably goes someway to explain Leeds vastly higher income than other SL clubs.

Not on the first roof that they built as that end backs directly on to neighbouring houses.

Indeed. Reportedly generated a £3million profit on £10 million turnover this last year.

Leeds are the benchmark Rugby League club in this country, no doubt.

Is there something about my avatar or posting history that suggests I'd talk about the Loiners in the first person? 'We' ≠ 'Whinos' when I'm typing

....cracked it, so long as only supporters who are 6 inches tall are allowed at the top of the stand!

A roof wouldnt just 'jut' out from the top row of the terrace, they'd have to lose about 10ft in high and several rows from an already small stand. Planning permission from the residents behind would never be granted, they are far too close. But yeah Leeds should just buy those houses, and the families/students would be more than happy im sure

also suggestion for the free season ticket to the residents inconvenienced

I stand on the Western terrace most games for the 2nd half nowadays, whats the big deal about a bit of rain

No, getting wet will be outlawed by 2012 along with being warm, thirsty & walking more than 500 yards.

It backs onto their gardens which are quite long and there is a significant gap in between the gardens and the stand. Plus the stand is only very small.
It is in no way comparable to the West Terrace at Headingley.

I assume a "ginnell" is a public walkway?

If the stand went past the "ginnell", could they not just put a tunnel there so people can still get through (like they were planning at Man Utd for the railway if they managed to buy the houses behind their smaller stand)? Or reroute the walkway to around the stand? I don't think that is a major issue.

Ask the people of Green Bay, Wisconsin if they mind a bit of adverse weather and a roof at Lambeau field



Some people are going soft.

American's have 4 extra layers of fat to keep them warm though