On Thursday evening Chris (AKA Mrs Brown ) and myself were invited to attend a media an fan meeting at St Andrews. The meeting was designed to provide some further clarity on the current situations and structure at the club and it didn’t let us down.

The session was opened up by Dale Moon and an explanation of what was to come. The first thing discussed and before we moved to the stadium issues was an apology, an apology for not running this type of session previously and also for not issuing more communications. This was a start none of us expected and I applaud the management team present for acknowledging what opportunities had been missed. Edward spoke and raised that to much time had passed without communication with fans and that now was the time for change. He described us all as one family who want the same thing and that was progression. Its also worth noting that as Edward stated its Chinese culture to complete actions and then talk about them and not talk and then do. To come out so early and cover this helped settle people.

The stadium issues – The Upper Tiers

We were all aware that issues had been found that resulted in the full closure of the Kop and Tilton, however it wasn’t until the Project Manager Michael Moran took us through some slides that we understood the full extent. To say we were shocked by what we were presented with is an understatement :

1. The initial 300 Bolts that were spotted for repair ended up at over 1000 but that was the tip of the iceberg.
2. Excavation work was needed in areas of the fixtures as a build up of silt and demolition rubbish meant that access to structures was limited. As this is now a health and safety requirement work was needed before anything else could happen which lead to the first delay
3. New steel brackets were required to be specially designed and built as some of the bolts where corrosion or not being present were inaccessible – 2nd delay
4. One picture showed holes around where bolts should have been secured and further instances of these were found. All of these needed repointing before any sign off could be given
5. Shortage of materials led to delays. At one point everyone in the management team was trying to source items with Edward going to firms to collect items to help.
6. The workforce needed to complete the updates was specialist. We needed rope climbers and specially trained excavators to complete the work and due to the Pandemic this was hard to find. Some the team normally worked on oilrigs but stayed to complete the upper work phase. The workmen completed 11 hour days sometimes 7 days a week to get the upper phase completed and also begin preparation for the lower tiers. The teams were also incentivised to help us get to the day when the upper areas could be opened. The final cost of this phase alone came in 5 times greater the first review

The lower Tiers

Michael talked us through some of the additional work that had been found whist the initial phase was being completed, infact it was the proverbial can of worms being opened.

1. Some of the lower steel structures had corroded due to standing water and through beams being left against old groundworks
2. Parts of the old stands were still in place. On many pictures we could see concrete that had been smashed up but instead if removed was just left in place. This caused access issues and as new regulation’s stated access was required throughout further work was needed
3. Silt had moved and built up against platforms that needed to be cleared – further delays. One short video showed a workman having to slide on his stomach to get to the next area for work

So what can be done ?

The list of additional tasks just kept coming and helped to highlight just how bad things were. The remaining work on the lower tiers is currently out for tender but its far to say its not an easy job. To get to some of the areas for repair seats and whole concrete slabs will need to be removed. There are three options being looked into by the firm. The first would be to maintain the original steel by sandblasting and the galvanising the beam. The second option is to clean the steel and then encase this in reinforced concrete, this is the quickest option. The third option would be to remove all steel works and rebuild. This would obviously take longer and be substantially more expensive

Michael was asked for a time frame for completion of this work and also whether remedial work required could also align to Safe standing areas. It was confirmed that Safe standing is an option that is not being ruled out however number 1 priority is getting the stands open. We all agreed that it would make sense to complete works and safe standing at the same time if this was possible.

It was asked whether the repair work would be completed on phases to allow sections to open one at a time, This was confirmed as being the approach being looked at and not a all at once opening. In terms of timeframes nothing firm could be given as the tenders had not yet come back, these are expected in the near future and at that point and after a decision is made timeframes could given. It was asked whether next season would be a likely timeframe and this was said to be everyone’s aspiration.

Questions around why these had not been seen before were raised and it was confirmed that they had not been previously reported and that through the initial works these had been found, costs were asked about with these initially being covered by BSHL.

Part 2 on funding and transfer strategy to come.

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