The Wayback Machine is a service on the Internet Archive, which allows you to access archived versions of web pages since roughly the web’s inception. Finding the earliest entry for saddlers.co.uk, 3rd December 1998, I couldn’t resist sharing this little gem.
Helicopter landing facilities! 
18,500 capacity. Wasn’t it only approx. 9,500 before the Gilbert Alsop was extended?
Obviously got excited about the sq. feet and used that figure 
My word! Could easily lose a few days trawling through these archives!!
Was it not 11.000 before the away end was converted? Or am I imagining that…
I seem to remember 11,300 from somewhere
Does that include the pitch? 
They packed them in more tightly then.
The 18,500 figure referred to concert capacity. It’s what they planned to sell when the Wonder Stuff played there.
The ground was about 11,500 when there was three sides of terracing.
bescot was terraced on 3 sides ???
Fellows Park certainly was 
To be precise you could actually stand on all 4 sides. The enclosure was in front of the main stand.
Agreed … but for plebs like me who used the Hillary Street entrance, anything to do with the main stand was effectively out of bounds. I always favoured the behind-the-goal position anyway, so was very happy spending half the game behind that goal and the other half at the Laundry End. That was, of course, before the days of restricted access to the terracing opposite the main stand!!
Thinking about it, the only time I was ever tempted to use that “side-on” viewpoint was when it was tipping down with rain … and even then it wasn’t always tempting - I remember being the only occupant at the Laundry End on a Saturday afternoon when we won 8-0 against Southport, soaked to the skin but very happy - but that’s another story.
We used it to wind up opposing fans 
So I was gonna start a new topic but found this one from way back so thought I’d rekindle some posting on here as it seems apt for my point…..
Firstly, I know we want promotion out of this crappy division and the football on the pitch is the absolute priority for us all but probably like most of us, I watch plenty of footy on the box as well as at our own and other L2 grounds and I got thinking…… what improvements would we need to make (seriously) at Bescot to make it a truly modern stadium that fans would be proud to be associated with? Just for starters….
Maybe we should just build a new un…..
I need another cuppa I think….
I’ve never liked the location. To me it has the worst of both worlds in that it feels like it’s out of the way - it’s basically in Wednesbury, which is a different country - yet at the same time congested and cramped.
In an ideal world, for me at least, it would have been built where the Crown Wharf ended up being built. Much-needed guaranteed footfall for the town centre in the looming Internet age, and also strengthening a feeling of identity to the town. All buses round the borough already go there. Drinkeries already there. Obviously that won’t happen now.
Second choice would have been the Reedswood site. Near Bloxwich and Beechdale; core support areas. Would have had a bit more room for expansion too, for when we become a top-half Championship club.
We have to polish the turd we’ve got though. Removal of stanchions and improved lighting would be my priorities from your list.
I would love Trivela to build us a new upto date modern stadium, but I think that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
I would rather we concentrate on spending money on better players, our own players, that are going to get us promoted, and get us competing at the top end of league one first, and then start talking about a new stadium.
But they could be doing more as time goes on with modernising Bescot with the things you have suggested, little by little.
As for your points 1 - 10, I’d agree with most but some really aren’t as bad as some make out in my experience, i.e
toilets, the ones I use in the lower, I don’t see any problems with them tbh, but can’t comment on any others at the ground.
The food kiosks, I don’t visit so can’t comment if they are good or bad, but they always seem to have large queues, so can’t be that bad. But like you say, fill in the corners with corporate buildings above and the incorporate kiosks underneath as an all in one structure, would look quite good I think, hate how stadiums have 4 separate stands, they look so much nicer with the corners filled in following round to make, what I believe a more symmetrical look.
I would love us to own, yes own a stadium in the same shape as your MK Dons, or your Doncasters of this world, but they look terrible 3/4 empty, even more so than the Bescot.
Hope one day this can all happen, we live in hope … ( or cloud cuckoo land)
Great Post @Coop63
It’s actually quite interesting because at the moment a number of teams around the country are improving their grounds and increasing their ground capacity. Admittedly mainly in the top 2 divisions,
In an ideal world I would build a new stadium but assuming we are staying at the Bescot these are the steps I would take
1 Buy the houses at the back of the experience energy stand
2 knock down the experience energy stand and away end stand
3 increase the pitch area
4 build new stands for experience energy stand and away end stand. Obviously remove stanchions. Away end stand could be a similar build to Poundland stand.
5 rebuild pallet track stand using car park space. Total capacity now around 20k
6 purchase retail park land and improve accessibility to the stadium. Redevelop retail park area to be a modern leisure area with restaurants cinema ice rink, perhaps some student accommodation
The club would now be in a position to support league 1 football with the amenities that attract a fanbase large enough to do that.
Totally agree with all of that and I would add putting changing rooms back into the shop as the sizes are so random that my son needs to try the clothes on to see if they fit. It doesn’t affect me as the women’s choice is so limited anyway. My son walked out without buying anything due to changing rooms being removed.
