It is 30th July 1997 and aging rockers Status Quo descend onto a football pitch via helicopter with – of all people – Prince Andrew looking on.
Yes, that actually happened.
Looking back, this remains one of the more surreal moments that the Stadium of Light has played host to. Indeed, for the avoidance of doubt, for any relatively new supporters reading, these are definitely not the ramblings of a fever dream.
Fans aside, the day of the opening ceremony was not about guests present. For the club, it was perhaps not just about celebrating new beginnings either. Symbolically, it was rather deeper. It was as much about honouring the hard work of those generations who previously worked at Wearmouth Colliery (the place where this shiny new football ground now stood) as anything else.
Then Chairman Bob Murray said as much:
“For many years, miners at Wearmouth Colliery carried with them a Davy lamp as part of their working lives. Reflecting this tradition, the name allows the image of this light to shine forever.”
Murray later added in 2017:
“The Estadio de Luz in Portugal isn’t the Stadium of Light, it is named after the area – Luz. It’s like, say, Elland Road or Old Trafford. We are the only club whose stadium has that name, and it was because of the history of the region that I named it”.
Before the turn of the century, Sunderland AFC’s new home may have been modern in design but it was also built upon local history. It continues to carry that legacy on its shoulders to this day. The Davey Lamp monument that stands outside the repurposed Black Cat House and elements of the Archibald Latticework from Roker Park adorning the carpark being further examples of tradition blending with the contemporary.
Fast forward to the Stadium’s recent improvements made by the current owners and everything from aspects of the new club shop, Hummel kits, to the new PA (blaring out a ships horn before kick-off), pay homage to this city’s rich history.
This ownership group does not always get it right. However, when it does it tends to honour the past and build something new from it. That feels right for this club of ours.
And so, given those recent tweaks to the ground and after 27 years of being in situ within SR5, it begs the question – what next for the Stadium of Light? What other changes and advancements could be around the corner? Whilst still continuing to pay respect to the city and those that have come before, how can it improve further to compete with more modern stadia?
The obvious place to start would be to examine whether the capacity is likely to change any time soon…
Capacity
You may recall – if you are old enough – that even as spades were being dug into the old Colliery ground, capacity of the Stadium was intended to be capped at 40,000. This eventually increased to 42,000 in 1997, prior to the official opening. It was not until the turn of the millennium when the North Stand saw construction work begin that a further 7,000 supporters potentially being added to the grate was a possibilty.
In the second tier of English football, a maximum capacity of 49,000 feels like more than enough space. Yet, with 35,000 season card holders and an average attendance last season of 41,019, Sunderland ranked 43rd in world football for bums on seats. For a team that has sat outside of the top flight since 2017 and not won a major trophy in 51 years, this is quite simply astonishing. It evidences the insatiable appetite that exists for football on Wearside and for everything connected to this club of ours. The Premier League years saw higher attendance figures more often. But, if truth were told, for some casual fans, seeing a side regularly fighting relegation may not have been sufficient of an attraction to guarantee additional numbers of tickets sold, such that the ground would require builders to be brought back.
That said, if the aspiration of Louis-Dreyfus et al is to have this club competitive in the Premier League on a sustained basis, following in the footsteps of Brighton and Bournemouth, it is not impossible in the future – however unlikely it may feel in the present – to imagine a time when further construction work may be required.
Thankfully, Bob Murray thought of that.
The design of the Stadium of Light incorporated the possibility to expand the upper tier to around 63,000. In somewhat of an homage to Roker Park and at the request of supporters, this past summer saw the return of authorised standing with 2,000 spaces incorporated into the Roker End and 1,000 into the North Stand. It is plausible that this will be also be reviewed as part of any examination of the ground’s capacity – whenever that might be – to bring a variety of options for supporters to watch the team in red and white.
Technology
Sunderland’s ownership did not just focus on changes to standing inside the ground. 5G technology was added to an already cashless Stadium alongside the existing digital ticketing infrastructure. New technology has been something that the club have sought to embrace of late. And, 5G, once switched on in 2025, will improve connectivity in the ground.
However, as we look ahead to related new advancements to gauge what could be possible in the future, it is clear that multiple large TV screens, potentially drone cameras, more reliable internet access with the possibility of accessing close up footage of the action, alternative camera angles and instant replays via your own device could be a new item on the next agenda.
The club often talk of best in class ‘domains’ and given the lack of investment that the Stadium saw during the past 20 years or so, there is every reason for the owners to continue on their current technological path, eventually placing the ground at the cutting edge of what is achievable in a football stadium.
Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves of course. But, it is also possible that in the not too distant future, facial recognition technology could be added to the digital ticketing system potentially improving stadium safety by better policing entry into the ground. You may be possibly scoffing at this point but Manchester City are already exploring the idea as are Danish side Brøndby IF.
A recent related cyber-security report stated:
“…it will be used to identify persons that have been banned from attending Brøndby IF soccer matches for violations of the club’s own rules of conduct during past games. The AFR system will work by using cameras that scan the public area in front of the stadium entrances, so that persons on the ban list can be ‘picked out’ from the crowd before reaching the entrance.”
It may sound all rather Minority Report to some of us. However, this tech already exists in several baseball grounds in the US. Dubbed ‘Go-ahead Entry’ in Citi Field, Queens, New York, home of the Mets it was implemented successfully. But, not without some controversy. Whilst there are clear benefits – shorter lines, quicker entry and greater security – there are those who are understandably sceptical about who would have access to ‘their’ data which would (like all surveillance tools) record and retain images of individuals. In turn this poses questions around the ethics of what could be done with this information if suitable safeguards are not in place.
One solution in the US, has been to have separate, dedicated lines and entry points offering those that wish to bypass it, the option to do so. Whatever your view, it seems clear that within the next 10 years, more and more football grounds in England will make use of facial recognition software and perhaps our very own Stadium of Light too. The rights and wrongs of it will hopefully be fiercely debated and thrashed out before it arrives on Wearside.
Or maybe not…
Artificial Intelligence
On the subject of technology, AI innovation is beginning to gain traction in our daily lives and it will likely not be long before it makes its way into football grounds. In fact, within the world of tennis, Wimbledon and the American tech company IBM are already pioneering new technology around this and have been doing so since 2019.
Watson – as the AI software is called – analyses live video, looks at match stats, reviews the most photogenic player gestures during a set and the reactions of those in the crowd in order to pick out the most dramatic moments. According to a report Watson uses:
“…a scoring system, it identifies and compiles the best scenes for highlight reels. What would take humans hours to achieve, Watson completes in record time, delivering highlight videos to fans via the official Wimbledon app within two minutes of a match’s conclusion.”
It is conceivable that for a premium, the club could push something like this to their own dedicated app for supporters to review either at half time, full time or even during the match itself, as technology develops. This would require added infrastructure within the Stadium in order to accommodate it and could be something the Black Cats may wish to consider in any future phase of stadium re-development.
Variety
Last summer, the club also made substantial investments to enhance the stadium’s hospitality areas, including upgrades to Quinn’s Sports Bar, the Montgomery Suite, and the Business Lounge.
Looking at some of the top teams in the Premier League it is obvious that they have invested in providing an even larger number of match-day offerings to cater for the broadest range of supporter possible. For example, at quick glance Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium has around 20 different supporter ‘packages’ in addition to the regular match-day ticket, ranging in price from £155 to £2550 per game. A variety of bars, restaurants, and VIP experiences are offered to those willing and able to part with their money.
It is possible that with Sunderland’s old club shop now being converted into another bar that further options to complement those referenced earlier alongside the Black Cats Bar may be considered going forward.
As the saying goes – spend to accumulate.
Multi-Purpose Venue
If further improvements are to be made, the Stadium of Light should, of course, not just be looked at in isolation. The whole infrastructure of the surrounding area must be factored in, to ensure it continually keeps apace.
Crucially, this potentially means not ‘just’ playing host to the Rokermen or the typical summer music concerts.
Once the new footbridge is fully open it will offer accessibility and better connectivity to brand new public spaces on both sides of the River Wear. In keeping with the mantra of honouring the past it should also perfectly complement the historic character of the Wearmouth and Monkwearmouth bridges too.
This new structure will serve as somewhat of a centrepiece to the city’s revitalised Riverside Park which will see housing developments also increase the overall population in that area. As such the bridge will connect the city centre with the Stadium of Light as well as the newly opened Sheepfolds, an area already getting rave reviews. On the subject of tech, according to the architects’s website the new bridge has a design that will:
“explore cutting-edge technology and creative lighting to create engaging interactive experiences for those who cross the bridge and ‘really bring to life the city’s digital ambitions.”
The upshot of this is it should further increase footfall in and around SR5 and potentially result in the Stadium of Light being able to offer a variety of different commercial options on non-match days. In turn helping it become more of a social meeting place with bars – and potentially even new restaurants – being open seven days a week, further transforming it into a multi-purpose venue.
Green Energy
One option we know the club is definitely considering is the development of a solar farm canopy over the car park surrounding the Stadium of Light.
We know this to be so as they have already published some of the detail behind this initiative. It’s aim, covered here is to explore:
“the potential to develop a canopy solar farm above the car park surrounding the Stadium of Light.The solar farm would create a private electricity network for the benefit of the club and other businesses located on the stadium site.The club is also working in collaboration with Sunderland City Council to investigate the opportunity to create a district heating system using the mine water from the disused mine on which the Stadium of Light is built.The initiatives form part of a wider sustainability strategy announced by Sunderland as the club looks to reduce its impact on the environment and support the UK’s low-carbon ambitions. The plan is in line with the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals and focuses on Sunderland’s role as a football club in the local and regional communities and the impact it can have to support environmental change and energy usage.Sunderland is aiming to be energy-self-sufficient from renewable sources by 2028, while also providing energy to the National Grid network for the benefit of the wider community.”
It remains unclear as to when or if this work will begin.
Into the light
So, all in all, until recently the Stadium of Light was looking in desperate need of some tlc. The recent investment was essential and went a long way to address some of the concerns supporters have held for a while. However, it is important not to rest on laurels. The Red and White Army Supporters’ Trust will hopefully continue to have regular dialogue with club officials and feedback any areas of improvement.
The thrust of it is the owners must constantly have eyes on new advancements – whatever they may be – to ensure the Stadium of Light is never at risk of looking tired again and continues to be a worthy home-ground of the club and the local community.
Photo by Ross Johnston, RJX Media.
