Gav says…
Crucially, it feels great that we now have people at the football club that care about the little details.
Obviously, none of this will be coming cheap but these are things that the Stadium of Light has been missing since it was created. It’s always been a fantastic venue, but there was never really anything about the place that made it feel like home and, in recent years, significant steps have been taken to make sure that this place feels uniquely Sunderland.
To those outside the Sunderland bubble,
they probably seem relatively insignificant but to those of us who truly care, it means a lot.
The bricks which are being proposed, for example, are a way to immortalise yourself in the very foundations of the football club.
The lettering which will go up on the Roker End, a take on the famous Welcome to Sunderland motto from the back of the Fulwell End? It’s us. And topping it off, of course, is the statue of Jimmy Montgomery, which is a welcome addition.
I believe we need to have many more statues of our greatest legends around the Stadium of Light, and I hope that this is just the start of many more to come. It’s great that these things are being done while great players like Jimmy are here to see it, because he deserves his flowers after so many years of fantastic service to this football club.
I love the proposals and really can’t wait to see it once it’s complete.
John Wilson says…
Things like this always give me a warm glow and a fantastic lift about the club and the current regime.
We get immersed in the football on the pitch — which sometimes gives us a huge buzz and at other times can depress us for a few days — but when announcements like this are made, it reminds us that the club are looking after and are conscious of nurturing all aspects.
Developing the Stadium of Light and the surrounding areas adds to the attraction of not just our club but also the city as a whole, enhancing the pride and the community spirit within the fan base and strengthening the link and the bond between the club and the supporters.
What a fantastic idea (if it comes to fruition) to have fan-voted ‘legend stones’.
That’ll ignite some debate but what a moving idea it is to turn the Bob Stokoe statue around to face a new Jimmy Montgomery statue and recreate that iconic Wembley scene. Hats off to whoever thought of that one — and I don’t just mean Bob’s trilby!
I’ve written about having more ex-player statues around the ground, and whom they might be?
Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips? Charlie Hurley? But nobody could argue with the next one being of our most capped player and club ambassador Jimmy Montgomery once again united with Mr Stokoe and with that glorious moment after the full time whistle in 1973 recreated. Wonderful stuff!
The club has to keep moving forward but there should always be a glance back to where we’ve been and who we are.
Joseph Tulip says…
Having been wowed by the Stadium of Light when it first opened back in 1997, I was more than happy with our modern new home until it began to look a little neglected around a decade or so ago.
I didn’t realise just how much I would enjoy the creative new additions until they actually happened, starting with the artwork in the concourses to illustrate our rich history, along with other improvements and upgrades to the stadium which have breathed new life into a venue which was once amongst the best in British football.
The Keel Crossing has changed how many people arrive at the ground on matchday, so the idea of making this a celebration of all things Sunderland AFC will undoubtedly generate a new buzz and deepen the connection we all have to the club we love.
At least in the initial stages, there’ll be a carnival, Wembley Way-type atmosphere while we can all tip our hats to our heroes and teams of the past. The Jimmy Montgomery statue is not only fitting — it reinforces the significance and brings new context to Bob Stokoe’s moment of glory, captured in his own statue which will be reoriented to create their iconic moment.
This exciting new project also gives new meaning to the old Welcome to Sunderland sign, as it will greet thousands as they head to the stadium from the south, rather than giving our opponents a warm reception from inside the ground as it perhaps did in the past at Roker.
While I’m sure this will be new lettering, I’m intrigued about the whereabouts of the original from the Fulwell End. It was previously displayed on the ceiling of Quinn’s Bar before its recent refit, but with the lettering scattered around for effect. A poor late 1990s decision, in my opinion.
I understand some of the original lettering may have been used in the new Quinn’s Bar signage, but I’d love to see the original reinstated in full somewhere.
Moving forward, could we see the Archibald Leitch latticework from Roker Park brought in from the car park and perhaps recreated across that south stand, in place of the cheap hardboard imitations which are there currently.
Overall, amazing developments and I wish my dad was here to see them. I’m sure there’ll be more to come in the years that follow.
