Wolves Issue Update on Graham Hughes Stand
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. have regretfully confirmed that the Graham Hughes Stand will continue to be out of action for a number of games, following surveys that found severe structural deficiencies to the sub-structure. To make the stand safe for supports' use, it now must be rebuilt.
Wolves has been working with integrated event solution specialists Arena, who installed the temporary seating in 2018. They first identified the integrity issues in July as part of their regular routine inspections of the stand.
A spokesperson from Arena’s seating division explained that the scope of work was bigger than initially identified.
They said: “Arena has been working with Wolves for many years, and carry out regular inspections on the Graham Hughes Stand to provide reports and certification of it being safe for use, including ahead of the final match of the 2020/21 season, against Manchester United.
“After the season had concluded, we performed a routine inspection of the Graham Hughes Stand that flagged a point of structural concern requiring further inspection.
“Specialist structural teams were brought in to investigate further, and these surveys uncovered severe structural deficiencies to the pre-existing sub-structure, which was underneath the equipment we supplied in 2018. This identified the need to replace, rather than repair, the whole support structure for the grandstand to make it safe for fans.
“Upon receiving this news in July, the club commissioned a complete overhaul to the stand to ensure that the entire structure remains safe and compliant for the foreseeable future.
“The design process was extended to accommodate the extended scope of work, and this design procurement period is now close to completion. Unfortunately, the availability of materials due to combined Brexit and Covid-19 influences has further extended the delivery programme.
“We are fully committed to supporting Wolves to complete this installation as quickly as possible to get fans back into the grandstand.”
Wolves head of operations Steve Sutton said: “We are disappointed to communicate an additional delay to the re-opening of the Graham Hughes Stand for supporters, but the scale of work needed to make it safe is much greater than first thought.
“Since the deficiencies were flagged to us by Arena in July, we have done everything we can to try to ensure the work to fix the stand would be a quick and smooth process, however the scale of the work has increased over time and the global supply chains have been incredibly prohibitive.
“Our number one priority is always the safety of our supporters, and now we must support Arena to ensure the necessary work is done as quickly and efficiently as possible to comply with all safety and UEFA guidelines, and then we can welcome supporters back into the stand as soon as possible.”
Image credit: Wolverhampton Wanderers
