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@Manc_Ronnie
Report on WHU new stadium from a City supporting mate who lives near Brisbane Rd and went to see WHU last night: -
I believe there are large numbers of seats at the back of the ends which WON'T ever be used, presumably because they will be so far from the action.
BUT - I would guess that somewhere around 50,000 seats will give you a PERFECTLY good view, which is, y'know, 15,000 more seats than they had at Upton Park, huge swathes of that stadium gave a view that was completely unacceptable (like the entire away end - I sat in the home end for our games in the final few seasons cos I actually wanted to see the game)
The sides seem a bit imbalanced - one side is one single sweep (can't think of a better description) of seats, which seems to be bigger than the other side, which has a single row of boxes in between a clearly defined top and bottom tier. I sat roughly level with the touchline, in the bigger stand, roughly 2/3 of the way up, and while I did feel like I was straining my eyes to see the far side, I didn't find it problematic.
And, compare to other 'new' stadiums - the Etihad is great, IMHO - there are very few bad views, unless you're at pitch level, which is the same anywhere - but the Emirates has given up so much to the corporate middle tier that the lower tier seats allow you to see almost nothing, even at the back of that area, while the rear of the upper tier make you feel like you're watching on a TV at the other end of a pub. Wembley has a similar feel, if not as bad as Emirates. the Olympic Stadium just has slightly different issues, and frankly, the Hammers fans don't seem to care too much.
If you wanted to build your own stadium, it would cost you £500m, minimum, and MILES more if it was on the plot that the OS is in now - so accepting a few imperfections for the massive improvement in profile that this stadium will get for them now, and for frankly close to freemans, not even worth debating.