Molineux's Graham Hughes stand to reopen this weekend
Molineux’s Graham Hughes stand will reopen this weekend after six months of closures.
The 800-seat stand, which sits in the corner between the Sir Jack Hayward Stand and the Billy Wright Stand, has been closed all season after safety concerns were found, before the club eventually had to rebuild it.
But after six months of the stand being closed it will finally reopen on Saturday when Wolves host Norwich in the FA Cup fourth round.
The stand passed a safety inspection on Monday and tickets went on sale today, as Molineux returned to full capacity.
Many tickets were snapped up within minutes of the tickets becoming available and it is expected they will sell out before Saturday’s fixture.
Back in August the stand was originally closed for the first two Premier League games of the season after a routine inspection, and subsequent surveys, found ‘severe structural deficiencies’ to the structure.
As a temporary stand, it has to undergo regular checks from an external agency to ensure it is safe for supporters.
In September the club was then forced to completely rebuild the stand after it became clear the structure was unsafe.
Specialist contractors Arena installed the stand in 2018 and carried out the inspections of it, but it is understood Wolves were unhappy with their work and changed to a new contractor once the rebuilding got under way.
The Express & Star exclusively revealed in November that the stand would be closed until at least the New Year.
It was then revealed that the stand would reopen in February and Wolves stuck to that timeline as the stand is ready in time for Saturday’s game.
The stand reopening will be welcome news to supporters who were upset at the initial closure – and it gives 800 more fans the chance to watch Bruno Lage’s team in action.
Speaking at the time of the initial stand closure, general manager of commercial operations Vinny Clark said: “The general sentiment appears to be that the club have been negligent and have had 18 months to conduct this work, but the reality is that this is a recent issue and no amount of planning or preparation could have avoided it.
“As frustrating as it is, this has been totally outside of the club’s control.”
