New Stadiums

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On this Developments, page are listed all the proposed new football stadiums and stands in the UK, that I am aware of for the Premier & Football League Clubs. The page is divided into; firstly, those developments that are currently being built. Secondly, those that are not far off (i.e. within in a season or two, but plans are pretty well advanced). Thirdly those that are on the radar (a bit further off in terms of time, but may well happen) and lastly those where its anyone's guess if the proposals will actually come to fruition.

Recently opened

Brentford

The genesis for Brentford’s new stadium began in 2002 but it was not until 2017 that the club was able to start construction on the 17,250-seater stadium. After being in construction for almost three years, Brentford Community Stadium was officially opened on September 1, 2020. The stadium, which has been built at a cost of just over £70 million, is a significant improvement from Griffin Park in terms of capacity and facilities. The ground is situated just a few hundred metres away from the Kew Bridge Station.

AFC Wimbledon

Wimbledon made a return to the Plough Lane after the new stadium was officially opened on November 3. This new stadium, which cost just over £30 million, is built just a few hundred yards from the site where the original Plough Lane, which is the original home of Wimbledon FC for more than 80 years, stood. The construction on the new stadium started in 2015. It has a capacity of just over 9000. The playing surface features a mixture of synthetic and real grass to create an incredible playing surface.

Being Built

Fulham

Preliminary works have begun for the building of the new Riverside Stand at Craven Cottage. The new stand will be quite sizeable, having a capacity of just under 9,000. It will have a large higher tier and a smaller lower tier. The development will also include restaurants, meeting facilities, bars, nine flats and a new riverside walkway behind it. Once completed it will raise the capacity of Craven Cottage to 29,600. However whilst works take place, the capacity will be restricted to 21,000 for at least a season, with a view to the lower tier of the new stand being made available during the 2020/21 season. The Buckingham Group have been appointed as the contractors to construct the new stand. This is the same company who built the Amex Stadium, Brighton, as well as stands at Cardiff City and Wolverhampton Wanderers among others. So it should be good! 12.6.19

An Artists Impression Of How The New Stand Will Look

The above image is supplied courtesy of the Fulham FC website

Thanks to Christophe Pene for providing the photo below taken in February 2020 showing the demolished area:

York City

After first proposing the development of a new stadium in 2009, York City finally moved into the York Community Stadium after much delays. The work on this 8000-seater stadium began in 2016. Apart from the stadium, York City have also been able to create community and retail facilities along with a leisure complex. There are just over 400 parking spots at this ground, which will replace the Bootham Crescent, which will be turned into a space for 93 homes.

The Buckingham Group are the building contractors for the stadium and this company were also responsible amongst others for the building of the Amex Stadium in Brighton and Stadium MK in Milton Keynes.  The new stadium will become home to both York City Football Club and York Knights Rugby League Club. 15.2.20

The photo above is courtesy of the YorkMix website where more photos of the new stadium can be found.

Boston United

Boston United were able to complete a move from York Street to the Jakemans Community Stadium, which finally opened its doors in December 2020. It took seven years for the club to complete the construction of this new-5000 seater stadium. The ground comes with an all-weather 3G pitch along with facilities like a sports hall. Boston United had been playing at York Street since 1933.

A Computerised Image Of How The New Stadium Will Look
(Courtesy of the Quadrant Project website)

Not far off…

Portsmouth

Portsmouth have submitted plans to extend the Milton End, including 400 seats and more spectator facilities. This will also involve extending the roof area. Works could start at the end of this season. A computerised mock-up of how the stand will look once is completed is shown below (courtesy of the Portsmouth FC website). 3.3.20

Port Vale

After failing to address the lack of seats in the Lorne Street Stand for almost 20 years, Port Vale were finally able to add 1500 seats to this section of the ground in March 2020. Vale Park has seen a number of maintenance jobs being carried out since the start of 2020. Apart from adding the new seats, which take the capacity of the ground to just over 19,000, the existing seats in the Lorne Street Stands and Bycars have also been replaced.

Nottingham Forest

The Club announced in December 2019 that it is seeking planning permission to build a new 10,000 capacity Peter Taylor (Main) Stand, along one side of the ground, replacing the existing stand which dates back to the 1950s. This all seated, three-tiered stand will also have a number of executive boxes and other corporate facilities, plus new changing rooms and press facilities. A nice feature is that the stand will also include a Club Museum as well as a new Club Shop. The planning permission is expected to be granted in the early part of 2021. This should allow the demolition of the existing stand by the middle of the year with a view to complete the expansion process for the 2022-23 season. Once completed the capacity of the City Ground will rise to around 36,000.

The City Ground With New Stand

The artists impression above of how the new stand will look is courtesy of the Nottingham Forest FC website, where more information and a promotional video can be found.

Aberdeen

The Club are to proceed with the building of a new 20,000 capacity stadium at an area called Kingsford, which is located to the West of Aberdeen, around seven miles from Pittodrie, after signing agreements with the local council. The stadium will be part of a wider £50m project for the area. The first phase of the project which will see the building of a new Club Academy and training pitches has already begun. It is hoped that works on the new stadium will commence towards the end of this year, with the possibility of it being ready for the start of the 2022/23 season. Pittodrie is to be sold for housing development.7.7.19

Gloucester City

Gloucester City returned to a revamped Meadow Park in the middle of 2020. The ground has been transformed into a modern facility with 3G pitches which are raised significantly – about 10 feet – compared to the previous height. This would allow Meadow Park to drain its waters more effectively unlike in 2007 when the club faced the issue of flooding due to River Severn bursting its banks.

A computerised image of how the new stadium will look:

Image courtesy of Gloucester City FC.

Barnet

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace have received the go-ahead from Croydon Council to increase the capacity of Selhurst Park to over 34,000. This will be mostly achieved by building a bigger Main Stand which will have a capacity of 13,500 seats, including new hospitality areas. The stand will have four tiers and will have an attractive glass frontage.

The work on the new stadium is expected to begin just before 2022. Crystal Palace may have to spend in excess of £75 million for this expansion.

An artists impression of the expanded Main Stand
(courtesy of the official Crystal Palace website)

On the radar

Bournemouth

The Club have announced their intention to leave Dean Court and build a new a 25,000 capacity stadium. As the Club does not own Dean Court, they have decided that the future long term growth and security of the Club would be best achieved by having a ground that they owned. The Club have identified a site quite close to the current ground in Kings Park in an area which includes an existing athletics stadium. It is expected that detailed plans will soon be announced. The Club have signalled their aim to be kicking off the 2020/21 season at the new ground. 12.7.17

Chelsea

The Club did announce that they had received planning permission to build a new 60,000 capacity stadium on the existing Stamford Bridge site. Artists impressions from the architects Herzog & de Meuron were published (as can be viewed on the de Zeen Magazine website). It was anticipated that works would start pretty soon and the Chelsea would need to groundshare for at least one season. However, in May 2018 the Club's owner revealed that the Club had abandoned the new stadium plans 10.6.18

Dundee

The clubs owners have purchased land near Camperdown Park and Dundee Ice Arena, with a view to possibly building a new stadium for the Club. The site is located on the North Western edge of Dundee, around two and half miles away from Dens Park. It is believed that a planning application will be made during 2017. 4.3.17

Everton

Everton have submitted plans to the local council to build a new 52,888 capacity stadium. The new stadium will be located on the waterfront of the River Mersey at Bramley Moore Dock. The Club purchased the site in 2017. As this is part of a World Heritage site, the Club have had to incorporate the existing dock buildings. Hence if you look at the image below, you can see that surprisingly there is a large amount of ‘old-fashioned' brickwork on show around the exterior of the stadium. The Club hopes that if planning permission is granted that the Club will move into the new stadium in 2023. It is estimated that the stadium will cost around £500m to build. The site of the new stadium is 2.5 miles away from Goodison Park, which will be redeveloped as a residential area.

An Artists Impression On How The New Stadium Will Look

The image above is courtesy of the Everton FC website more images and information can be found.

Forest Green Rovers

After initially having plans rejected for a new 5,000 capacity stadium near to Junction 13 of the M5, by Stroud Council, these have now been passed and the stadium can go ahead. The new stadium is billed to be the ‘greenest football ground in the World' being eco-friendly and to be constructed of wood. The Club selected World-renowned architects Zaha Hadid to design the new stadium. Zaha Hadid are currently involved in designing new stadiums for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and previous works have included the Aquatic Centre built in London for the 2012 Olympic Games. The image below of an artists impression of how the new stadium might look is supplied courtesy of the Forest Green Rovers website where more images of the proposed stadium can be viewed. 10.12.19

Lincoln City

The Club have been granted planning permission to expand the capacity of the Stacey West Stand to 3,400. Currently, the capacity of this stand is 1,944 and this is normally split between home and away supporters.

Rather than building an entirely new stand, the existing stand will be extended upwards and backward and will include new concourse areas for both home and away fans. The Club have also mentioned that depending on what division they are in, that they may include rail seating, making a safe standing area, for the extension as shown below. The Club are now looking for a construction partner to undertake the project and no timescales have been published as to when this might happen. 24.2.20

The Proposed Expanded Stand

The image above is courtesy of Lincoln City FC.

Luton Town

After clearing the last of legal hurdles, Luton Town are excited about moving to a new stadium for the first time in more than three decades. The works on the new Power Court Stadium is expected to start in 2021 with a view of playing the first game at the start of the 2024-25 season.

Liverpool

As a result of the coronavirus crisis, the expansion of the Anfield Road stand has taken a backseat. Liverpool have officially confirmed that a delay of at least one year is expected with regards to this expansion process. The estimated time of completion of this expansion process has now been pushed to mid-2023. Liverpool could be using a 60,000-seater Anfield stadium for the start of the 2023-24 campaign.

Manchester City

The coronavirus pandemic has brought a halt to the expansion plans. Manchester City have confirmed that the club will reassess the financial viability of such an expansion only after overcoming the challenges caused by Covid-19. 

Manchester United

Despite being one of the richest clubs in the world, Manchester United have proven that they are not immune to the coronavirus pandemic. The expansion plans which would have made Old Trafford as one of the largest stadiums in Europe has been put on hold.

Peterborough United

The Club have announced that in partnership with the local council that they are actively seeking a site to build a new stadium, in an area called the Embankment, close to the existing London Road ground. The stadium will have a planned initial capacity of 17,500, with the potential to be increased to 22,000. The club hopes that the new stadium would be ready for the start of the 2022/23 season. It is likely that London Road will be redeveloped for housing. 22.2.20

Scunthorpe United

Despite coming close to starting construction on the stadium expansion, Scunthorpe United have now announced that the plans have been put on hold due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Sheffield United

The Club have announced their intention to further develop the capacity of Bramall Lane to over 40,000. The Club have applied for planning permission to add an additional tier onto the South Stand that would contain an additional 5,400 seats. In a separate development, the Club also have plans to add another 3,000 seats to the Kop End by extending it backwards.The stand would be cantilevered (so no supporting pillars) with a video screen built into the front of the roof. 22.1.18

An Artists Impression Of The Extended South Stand

Image courtesy of Sheffield United FC

Southend United

The club have submitted plans to build a new 22,000 capacity stadium at Fossetts Farm, just behind the club’s training ground in Eastern Avenue. The scheme plans also to feature a hotel, retail space, a cinema, plus indoor soccer pitches and residential accommodation. It planning permission is quickly forthcoming then works could start towards the end of this year. However,  initially, the stadium will be restricted to a capacity of 14,000 and will only have three sides. It is hoped that revenue generated from the new build will then be used to fund future developments. 29.4.17

Swansea City

The Club have put in a formal planning application to extend the capacity of the Liberty Stadium to 34,000. The first phase of the developments would see an additional tier being added to the East Stand, increasing the number of seats by 6,000. This would be followed at a later stage with additional tiers being added to both ends of the stadium. No timescales have been announced as to when these developments would take place.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers have made it known that they are planning to expand the capacity of Molineux to 50,000. This will be achieved by first building a new stand to replace the Steve Bull Stand on one side of the ground. This will raise capacity to 36,000. Next, a new large single tiered stand will be built to replace the Jack Hayward (South Bank) Stand at one end of the ground, taking the capacity up to 46,000. Works could commence on the new Steve Bull Stand in the Summer of 2020, with the new Jack Hayward Stand following two years later. The present open corners will also be filled with seating taking the capacity up to around 50,000 16.5.19

The mock-up image of how the developed Molineux may look is courtesy of the official Wolverhampton Wanderers website.

Anyone's guess when…

Aston Villa

The Club have received planning permission to redevelop the North Stand. This would involve building a new stand that would extend around the current open corners at that end of the stadium. There are currently no firm timescales as to when this will take place.

Cambridge United

The Club have announced tentative proposals to build a new 12,000 capacity stadium. The stadium would be built on a site close in-between Cambridge Airport and Junction 35 of the A14, around a mile due east of the current Abbey Stadium, along Newmarket Road (A1303). However with the proposed site of the new stadium being on greenbelt land and with no funding for the project in place, then there are going to be quite a number of hurdles for the Club to overcome to make this happen. The artists' mock-up of how the new stadium may look is courtesy of the Cambridge United website, where more images and information about the project can be found. 10.12.19

Charlton Athletic

Mike Keeler informs me; ‘The Club have now got planning permission from Greenwich Council to increase the capacity of the Valley to 30,900. This will involve adding a second tier to the East Stand as well as the ‘filling in' of the South East corner of the stadium'. However formal timescales have yet to be announced as to when this will take place.

George Packman adds; ‘The Club intends to increase the capacity of the Valley to over 40,000. Following on from the first phase of the scheme, which would see an additional tier added to the East Stand, the Club then intend to re-develop the Jimmy Seed (South) Stand. This would be replaced with a similar looking structure to the existing North Stand. This would result in the Valley becoming totally enclosed and boosting capacity to 37,000. Lastly, a third tier could be added to the new South Stand at a later stage, meaning that the Valley would have a final capacity of 40,600'.

Colchester United

Alison Wells informs me; ‘When the stadium was built the necessary foundations were put in place so that the capacity could be easily increased at a later date. This would include filling in the corners, which would increase the capacity to around 12,500. A second tier could also be added onto the North, South and East stands, raising the total capacity still further to 18,000. There are no timescales as to when this may take place.'

Crewe Alexandra

At some point in the future, the club hopes to replace the Blue Bell BMW Stand (formerly known as the Popular Side) with a new two tiered stand, which will also contain executive boxes.

Derby County

The stadium has been built in such a way that an additional tier could be added to three sides of the stadium, namely the North, East and South Stands. This would increase the capacity of Pride Park to around 44,000. However, this is unlikely to happen unless the Club becomes established in the Premier League.

Hull City

Craig Harper informs me; ‘The Club have plans to add an additional tier to both the East & South Stands, which will increase the capacity of the KC Stadium to around 34,000'. However, no firm timescales have been announced as to when this may take place.

Ipswich Town

The Club would at some point like to re-develop the Cobbold Stand and boost the capacity of the ground to 40,000. However, this is unlikely to happen unless the Club established itself once again as a Premier League Club.

Leeds United

Due to the substantial waiting list for the season tickets, Leeds United are confident of expanding the new stadium. After having achieved promotion to the Premier League, the club are now focusing on staying in the top division so as to make sense of an increase to the stadium capacity.

Leicester City

The plans to expand the Stadium were put on hold due to the club investing in the training complex. Apart from expanding the stadium capacity, Leicester City are also keen on increasing the car park facilities and constructing a hotel just outside the stadium.

Newcastle United

The Club have announced plans to re-develop the Gallowgate End of the stadium. The plans which also include the construction of a new conference centre, hotel and residential apartments, would see the overall capacity of the ground increase to around 60,000. The plans are subject to local authority approval and as of yet no formal timescales as to when this might take place have been announced.

Norwich City

In December 2019 the club confirmed that they have purchased two strips of land behind the Geoffrey Watling City Stand, which would enable them to build a second tier on that stand. No further information is available at this time, as to when this might take place. The Jarrold (South) Stand has also been built in such a way that a second tier could also be added to that stand too.

Oxford United

Foundations have been put in place for the future construction of a fourth stand, at the West End of the stadium. However, it is unlikely that this will be built for at least a couple of years.

Queens Park Rangers

The Club  have  been looking for some time to possibly build a new stadium at a new location, rather than develop Loftus Road. This is simply that the present Loftus Road Stadium occupies quite a small footprint and is hemmed in by nearby residential housing, meaning that it would be almost impossible to build a larger stadium there. Having been thwarted so far in finding a nearby suitable site, speculation has now focussed on the Linford Christie Athletics Stadium, which is located in the Wormwood Scrubs area, within the same borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, around half a mile away from Loftus Road. The Council owned venue would be suitable,  however  the Club is looking for long term security and would probably prefer to purchase the site outright from the Council. Whereas the Council would  may  be  prefer  to retain some provision for athletics and lease the ground to QPR. So we shall see what happens with this. 21.2.19

Reading

The Club have received planning permission to increase the capacity of the stadium to 38,000. This would involve further extending three sides of the stadium (the West Stand would remain as it is) and replacing the roof and would take around three years to complete. This would be achieved by first by increasing the size of the East Stand, adding around 7,000 additional seats. The following year the North Stand would be extended adding another 3,500 seats and a year later a similar construction would happen at the South end of the stadium. However, it is unclear when work will commence and it would probably be dependant on the Club gaining promotion to the Premier League.

Rotherham United

The stadium has been built in such a way and the necessary foundations have been put in place to further expand the stadium capacity to 20,000. This would be achieved by adding an additional tier to the North, South and East Stands. This may be done in phases; a first to 16,000 and then the second phase to 20,000.

Sheffield Wednesday

The Club had previously announced plans to increase the capacity at Hillsborough to almost 45,000. This was primarily through the proposed expansion of the Leppings Lane End, including the building of an additional tier and the ‘filling in' of the corner between this and the South Stand. This was in the hope that England would win the bid to stage the 2018 World Cup (Hillsborough was listed as one of the potential venues). However the failure of this bid means that plans have been shelved for the time being. They may be ‘dusted off' if the Club gain promotion to the Premier League.

Shrewsbury Town

The stadium has been built in such a way that the corners of the stadium can later be filled with seating, which would raise capacity to around 12,500. However the Club have not announced as to when this will take place.

Sunderland

Kevin Davis informs me; ‘The club have secured planning permission to add another 7,200 to the Metro FM (South) Stand, which would take the capacity to 55,000. The club have not yet confirmed when (if ever) they will go ahead with this. If the club then proceed after this to add another tier to the McEwans Stand the final capacity would be around 64,000'.

Tranmere

The Club have announced that they are exploring the possibility of moving to a new stadium. It is believed that this would be an extension of a major regeneration project that has been proposed to transform the Birkenhead Waterfront. 29.8.19

Walsall

The Club have announced that they have been granted planning permission to redevelop the Sign Specialists (William Sharp) end of the ground. The new stand would look similar to the Tile Choice Stand and add 2,300 seats to the stadium, raising the overall capacity to 13,500. It would also mean that up to 4,000 away supporters could be accommodated at that end. The back of the stand will also feature a giant advertising hoarding, clearly visible from the M6. However there are no firm timescales as to when this might actually happen.

Watford

The last expansion Vicarage Road took place in 2015. This proposed expansion, however, will add significantly more to the stadium capacity. It is proposed that a two-phase project will take place for this expansion and it would cost around £40 million.

West Bromwich Albion

The Club are believed to be drawing up plans to expand the capacity of the Hawthorns to over 30,000 by either redeveloping or adding an additional tier to the Halfords Lane Stand.

Woking

The Club have submitted plans to the local authorities to build a new 9,026 capacity stadium on the site of the current Kingfield Ground. The building of the new ground is part of a wider development of the area around the stadium, including a largely residential area with some 1,000 homes, plus a medical centre and retail space. The income generated from the new homes would be partly used to finance the new stadium. 20.12.19

A Computerised Image Showing How The New Stadium May Look (image courtesy of Holmes Miller Architects)

Yeovil Town

The Club are investigating the possibility of building a new 3,500 capacity seated stand at the Copse Road End of the stadium. It is believed that this would be dependant on selling some land adjacent to Huish Park for retail development.