Several years ago, the AFC Bournemouth owner Bill Foley outlined his intentions to move the Premier League club into a new stadium by the summer of 2027. However, over the past year, it has emerged that the club now plan to expand the Vitality Stadium instead.
The Cherries have the smallest stadium in England's top-flight with a current capacity of 11,307, but that will soon change. So, what will the capacity of the new and improved Vitality Stadium be? And what else will the plans involve except capacity expansion?
New Bournemouth stadium: The key details
- The planned completion date is the summer of 2027.
- The South Stand will be demolished and replaced with a new grandstand with a capacity of around 7,000.
- All four corners of the stadium will be filled in, adding around 1,440 extra seats in the process.
- 1,200 seats will be added in the North Stand and 1,700 will be added in the East.
- The new capacity at the Vitality Stadium will be 20,200.
History of the Vitality Stadium
Widely considered one of the worst stadiums in the Premier League, the Vitality Stadium replaced the old Dean Court, which had stood for 91 years. It has been AFC Bournemouth's home since 2001.
New Bournemouth stadium capacity
Once all the work has been completed, the Vitality Stadium will have a capacity of 20,200. This is bigger than the original plans when Foley was lining up a new stadium for the club.
Back in 2023, Foley told The Athletic: “The current plan envisions a capacity of 18,500, which may not seem like a big change, but it will provide proper facilities, good restaurants, and be a significant upgrade.”
Meanwhile, former Bournemouth chairman Jeff Mostyn believes the stadium expansion will help the club attract players in the transfer market.
“It is going to look beautiful cosmetically and the players are going to continue feeling like they are part of a huge, professional football club that's here to stay,” Mostyn told BBC Radio Solent in November.
“When we're looking at bringing in players, a new stadium will lighten the vision.”
A big reason for the increase in capacity for the new stadium is that the club want to capitalise more on hospitality. At present, the small capacity of the Vitality Stadium means there isn't much space for hospitality sections, but Foley wants to provide fans with more options.
However, the club are also keen to stress that more general admissions season tickets will also be made available after the expansion work.
FGG says: Start of something big for Bournemouth
After working their way through the leagues, Bournemouth are now an established club at the Premier League level.
However, their current stadium, particularly the small capacity, is not befitting of a team that has aspirations of competing in European competitions.
The expanded stadium will allow Bournemouth to increase their capacity and will create more revenue streams, with the increase in hospitality. That will, in turn, give the club more funds to invest in their squad to continue to grow as a force in the top flight.