Back in 2016, AFC Bournemouth went public with their plans to build a new South Stand at one end of the Vitality Stadium (currently called the Ted MacDougall Stand). The plans stated that the renovation work would increase the capacity at the Vitality Staidum by more than 3,000 seats to 14,259.
Below is an artist's impression of how the new stand will look (courtesy of the official AFC Bournemouth website, where more plan details can be found).
Bournemouth's original South Stand plans
According to the original plans, the new stand was set to be single-tiered with a capacity of 2,209. In addition, the corners on either side of the new stand were also set to be ‘filled in' with another 856 seats. The new stand was meant to replace the current temporary stand that still exists at the ground to this day.
The news was a long time coming, especially given how well Bournemouth have fared since first being promoted to the Premier League in 2015. Despite their on-field success, their stadium has remained the smallest in the league with the exception of 2023/24 when Luton played in the top flight.
Bournemouth South Stand latest update
However, eight years later there is no sign that a new stand will be erected at any point. As mentioned, the temporary South Stand still exists and in 2023, the club received permission from the local council to continue using it for another five years.
Interestingly, the date when the new agreement for the temporary stand expires is the same as the date of their current lease at the Vitality Stadium. This has led to fans concluding that instead of renovating the current stadium, the club are looking to move elsewhere are therefore not interested in putting any money into a new south stand.
These assumptions were confirmed last summer when Chairman, Bill Foley, opened up about the future of the stadium. He said:
“The best approach is to try to build a new stadium and to do it economically, spend £80-90million, with the right hospitality and about 20,000 seats. We don’t need much more than that but we do need to open up our ticketing to new fans.
“I’m happy with where we’re going but the reality is we need a new stadium. Our other gating issue is that our current training ground is where the stadium will go. That means we need to get our new training facility built and move our first team, academy and women’s team there.”
Why do Bournemouth need a new South Stand?
Having one of the smallest stadiums in the Premier League puts Bournemouth under pressure, especially with the growing fanbase. With most clubs in EPL now embarking on stadium redevelopment as a way of increasing ticketing revenue, it only makes sense that Bournemouth follows suit.
Even more important is the club's ambition in European football. In recent years, the Cherries haven't been very much involved in European competitions such as Europa League, Europa Conference League and Champions League. But being an ambitious club whose fortunes on the field have only got better over the years, participating in any of the UEFA contests is undoubtedly on the horizon.
Earlier this year, Bournemouth embarked on redeveloping their training ground in line with their modernization ambitions.
Some stunning progress being made on the new training ground ? pic.twitter.com/cSEeOUcGbM
— AFC Bournemouth ? (@afcbournemouth) January 24, 2024
More seats at Vitality Stadium and upgraded training facilities should qualify the club to host European competitions in the future.