The 2025/26 Championship season is right around the corner, and although the league will be worse off without Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland, there is plenty of excitement in the air about the arrivals of Birmingham City, Charlton Athletic and Wrexham.
Fans of other Championship clubs will be looking forward to playing all three clubs this season, and not just because newly promoted teams are typically the easiest to beat. All three stadiums have something to offer, and for many fans, at least two of them will be first-time visits.
Championship stadiums 2025-26: Three newly promoted teams
St Andrew's Stadium, Birmingham City
Birmingham City secured promotion back to the Championship at the first time of asking last season, meaning St Andrew's won't be an unfamiliar stadium for many fans in the division. However, that doesn't mean that it isn't worth visiting; in fact, it instantly becomes one of the biggest with a capacity of 29,409.
The club are also looking at moving away from St Andrew's in the coming years, meaning time is of the essence for anyone wanting to watch a match at the stadium. The new Birmingham City stadium plans are grand, to say the least, and a completion date of 2029 is still the target. That means fans have just four more seasons to visit St Andrew's.
The Valley, Charlton Athletic
The situation is a little different when it comes to Charlton Athletic, as the Addicks haven't been a Championship club since the 2019/20 season. That season was also overshadowed by the COVID pandemic, meaning thousands of fans never got the opportunity to visit the Valley during their last stint in the second tier.
The last ‘normal' season that Charlton were in the Championship was the 2015/16 season, but the club's stadium, The Valley, hasn't changed an awful lot since then. It still has a capacity of 27,111, but redevelopment work is certainly overdue.
Another London away trip is also not a bad thing, and creates more London derbies, with matches against QPR and Millwall on the agenda.
The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham
It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Wrexham are the team that every team in the Championship are looking forward to playing the most this season. Their rapid rise through the EFL since being taken over by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has been phenomenal, but it has left them with a target on their back.
The Racecourse Ground hasn't hosted matches in the second tier of English football since 1992, and it is expected to be sold out for every match this season. One downside about a trip to the Racecourse Ground this season is the ongoing redevelopment work on the Kop. This new stand won't be completed until next summer.
The stadium is one of the oldest active football stadiums in the world, and is the definition of a throwback. This season will be one of the last that it will look like it currently does, too, with modernisation planned.