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Plans to build a new 25,000-seat stadium for Peterborough United are set to ‘accelerate', but the location of the ground is yet to be decided.
Paul Bristow, mayor of the Peterborough and Cambridgeshire Combined Authority, is keen for the plans to form part of the government's new Stadium Accelerator programme.
Location concerns over Peterborough's new stadium
Bristow said: “In Peterborough, we are already developing plans for a new community stadium for Peterborough United as part of the wider regeneration of the city centre.
“As one of the UK’s fastest-growing cities, with strong rail and road connections and a strategic position within the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor, Peterborough is well placed to make the stadium a flagship part of its wider regeneration.
“Our ambition is for this to be much more than simply a new home for the Posh.
“A stadium with a capacity of around 25,000 could also enable Peterborough to host major concerts and other events, bringing thousands more visitors into the city and significantly strengthening its cultural and economic offer.
🎥 Co-owner Jason Neale sat down with Posh+ ahead of the win over Portsmouth, discussing the postponement with Charlton and subsequent offer, the progress of the Academy and ongoing conversations regarding the new stadium. #pufc
— Peterborough United (@theposh) January 30, 2023
“Combined with community, leisure, health and skills facilities, grassroots sport and opportunities for education and training, it could become a seven-day-a-week asset – supporting local businesses, creating jobs, attracting investment and strengthening Peterborough’s role as a major destination in the East of England.
“These projects offer a significant opportunity for Government and the Combined Authority to use football to unlock growth and regeneration in two of our fastest-growing cities, while creating major new sporting, cultural and community destinations for the East of England.”
However, Shabina Qayyum, the leader of Peterborough City Council, has warned that plans to build the stadium on a section of the Embankment are a “no no”.
Speaking back in July, Qayyum said: “We do know there has been talk about putting a great big arena, football arena on the embankment – that for us is a no no.”
FGG Says: A compromise is needed
Hopefully a compromise can be reached as a new 25,000-seat stadium could provide a major boost to both the club and the city as a whole.
This has been in the works since 2020 and the plans would see the stadium in use for more than 200 days a year, with football matches, concerts and other major sporting events all being staged there.