It's been several years now since Wolverhampton Wanderers announced a plan to expand their Molineux stadium. Plans unveiled in 2019 indicated that the club were looking into increasing the capacity at the stadium to 50,000.
The club's promotion to the Premier League in 2018 was said to be the catalyst for these plans but five years after they were first announced, the club are no further along with their renovation. Why? Here is everything you need to know.
Covid pandemic sees Molineux Stadium Expansion Shelved
The plans released in 2019 stated that the Steve Bull Stand would be the first stand to be expanded. The plan was for extensive corporate facilities and an initial increase in the capacity of Molineux to around 36,000.
The second phase of the development was going to see the Jack Hayward (South Bank) Stand being replaced at one end with a much larger single-tiered stand of around 10,000 as well as the corners of the stadium being filled in with seats.
However, when Covid struck in 2020, these plans were plunged into doubt. The empty stands throughout the pandemic affected cash flow and forced the Wolves owners to reassess their priorities.
Ultimately, instead of the planned rebuild, they opted to splash the cash on the playing squad in order to remain competitive in the Premier League.
Molineux stadium capacity
The original expansion plans were ambitious in that they wanted to increase the stadium's capacity to the 50,000 mark. That would represent a significant increase on the current capacity of 31,500.
If the plans do ever come back to life, then at 50,000 the stadium would become the largest football stadium in the Midlands and one of the biggest in the Premier League. At present, Villa Park is the largest stadium in the Midlands with a capacity of 42,573.
What has the owner said about when work will start?
The latest update on the proposed plans came in 2021 from the club's Chairman. Jeff Shi told supporters:
“When the moment is right – I mean financially when the moment is right – then we will take the risks like the pandemic into consideration. If we think it is right to do it, we will do it.
“It is not to make a profit. If it can break even, then it can work, but now by current calculations, it’s harder to break even. And also if we have a year like 2020, it will be disastrous. So we have to be careful.
“Also, if you have any money spare, I think the first priority is the first team, the starting XI, and even the academy is ahead of the new stadium. Different owners have different views.”
What this statement confirmed to fans was that any building work on the stadium is third in the pecking order behind investment in the playing squad and development of the academy. Matters off the pitch have therefore taken a back seat.
Cost could be a prohibitive factor
It's thought that the stadium renovations would cost around £30 million, but the investment would at least preserve the club's history and place in Wolverhampton City Centre as opposed to building a new, out-of-town ground.
How The Enlarged Molineux May Look
The artist's impression above is shown courtesy of the Wolverhampton Wanderers FC website from 2019.