Football stadium construction

As our eyes are firmly fixed on TV screens throughout Euro 2020, and we hope against hope that whoever our national team is, they are able to bring it home, there’s plenty of football stadium construction activity going on that will provide excitement for the industry and club fans alike.

The People’s Project

The new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock (Project ID: 16334343) is undoubtedly the largest and most high profile construction project in the football stadium construction league table right now, and will most likely be for some seasons to come.

Dubbed The People’s Project, Everton Football Club’s plans for a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock and a community-led legacy project at Goodison Park were approved by the Government in March.

The new £505 million, 52,888 capacity stadium will include extensive public spaces for use on both match days and non match days, the creation of a waterway to connect the docks and a new multi-storey car park next to the river, with a footbridge linking it to the stadium.

Preliminary work began earlier this month with maritime specialists conducting a survey of the bottom of the dock to check for any unexploded ordinance as well as looking at the state of the dock wall, ahead of the planned infilling of the 172 year old dock.

The project, which is part of the Liverpool Waters Masterlead (Project ID: 07103751) is expected to create 8,136 construction jobs, and will take three years to complete with Laing O’Rourke at the helm as main contractor.

Anfield to become third-largest stadium in the Premier League

Liverpool FC have had plans approved for the £60 million redevelopment of their Anfield Road stadium (Project ID: 14211048) which will provide the club with an additional 7,000 capacity taking it up to 61,000 - making it the third-largest capacity stadium in the Premier League.

Along with the expansion of the stand - which will involve partial demolition - the plan also involves adding general admission concourses, hospitality lounges, a family fan zone, club offices, staff facilities, lighting, landscaping and associated infrastructure.

As with the previous Main Stand redevelopment, there will be no reduction of capacity with construction continuing to the rear of the Anfield Road End during the season before more intrusive work is carried out during the summer months.

Main construction work is due to start early next month and is expected to be completed by summer 2023, allowing the Reds to play their first matches in front of an increased crowd in 2023/24.

Fans still awaiting Fulham’s Riverside stand

Adding to Fulham’s recent relegation woes is the delay in the completion of their new £97 million Riverside stand (Project ID: 05135978). The new stand was due to open last year, however the club have cited COVID-19 as the main reason for delays in delivering the completed stand, and fans are still awaiting an open date.

The new stand will deliver an additional 3,900 seats taking the capacity of Craven Cottage to a total of 29,600, but will also create opportunities for businesses including a gym and café overlooking the Thames, space to host live music, educational classes, a kids club and a film club, plus nine serviced apartments.

Many of the White’s supporters are blaming the addition of the business opportunities for the delay in the final delivery of the new stand, but the overarching feeling is one of relief that Craven Cottage will remain the club's home after recent rumours that its owners were looking to relocate the club.

Forest Green Rovers living up to name

Outline plans have been approved for the new £100 million Forest Green Rovers FC Stadium - Eco Park - six miles from the centre of Stroud, Gloucestershire (Project ID: 16039727).

Forest Green Rovers FC whose claim to fame is being the world’s greenest football club are now planning to build the world’s greenest stadium.

The new Zaha Hadid designed 5,000 capacity Eco Park will be built entirely from wood, using environmentally friendly construction methods, and will be powered using renewable energy generated by Ecotricity. All the pitches will be organic, and it will have on-site charging for EVs, with the surrounding meadows, trees and hedgerows aimed at boosting local biodiversity. It will also have two additional football pitches, including one with an all-weather 4G surface.

As part of the plan, Rovers will also be making improvements to the A419 from Junction 13 to Chipmans Platt roundabout. There will be new traffic lights to the site, a pedestrian crossing, cycle crossing and combined footway/cycleway which will link to National Cycle Route 45 at Grove Lane.

The project which could start construction as early as next February is expected to take two years to complete.

Residential element holds up Forest’s expansion plans

Revised plans have been submitted for the £100 million redevelopment of Nottingham Forest’s City Ground stadium (Project ID: 19065197) to deliver a world-class venue with increased capacity, plus upto 170 residential units.

Work was due to get underway last summer, starting with knocking down and rebuilding the Peter Taylor Stand, but that was put on hold - with delays in the planning process cited.
The delays, and the reason behind the revised plans being submitted, are due to the residential element of the proposals - which is believed to be critical to paying for the whole development - as well as highways revisions and other minor alterations.

The Reds want to give their home a significant facelift and transform the stadium into a world-class venue, with the rebuilding of the Peter Taylor Stand to hold an increased capacity of 10,000 supporters, along with new state-of-the-art dressing rooms, a museum, club shop, executive boxes and media suites.

The club also plans to make improvements to the other three sides of the ground, with the Bridgford Stand extended, too.

With plans still not approved it’s unclear when the project will start, but it’s expected to take 14 months to complete once construction does eventually start.

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