Buy our exclusive European football stadium poster

Football Stadium News - Page 2


The latest football ground news from around the world. New stadiums, ground renovations and records - it's all here. Heard some news that you think should be featured? Drop us a line through the contact page. Want to keep up-to-date with the latest stadium news by email? Sign up to the site and join the monthly stadium newsletter.


Ecuador to get new national stadium

Ecuador to get new national stadium

Thursday 16th January 2020

Ecuador are to build a new national football stadium.

The current Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa is to be demolished and replaced by a brand new stadium with a capacity of around 50,000-60,000.

As well as hosting national matches, the current 36,000 capacity venue is also home to Serie A sides El Nacional and Universidad Catolica.

The new stadium will also feature a convention centre and museum as well as parking for up to 10,000 vehicles. The project is expected to cost around £150m.


Portsmouth to rebuild away end at Fratton Park

Portsmouth to rebuild away end at Fratton Park

Wednesday 15th January 2020

Portsmouth have revealed plans to redevelop the Milton End at Fratton Park which houses the away supporters.

The aging stand will see its capacity increase to 3,200 taking the overall capacity to around 20,000.

The plans will improve a number of facilities including larger toilets, more kiosks and much improved facilities for disabled fans, including being able to sit in the same stand as other away supporters.

It will also be built with segregation barriers to allow home fans to occupy 25% of the stand. No date or cost has been confirmed yet.

The League One side have created a PDF with more information and technical drawings on it.


Lincoln City planning to expand Sincil Bank

Lincoln City planning to expand Sincil Bank

Sunday 12th January 2020

Lincoln City have applied for planning permission to increase the canary of Sincil Bank to 11,650.

The increase would come through adding 1,500 more seats to the Stacey-West Stand, increasing its capacity to 3,400. The stand will have split concourses allowing use by both home and away fans. The club are also open to installing rail seating, so the capacity could grow further still.

Longer term, the League One club are looking to either relocate or spend substantial money redeveloping Sincil Bank whose aging facilities are in need of modernisation.

The expansion is driven in part by the Imps' success in recent seasons, seeing their average attendance hitting 9,069 this season - with 3 games over 10,000. The club currently sit in 15th place, 5 points off the Play-Offs.


Romanian top flight club to build new stadium

Romanian top flight club to build new stadium

Sunday 12th January 2020

Romanian side Politehnica Iasi are to build a new stadium.

The Liga I team, better known as Poli Iasi, have announced plans to build a new 15,000-20,000 seater stadium. The new ground will be built with the aim of being able to host UEFA competitions and matches for the Romanian National team.

The club are based in the city of Iasi, to the east of the country, close to the border with Moldova. It's the 4th largest city in Romania with a population of around 320,000.

Whilst the designs have been revealed, the club has not yet finalised a location from a shortlist of two - one of which involves knocking down their existing Stadionul Emil Alexandrescu.


Madagascar's National Stadium to be increased to 40,000 capacity

Madagascar's National Stadium to be increased to 40,000 capacity

Friday 10th January 2020

Madagascar's National Stadium, the Stade Municipal de Mahamasina is to undergo significant redevelopment work in order to modernise its facilities and improve its safety.

The work will see 3 sides of the stadium completely demolished and rebuilt as well as a brand new pitch and new floodlights.

The £60m project will also see the stadium capacity rise to 40,000, making it the biggest stadium in the country by far.

The ground, based in the capital Antananarivo has an appalling safety record with 3 stampedes and a bomb detonated there in the last 20 years. 21 people have lost their lives there since the turn of the century.


footballgroundmap.com passes 18,000 stadiums milestone

footballgroundmap.com passes 18,000 stadiums milestone

Friday 3rd January 2020

footballgroundmap.com has ended 2019 by passing a new landmark - adding our 18,000th ground to the website, making it the largest football stadium website in the world.

And we're not done yet, the footballgroundmap.com team is committed to adding every major (and minor) stadium in every country around the world. The website now features grounds from pretty much every country in the world, including:

  • 3,891 in England
  • 1,613 in Germany
  • 919 in Scotland
  • 825 in Spain
  • 776 in France
  • 649 in Wales
  • 507 in USA

But it's not just the big leagues we concentrate on, we've got plenty of smaller countries covered too, including a few somewhat difficult to get to:

  • 47 in Iraq
  • 21 in Nepal
  • 20 in North Korea

And if you're really dedicated, we also have all 10 stadiums in the Gaza Strip League.

If there's a ground you've been to which isn't on the site, please contact us to request it.

Here's to the 19,000th!


Tokyo's New Olympic Stadium Opened

Tokyo's New Olympic Stadium Opened

Thursday 2nd January 2020

Tokyo's new National Stadium has opened 5 months ahead of the Olympics.

The new 68,000 seat arena has cost over £960m to build and will be home to the Japanese national football and rugby teams after the Olympics this summer.

Like Wembley, the new ground is built on the site of the old National Stadium which was demolished in 2015.

The first football match took place on New Year's Day, with Vissel Kobe beating Kashima Antlers 2-0 in the Emperor's Cup Final.

The victorious Kobe side featured Andreas Iniesta, Lucas Podolski and David Villa.


Plymouth's new grandstand opens

Plymouth's new grandstand opens

Thursday 2nd January 2020

Plymouth Argyle have officially opened their new grandstand at Home Park, taking the overall capacity to 18,200.

The League Two side have spent £6.5m knocking down the old wooden structure and replacing it with a modern new 5,403 seater stand complete with private boxes and conference facilities.

After a number of partial capacity test events, the new Mayflower Grandstand was opened at full capacity for the 2-1 defeat to league leaders Swindon Town on New Year's Day.

The official attendance of 15,062 was Argyle's largest at Home Park since the visit of Liverpool for an FA Cup 3rd Round Replay in January 2017.


Colorado Springs Switchbacks break ground on new stadium

Colorado Springs Switchbacks break ground on new stadium

Friday 27th December 2019

The Colorado Springs Switchbacks have started work building their new stadium. The 8,000 capacity ground will will replace the current Weidner Field at a cost of around $35m.

The USL Championship side were founded in 2015 and play in the second tier of American "soccer". Random fact: the Switchbacks' current stadium is the US - more than 4,500ft above sea level.


New stadium approved for Atletico Mineiro

New stadium approved for Atletico Mineiro

Tuesday 24th December 2019

Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro will start work on their new stadium in early 2020 after final plans were approved.

The new stadium will be known as the Arena MRV and have a capacity of around 46,000. It will be built in the north west of Belo Horizonte at a cost of around £80m.

The Brazilian Serie A side currently play most of their home games at the 23,000 capacity Estadio Independencia. Larger games are played at rivals Cruziero's 64,000 capacity Mineirao stadium, which hosted 6 games at the 2014 World Cup, including Brazil's 7-1 loss to Germany.

It is hoped that the new Arena MRV will open in 2022.


Forest Green Rovers get planning permission for new stadium

Forest Green Rovers get planning permission for new stadium

Friday 20th December 2019

Forest Green Rovers have been granted outline planning permission for a new stadium - 6 months after it was originally rejected.

The famously green League 2 side will now press ahead with their plans to build a new stadium made entirely out of wood.

The new 5,000 capacity stadium will be located just off junction 13 of the M5. The club are hoping to open the new ground in 3 years time.


Saint Etienne stadium closed indefinitely after crowd trouble

Saint Etienne stadium closed indefinitely after crowd trouble

Wednesday 18th December 2019

Saint Etienne have been ordered to close their stadium after fireworks and flares were set off during their match against PSG.

The ban comes from the French football federation after "massive use" of fireworks and flares in the stands during the 4-0 defeat.

Saint Etienne's Stade Geoffroy-Guichard has been closed before - last time in 2017 after crowd trouble in the derby against Lyon. That time, fans defied the ban by breaking into the ground and forcing a behind-closed-doors to be temporarily halted.

The French side currently sit 14th in Ligue 1, eight points above the relegation zone.


Get the double-sided 92 Club & National League map poster