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.
Tuesday 6th August 2019
Tranmere Rovers are investigating the possibility of building a new stadium. The League 1 side won back-to-back promotions at Wembley last season after a slide down into non-League football.
Their resurgence in league form has seen the club starting to explore the idea of building a new ground away from Prenton Park, which has been Tranmere's home for more than a century.
The club are wanting to build a modern, state of the art stadium which will generate revenue on non-match days and help to regenerate the local area, making it a more attractive place to live and visit.
Very early stages then, but one to keep an eye on.
Tuesday 6th August 2019
Chile's second biggest stadium is to be expanded ahead of a bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
The Estadio Monumental David Arellano in the capital Santiago is home to the country's most successful team, Colo-Colo and will see its capacity raised from 47,347 to 61,000.
The work will be part of a joint bid from 4 countries to bring the 2030 World Cup to South America with Chile joining forces with neighbours Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. A formal bid will be submitted in 2020 with a decision expected from FIFA in 2022.
Monday 5th August 2019
Spurs' new stadium has been boosted by the news that Haringey council have agreed to change the official capacity to 62,214.
The Premier League giants will be able to sell a handful of extra seats in the North and South stands, increasing the capacity by 152. It might not sound much, but assuming around £50 a ticket and 20+ home games, it'll easily add up to over £150,000/yr in revenue… which would be almost enough to cover Harry Kane's wages for a week.
Of course, the official capacity is unlikely to ever be reached for football due to the necessary segregation between home and away fans.
The current record attendance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium sits at 60,407 set for the 2019/2020 opening match of the season vs Aston Villa.
Saturday 3rd August 2019
Bristol Rovers are exploring sites for a potential new stadium, and have picked a favourite at the city's fruit market.
The League 1 club have made no secret of their desire to move away from the Memorial Stadium, which has been their home for the last 23 years.
In 2011, the club announced plans to build a new stadium with Sainsbury's supermarket. The plans we abandoned after Sainsbury's withdrew. Then in 2017, Rovers abandoned plans to build a new ground at the University of West England.
The club have now started to work on a planning application. No further details have been released.
Friday 2nd August 2019
Everton have revealed the first images (and video) of their proposed new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
The 52,000 capacity venue will be built with safe standing in mind, should a change to the law happen in the future. It was also be constructed in a way that allows capacity to be expanded to 62,000, should it be required.
The stadium will be built on the banks of the River Mersey and looks impressive (although getting away at full time could be a challenge!)
The £500m development will also include a new multi-storey car park and footbridge as well a “fan plaza†and public spaces for use throughout the year. The club is also hoping to build a small number of houses and apartments close to the stadium.
At this stage, it’s just a design. Planning permission has yet to be granted and there’s no date for when Goodison Park will close.
Friday 2nd August 2019
Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers are exploring the possibility of increasing the capacity of their Ibrox stadium.
The club are exploring options, but are hoping to add around 5,000 new seats, taking the total capacity from the current 50,817 to around 56,000.
The project is in the early phases of planning with a feasibility study currently underway. The hope is to increase capacity with small improvements as opposed to a big change like adding a new tier onto one of the stands.
It can't be argued at Rangers don’t need the extra seats - the club have had to suspend season ticket sales after selling 45,757 beating last year’s record of 45,419. With 14,000 people on the waiting list, it could be argued that ‘Gers should be adding more than the rumoured extra 5,000.
Sunday 21st July 2019
Woking FC have released images of what their proposed new stadium could look like.
The National League club are looking to move away from Kingfield Stadium to a new purpose-built 10,000 seater ground.
The proposed new site is to the south of the town, around a mile away from the club’s current ground. As is very much the style nowadays, the new stadium is part of a larger development known as Cardinal Court which will also include over 1,100 homes.
The club are hoping to apply for planning permission in the summer. If approved, work will start in 2021 with an expected completion date sometime in 2023.
Sunday 21st July 2019
Kosovo is to build a new 30,000 seater national stadium. The new nation was formed after declaring independence from Serbia in 2008 and was formally recognised as a footballing nation by FIFA in 2016.
The new stadium will be built in the town of Drenas, located approximately 12 miles outside of the capital Pristina.
The €50m project will also see the construction of two training pitches, shopping and entertainment facilities and a large park suitable to host open air concerts.
Work on the new stadium will start later this year and be completed sometime in 2021.
Sunday 21st July 2019
Udinese are to spend €30m transforming the Stadio Friuli into a hub for non-matchday use.
The Italian club have been studying successful stadiums in America and are looking to emulate their success in bringing more people (and revenue) to the club outside of traditional football days.
The club plans to transform the internals of the stadium, opening up a number of business opportunities including:
The Stadio Friuli will also be used as a venue for music concerts, capable of holding 25,000 in the stands and on the pitch.
Sunday 21st July 2019
Italian Serie A side SPAL have been forced to close 3 stands at the Stadio Paolo Mazzo.
The 16,000 capacity stadium underwent renovation last year and a subcontractor on the job has raised concerns about the work carried out. Rumours are that the construction does not meet safety standards - this appears to be the case as three quarters of the stadium has now been closed by the local council.
The club will be hoping that the issue is resolved in time for the start of the new Italian Serie A season in August.
SPAL are based in the north east of Italy halfway between Bologna and Venice and had an average attendance of just over 13,500 last season. They finished 13th in the Italian top flight last season, above the likes of Parma and Fiorentina.
Wednesday 17th July 2019
FC Cincinnati are the latest US team to announce plans to build a new stadium.
The MLS Eastern Conference side currently play at Nippert Stadium at the University of Cincinnati. The club now plan to spend a cool $250m constructing a brand new 26,000 capacity venue.
Hot on the heels of LA Galaxy, the new ground will also include 3,100 “safe standing†seats. The stands will be built at a steep 34 degree angle to give great views and ensure that no seat will be further than 130ft from the pitch.
West End stadium will also feature 513 “vertical fins†which will contain LED lights allowing the ground to display messages and light shows on its exterior.
It is hoped that the new stadium will be ready for the start of the 2021 MLS season.
The new home of @fccincinnati. Coming in 2021.#IgniteUnite #FCCincy pic.twitter.com/i1alOvxxJd
— West End Stadium (@WestEndStadium) July 16, 2019
Wednesday 17th July 2019
LA Galaxy are to introduce a safe standing section in the North Stand at Dignity Health Sports Park (formerly known as the StubHub Centre).
The MLS Western Conference side are trying to “further enhance the fan experience†at the stadium, with the hope that safe standing will help to improve the match day atmosphere.
The club will also install new bars in the North Stand and have recently opened a “tailgate†area just outside the stadium. This is where Americans congregate with their big trucks before kick-off and cook beans on the barbecue (as far as I can tell)... not quite sure what’s wrong with going to the pub, to be honest!
It is hoped the LA’s new safe standing section will be open in time for the start of the 2020 season in March next year.
The #LAGalaxy to create safe-standing supporters' section at @dignityhealthsp in 2020. pic.twitter.com/wYnZZPkwzT
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) July 11, 2019