Plans to expand Crystal Palace’s stadium by more than 8,000 seats have received full permission.
The project to build a new main stand will more than double the capacity on one side of the Premier League club’s Selhurst Park ground, which dates back 100 years.
The south London club has yet to pick its construction team to deliver the project.
The glass-fronted stand will seat 13,500 fans, compared with the current stand’s total of 5,200. Selhurst Park’s capacity will increase from 25,486 to more than 34,000.
Three tiers of seating will be added, as well as a new club shop, museum and cafe, plus improved access for supporters with disabilities. The facility has also been designed to be net-zero in operation.
The revamp has taken a long time to come to fruition. Plans were first submitted to Croydon Council in 2018 but faced delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The proposals also had to be rejigged following a set of recommendations by a fire engineer.
The club confirmed that tenants living in six affordable homes on Wooderson Close, which will be demolished as part of the expansion plan, had been rehoused by the council.
It further confirmed that it signed a legal agreement to provide the replacement homes, and agreed to make sure that the development would not affect the supply of affordable housing in the borough.
Club chair Steve Parish said Crystal Palace FC had “committed significant resource[s]” to complete the detailed design of the stand, and that enabling works began earlier this summer.
“We aim to have final plans and costings in the very near future, and at the end of that stage we will appoint a final construction partner,” he said.
Crystal Palace FC is one of a growing number of Premier League clubs planning to expand their stadiums.
In May, John Sisk & Son scooped the £300m build of a new North Stand for last year’s Premier League winners, Manchester City FC.
Laing O’Rourke, meanwhile, is currently constructing Everton FC’s new £555m stadium at Bramley Moore Dock, Liverpool.
Liverpool FC’s £80m stadium expansion is also underway. The project is running late after the main contractor, Buckingham Group, went under last September.
Earlier this month, Arsenal FC’s co-chair said club directors had begun “internal discussions” about expanding the Emirates Stadium in north London.
