Industry News

Bournemouth seek fresh approval for temporary stand 

English Premier League football club AFC Bournemouth has applied for one of the temporary stands at its Vitality Stadium home ground to remain in place.

The Colmar Construction Ted MacDougall South Stand was fitted in the summer of 2013 after the club was promoted from the third-tier League One to the Championship.

A condition of the installation of the stand required it to be removed and the land restored within five years. That five-year deadline is now approaching, and the south-coast club has reached out to Bournemouth Borough Council for a new planning approval. The club said that a decision is expected by April.

“The South Stand has been an important part of the club’s growth over the last five years,” Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake said. “Our home fixtures, both in the Premier League and cup competitions, sell out and it is crucial that we keep the South Stand in place, to allow as many supporters as possible to continue watching the team.”

Blake stressed that the application would have no impact on the club’s plans to build a new stadium on the Kings Park site.

Last year, the club confirmed that it would begin drawing up plans for a new home that reflects its top-flight status. With a capacity of 11,400, Vitality Stadium is comfortably the smallest ground in the Premier League.

Bournemouth has experienced a rapid rise through the divisions over the past decade, having been in the fourth-tier League Two as recently as 2010. The 2017-18 season marks its third successive year in the Premier League.

Image: Matthew Jackson