Last week, Bournemouth confirmed it had begun the search for a new stadium site after learning that expansion of its current home, the Vitality Stadium, would not be possible.
Property investor Structadene owns the ground, which has a league-low capacity of 11,450, and Bournemouth currently rents the facility out. The club had been keen to purchase the stadium in order to expand it into a Premier League-standard ground.
However, Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake said in a statement on Friday that, following months of discussions between the club, Structadene and Bournemouth Borough Council’s planning department, an agreement had not been reached.
Blake added that the planning department had made it clear that a significantly bigger stadium on the Kings Park site would not be welcomed.
Bournemouth’s rapid rise up the divisions has led to increased demand for tickets and a new stadium is viewed as a necessity to help the club progress. It is hoped a new stadium would be built in time for the start of the 2020-21 season and Howe believes relocation would be the logical step.
“The stadium is a key factor moving forward,” Howe said, according to the Press Association. “If and when we move it will be an emotional time, but we have to see the bigger picture.”
Bournemouth has played at the Vitality Stadium since 1910.
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