AFC Wimbledon’s new stadium is set to open later than originally planned and is unlikely to be ready in time for the start of the 2019-20 season.
The third-tier League One club commenced provisional work on the new Plough Lane stadium earlier this year. The stadium will have a capacity of 11,000 and will replace Kingsmeadow as AFC Wimbledon’s home ground.
The club’s chief executive Erik Samuelson has conceded that it is unlikely the stadium will be ready for the start of the 2019-20 season, with building work yet to begin. The Evening Standard newspaper reported that the site of the old Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium is not expected to be cleared until October, at which point the club will be free to progress to the next stage of the project.
The club will be required to start next season at Kingsmeadow before moving into the new ground. An exact date has yet to be finalised.
“We are looking to move in next season,” Samuelson told the Evening Standard. “The exact date? We will see. Until we get the final details through from the contractors, and add a couple of weeks for luck, we do not have a date.
“Realistically if we are starting the build in October, I do not think any of our fans expect it to be ready for next summer. It is not perfect, you would rather move at the beginning of the season. But if it is ready, let’s go.”
The Evening Standard added that a search for a naming-rights partner for the stadium would commence soon.
Image: AFC Wimbledon
Share this