Peterborough United chiefs have outlined a plan to use the club’s proposed new stadium as a hub for testing new technology.
The 19.000-capacity arena, which is earmarked to open in January 2023, could host alternative energies, rehab medicine and advanced digital media according to Stewart Thompson, co-owner of the League One team.
A technology centre would be a key component of the club’s ambitious plans for the stadium, with Thompson having already highlighted that the arena would be designed as much for the non- matchdays as those when Peterborough play.
Discussing the plans for a technology centre in a video released by the club, Thompson said: “We’ve told our community we can use this community in England as a test-bed where you can test alternative energies on a new stadium.
“You can test rehab medicine, you can test digital media. We’ve brought some things in with Chris (Brewer, head of media) and Joe (Dent, club photographer) to see how we can allow technology to interact with the new stadium.
“It really fits hand in glove with our current business, and imagine when we have people from 30 countries that are looking for a placeholder to get into the EU; whether we’re in or out of the EU, England is still an important launching pad for the rest of the world into the European Union.
“I’m pretty excited about that element of what we’re doing.”
Earlier this month, club chiefs announced that work will resume on the project after a short delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The arena had been scheduled to open ahead of the 2022-23 season, but that date has now been moved back to January 2023, subject to the necessary planning permission, funding and construction timetables.
The stadium will form part of a wider redevelopment of the Embankment site in Peterborough that will also include the new Anglian Ruskin University, pubs, restaurant and additional entertainment venues.
Image: Peterborough United
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