Non-league football club Sheffield FC and rugby league team Sheffield Eagles have submitted a full planning application for a new 5,000-capacity stadium as fresh renderings of the proposed venue were released.
Sheffield FC is recognised by FIFA as the oldest existing football club and currently plays in Dronfield, Derbyshire. The Eagles compete in the Championship, the second tier of rugby league in England.
Plans for the new stadium, which will be based at the former Sheffield Transport Sports Club site at Meadowhead, were announced back in November. As well as football and rugby league facilities, it will include a cricket pavilion, a football museum and an indoor community sports hall.
A full planning application has now been submitted to Sheffield City Council for a “fully inclusive community destination”. The two teams will maximise public access and community use through health and well-being activities, educational programmes, social and other community events. Park-and-ride facilities will also be available within the development.
The stadium will meet both English Football League (EFL) and Super League criteria. The complex will also serve as the home of the Eagles’ wheelchair, learning disability and physical disability teams.
Sheffield FC chairman Richard Tims said: “Whilst the site will be grounded firmly in the unique history and heritage of both clubs, including Sheffield’s status as the ‘Home of Football’, it will also be an exciting destination for sport, physical activity, business, educational, cultural, and other events that will attract local, regional, national, and international audiences.
“We plan on creating a vibrant destination on both the days when Sheffield Eagles and Sheffield FC teams are playing in the stadium, as well as on non-match days through a busy diary of community, social and other activities such as conferences and meetings, functions and cultural activities.”
Mark Aston, director of rugby at the Eagles, added: “We’re very excited to have reached the milestone of submitting our planning permission application for the development of the Meadowhead site which will give us the facilities we need to not only achieve our ambitions to return to Super League, but also to give us a base from which to grow our already extensive community programme.
“The feedback from both sets of fans and networks of sponsors has been overwhelmingly positive and everyone sees the potential of both clubs being unlocked with the facilities which are being planned for, which will be world-class.”
Sheffield FC initially announced plans for a new 4,000-seat stadium back in March 2021, but the project did not involve the Eagles at the time. The updated plans include a larger capacity and additional on-site facilities.
It is hoped the stadium will be open in time for the 2025-26 football season.
