Cambridge United has said it now hopes to publish designs of a redeveloped Cledara Abbey Stadium by the end of the year after missing a target of this summer.
The English League One football club has issued an update on the latest thinking behind the transformation of the stadium it has called home since 1932. CEO Alex Tunbridge said: “Cambridge United is seeking to modernise for the long term as a club and the stadium redevelopment is at the heart of that. We had hoped to set out plans in the summer, but the timetable has slipped to the end of the year.”
In December, United appointed Holmes Miller as architects of the proposed redevelopment of Cledara Abbey Stadium, as well as naming Wrenbridge Sport as project managers. This news came after United in October 2023 reached an agreement with its fans that paved the way for the redevelopment.
The club pledged to spend £1.5m (€1.8m/$1.95m) on a new Supporters Club building, allowing the existing one to be demolished. In return, the club is due to be gifted an area of land owned by the Supporters Club to allow redevelopment work to go ahead.
Commenting on the current scope of the project, Tunbridge said: “The Cledara Abbey Stadium is one of the last of its kind in the professional game. It is steeped in history, heritage and memories and is why buying it back was so important to our owners.
“We need to increase capacity, improve facilities at all levels and in turn drive income to allow us to be more competitive on the pitch. That means striking the right balance between modernisation and protecting the existing aspects which make the Abbey what it is today.
“As we have said, we intend to redevelop both the Habbin Stand and Newmarket Road End, with the ambition to achieve a capacity of just under 12,000. We have been looking at the right mix and location of seating and hospitality and now intend to redevelop the Habbin Stand with a 3,300 seated stand for home supporters, with improved hospitality and family facilities.
“The NRE will be replaced with a 3,500 terrace which will be able to be retro fitted with safe standing. In addition, there will be a new club shop, offices and museum.
“As is well known, we are pleased there is now an agreement with the Supporters Club to build a new facility for them in front of their existing one, in turn allowing space for the expanded NRE with the pitch also moving south.”
United’s stadium update comes after it was announced on Monday that co-owners Paul Barry and Mark Green have now secured full control of the club through minority owner Adam Webb’s decision to sell his 10% stake.
Barry and Green have each bought half of Webb’s stake meaning that they now own 75.01% and 24.99% of the club shareholding, respectively.
Admitting that the stadium project requires “significant capital investment”, Tunbridge said United has been working with Bluerock Sports since the beginning of the year to carry out a variety of feasibility studies, exploring operating models, layouts and local needs.
He continued: “The results of this work has provided us with a strong understanding of the income levels which could be achieved by different design configurations. Creating spaces for internal and external community and commercial activities will be key to the future, and we have had some exploratory conversations with potential external partners to test the market.”
Led by Wrenbridge Sport, which oversaw the club’s training ground project, Tunbridge said United’s planning team will shortly commence a variety of surveys and studies required for the planning application it hopes to submit in summer 2025.
He added: “Whilst the Cledara Abbey Stadium is in a strong geographical location in terms of its proximity to the city centre, a key reason why we have chosen to redevelop, as opposed to relocate, its tight footprint does create some delivery challenges.
“The order we do things will be key to ensure the most efficient delivery. This is not only the best way of keeping down costs, but we also want to ensure the minimum disruption for fans. There will be capacity constraints at times, and we obviously want to make sure the project spreads over as few seasons as possible, consistent with having a realistic construction timetable.”
