National League club Barnet has revealed more details regarding its planned new stadium, with updated drawings and designs released and the location of the venue confirmed.
A press conference was held on Friday by Barnet chairman Anthony Kleanthous, with AndArchitects and project planners WSP also in attendance.
In February, Barnet announced plans to build a new stadium in its home borough after spending the past 11 years in Harrow. The club has played at The Hive Stadium since 2013, having previously played at Underhill in Barnet for over 100 years.
Two public consultation sessions were held with the local community to inform the club’s plans for the new stadium. The sessions focused on technical topics such as architectural design, planning and traffic management.
The proposed location of the new stadium has been switched to the south side of Barnet Playing Fields in an area that will better suit the school and local community. The club had previously planned on building the stadium in the north section adjacent to Ark Pioneer Academy.
The new stadium will have a capacity of 7,000 and will feature a medical scanning centre and community facilities. Barnet said the new location will allow for more rewilding and biodiversity features, while better blending the stadium into the local environment.
The east side of the stadium will include trees so local residents retain nature-based views. This side of the stadium will also be sunken into the soil, so the height of the stand will only reach a single storey. The south stand will follow a similar design.
The north and west stands will be the main hubs of the architecture and will feature the entirety of the club operations. These stands will be out of view of the local residents from the east and south sides of the land.
The plans will be submitted to Barnet Council by the end of the year.
Barnet initially signed a three-year deal to play at The Hive before the agreement was extended indefinitely by Harrow Council. Kleanthous said it has always been his intention to return the club to the home from where it took its identity.
Barnet is currently second in the National League after 23 games of the season. The club has played in the fifth tier since being relegated from League Two in 2018.
