New images surface of the Main Stand development at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park now plans finally looks set in stone after half a decade.
The club’s 99-year-old home really needs some work done on it, with building of a new Main Stand seen by chairman Steve Parish as the best way of making the Premier League club more financially sustainable.
Planning permission had previously been granted back in April 2018, however, things turned quiet with fans unsure any kind of redevelopment would happen.
Thankfully, significant progress has been made since Palace re-engaged with the process after prompts from Croydon Council, with a new planning application approved in principle back in October.
Project details have emerged from the KSS Group, saying:
The 13,500 capacity Main Stand development at Selhurst Park will increase the ground capacity from 26,000 to 34,000, and hopefully further enhance the intense atmosphere in this most traditional of English football venues.
The proposals include lengthening the pitch to UEFA standard, extensive new facilities for general admission, premium hospitality and disabled supporters to the latest modern standards, together with a new club retail store and museum.
The dramatic external design draws on the iconography embedded in the Eagles’ club crest.
A 5 storey glazed central facade with barrel-vaulted arch and horizontal glazing articulation echoes the south transept section of the historic 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition Hall (after which the club was named), and is flanked by sculpted metal clad wings concealing vertical circulation and servicing elements.
CLUB STATEMENT (OCT 2022)
Crystal Place Football Club’s updated planning application for a new Main Stand at Selhurst Park has been approved by Croydon councillors, paving the way for a transformation of the stadium.
Croydon’s planning committee first gave the application the green light four years ago, but it was delayed by the COVID pandemic and the Club recently submitted minor adjustments to the scheme to adhere to new London Plan requirements.
This required fresh approval before planning permission could be granted and any work could begin, together with the signing of Section 106 agreements and approval from the Mayor’s Office.
The Main Stand development will overhaul Selhurst Park, which has been the Club’s home since 1924, transforming the match-day experience and providing new year-round community facilities.
Inspired by the Club’s heritage, the design pays homage to the original Crystal Palace on Sydenham Hill and will increase capacity from 26,000 to more than 34,000.
None of the changes to the planning application will alter the size or scale of the scheme. The amendments comprise:
- Minor internal design changes, following advice from a fire engineer, with alterations to the positions of doors and stair/lift cores, the provision of an additional evacuation lift, and additional partitions to separate lobbies.
- Minor external changes to the west elevation to reflect the revised positioning of entrances at ground floor, following advice from a fire engineer.
- Revisions to the landscaping scheme to reflect consultant advice received on security, landscaping and sustainable drainage, with a clear line of sight to the Fan Zone, the provision of sustainable urban drainage systems on-site and the retention of additional trees.
Once planning permission is formally approved, the Club will be able to agree plans for the acquisition of six houses in Wooderson Close and the relocation of residents, and to conclude ongoing discussions with Sainsbury’s to acquire a piece of land required for the development.
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish said: “I would like to thank Croydon Council for their continued support for the stadium redevelopment, which will bring substantial investment into the borough, as well as breathing new life into Selhurst Park.
“We would have liked to have started the project sooner, but our plans were delayed by financial constraints caused by the Covid pandemic. In the last couple of years our focus has been on bringing our exciting Academy development to fruition, but our attention will now turn to the stadium project.
“It has long been our ambition to extend and modernise Selhurst Park, making it a home fit for the 21st century.
“We are looking forward to getting started on the project. There is a lot of preparatory work to be done in the coming months and we will update on a likely timetable in due course”.
Fans reacted as new images surface of the Main Stand development at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park…
@DanielMaguireFC: That must be a nod to the old Crystal Palace building. Really like it.
@lukecfc5: Brilliant that they’ve tied in resemblance to the old Crystal Palace building.
@ConnorWhiten: I recognise that stand from somewhere 🤔😅
@EvertonDesigns: Corr, lovely that
@JJ_CPFC: This is gonna look so funny in the middle of Croydon 😭😭😭
@SYouth93: Believe it when I see JCB’s outside Sainsbury’s
@HampshireEagle_: Think all in all when the construction starts getting underway it will give a real uplift to the fan base, and probably to the board; no doubt in a perfect world this should’ve been done prior before COVID or during so but business, stock markets and economics etc change everyday
@Hotstepper75: i look forward to the unveiling in 2038.
@doucourefan: show it with all 4 stands
@MortyBWFC16: That looks absolutely outstanding
@lindop_ryan: Looks top class this! 👌🏻 Great fan base as well
@biggerbyrone: are we gonna be able to fill this up ??
@Phillyconcarne: Roll on the 2052/53 season 😍
@botnbp: And yet when we go into the away end we still don’t be able to see the game if you are more than 20 rows up, have toilets that don’t work, and a concourse that’s outside 😭😭 #afcb
@JackBrokenshir2: Very nice… although whisper it, it looks a bit like the Amex!
@evertonibrow: That looks insane 🤩
@HampshireEagle_: Pictures of the new stand are absolutely fantastic. Not in context with bowl stadiums but the way we’ve filled up the boundaries around the stands, gives a more comfortable feeling immediately to me, must feel better for the players as well #CPFC
@dan_bhafc: They wanna be us so bad they’re even copying our stadium
@andylatts: Loving the look of the new stand pictures #cpfc
@RikiYanagida: Would be a huge upgrade on the shit hole they currently play in tbf
@Villamole1: That is some redevelopment! Looks stunning! Shame we were not so bold with plans for the North stand! #AVFC
@callum18181: Unpopular #cpfc opinion, I like our current stadium. This new stand and the extra stuff doesn’t seem like us and would suck the soul out of the atmosphere. Just like every other lifeless stadium. Also means more room for tourist fans and plastics
here me out.. #BHAFC pic.twitter.com/X4TC7wDfpX
— Az (@AzzaRey) July 14, 2023
Fixed it pic.twitter.com/AaQ1Rsgoth
— Richie (£11) (@richardstarbuck) July 14, 2023
