Southend United have been dealt a blow over plans for a new stadium behind the site of their current training ground at Fossetts Farm. The Blues bosses had hoped that the council would discuss the proposals at the planning meeting in February but this did not happen. The council suggested that the plans were not sufficiently detailed and that there were concerns over the impact on local residents and transport links. The club hope that the plans will proceed shortly as they now only have two years left on their lease at Roots Hall.

Wimbledon are still looking at plans for a new stadium and in January the possibility that they may move to Milton Keynes was floated. The New Town is keen to attract a club for its planned 45,000-seat stadium intended for a 55-acre site at North Denbigh near Bletchley. Dons fans are unsurprisingly alarmed at the idea and have made their feelings known to the club’s owners. Another suggestion, according to the Milton Keynes town website, is that the club could be renamed the MK Dons!

Hot on the heels of the opening of the Cheltenham & Gloucester Stand at the Prestbury Road end of Whaddon Road in August, Cheltenham Town have confirmed that a new 2,000-seat stand will be built on the Wymans Road side during the summer. The new stand will cost between £500,000 and £1 million to build and will be 65% funded by the Football Foundation. Interestingly, it has been revealed that local Hellenic League side Bishops Cleeve have been given the option to take the current Wymans Road stand to their basic Kayte Lane ground.

Brentford have announced that they have considered selling their current Griffin Park home and are looking at possible ground sharing options. In recent years four schemes for a new stadium have been investigated by the west London club but all will require a large initial outlay to secure the necessary land for the stadium to be built. Bees chairman Ron Noades is also reportedly frustrated that his attempts to invest in one of the aforementioned schemes, the Feltham Arena, have failed. The plan seems to be to sell Griffin Park and then hold the money in the bank pending a suitable site for the new stadium becoming available. Kingstonian and Woking are two clubs reported to have held talks over a ground share arrangement.

Darlington have hit further problems over their new stadium at Neasham Road. Before Christmas original construction firm Taylor Woodrow pulled out of a deal to build the new ground and now the Quakers are looking at extra funding before the project can get under way.

Fulham fans took the opportunity to show their feelings over plans for the redevelopment of the famous Craven Cottage ground during the televised FA Cup match against Manchester United. Thousands of ‘yellow cards’ were distributed amongst the crowd and they were held up in support of the clubs plans to turn the Cottage into a 30,000-seat stadium at a cost of £55 million. Hammersmith and Fulham Council were due to deliver its verdict on the plans at the end of February and despite objections from local residents a recent independent poll revealed that 70% of the Borough’s inhabitants supported the redevelopment plans. The seemingly imminent promotion of the club to the Premiership has also thrown up the possibility of a ground share either next season or, if plans for a rebuild are passed, the season after that. The ground must be all-seater within the next 18 months to comply with the requirements of the Taylor Report. The club have stated that they have not formally approached any other club about a ground share deal but names put forward so far include Millwall, Reading and QPR.

At long last things are moving again at Minchery Farm where the new ground for Oxford United has lain half-built for five years. Three sides of the ground should be ready by 27 July 2001 when the official handover is planned. A hotel and cinema complex are also eventually planned for the site.

Plans for Swansea City's proposed new home, on the home of that city's existing athletics stadium, at the Morfa, are receiving support from the city planners. The £75 million scheme revolves around a 25,000-seater shared stadium used by both Swansea City and Swansea Rugby Football Club. The new venue might be ready by September 2002. The plans include a hotel, superstore, club shops for the two sports clubs, cinema complex, fast food outlets and a bowling alley. The Morfa site is on the eastern outskirts of the city, about two miles out, unlike the two existing grounds which are close to the centre. But residents of the Hafod and Landore areas of the city are strongly opposed to the scheme and have raised objections over traffic congestion and public order. Swansea council approved the plan in late January 2001 but it will now need approval by the National Assembly for Wales in February. Swansea have used the Vetch Field since their formation in 1912, the name coming from the vetch plants which grew on the vegetable plots on the site. St. Helen's rugby and cricket ground, on the Swansea Bay shore, was built on the site of a former convent and has its place in sporting history as the setting for Gary Sobers' six sixes in one over against Glamorgan. The scheme was put in further doubt after planning consent was passed when the Swans’ owners, Ninth Floor, put the club up for sale at £3 million.

When Manchester City move out of Maine Road and take up residence at the Eastlands Commonwealth Games Stadium in 2003, their present home is likely to be used by Manchester Sale Rugby Club. Under the terms of the deal which allows City to acquire the new stadium, Maine Road will transfer to the ownership of the local council, who in turn have agreed for it to be used for rugby. This development has scotched the hopes of Stockport County who had also been in the running to move from their current Edgeley Park home to Maine Road. In a controversial proposal, County Chairman Brendon Elwood not only suggested uprooting the club but also pondered a name change to Man-Stock!

Due to the bad weather, completion of the extended Sunwin Stand at Bradford City’s Valley Parade ground has been put back from February to April. It will then hold 7,000 in an overall capacity of 25,000. The lower tier has remained open throughout the season with a new upper tier being built above and executive facilities in the middle. The corner section connecting the new stand to the Carlsberg Stand upper tier is already open. The new upper tier will not quite be full-length as it will not be allowed to overhang the road called Valley Parade that goes close to one corner of the ground. The club do have hopes to close the road off and build into that corner but planning permission would take 18 months to come through if the application is successful.

Having not had much else to shout about this season, Derby County have had their Pride Park home named the best Ground in the country by the British Tourist Board.

After the recent devastation of the floods several grounds were left under water. Shrewsbury Town looked to add weight to their bid for a new stadium by highlighting the problems of Gay Meadow being so close to the River Severn. The ground was flooded several times during October and December and no games were played there for nearly 10 weeks. Notts County also had similar problems with the River Trent. After the floods receeded from Meadow Lane the club not only found dead fish on the pitch but were also ordered by the Health and Safety Executive to replace the whole pitch because of fears that bacteria from the river water may have infected the turf.

Plans for new council owned stadium being built for Hull City are under threat as the Tigers face mounting debts reported to be as much as £1.2 million. In February the club were seeking new buyers in a bid to see off a winding-up order. Kingston-upon Hull City Council have proposed a £43.5 million stadium for the city but the scheme is dependent on Hull City being able to use the facility along with the local rugby club.

Work continues apace on the new Main Stand on the Shaw Hill side of The Shay. When complete it will bring the capacity at Halifax Town to around 12,000. The Shay has been totally transformed since 1998 when they re-entered the Football League after a brief spell in the Conference. Since then two new covered end terraces have been built and seats have been added to the Skircoat Shed.

Leyton Orient were handed a £1 million grant in December to assist with the redevelopment of the new West Stand at Brisbane Road. The East London club recently opened the new South Stand and the ground and it has proved to be very popular with the O’s fans. Although plans are not yet available, a similar design to that of the South is expected.

Everton continue to flirt with the idea of leaving Goodison Park. In January, 86% of the club’s fans voted in favour of the club pursing a scheme to relocate to a 55,000-seat stadium at the King’s Dock area (see illustration). The club are only one of a number of businesses interested in developing the site and they will be at Goodison for some time to come.

Walsall have submitted a planning application to Walsall MBC which would involve extending the present Gilbert Alsop Stand (the 'home' end) at the Bescot Stadium. This is currently a terraced area with a capacity of 2,700. The plan is for a two tier, all-seater, cantilevered stand with a capacity of 4,000 and additional hospitality facilities. If the plan is approved it is hoped to start work during the summer of 2001 although it is doubtful if it would be fully completed before the start of next season. The Stadium capacity would then be 10,500.

Work is expected to be finished on Chelsea’s new West Stand in April. When complete the new stand will raise the Stamford Bridge capacity to 42,000.

Kidderminster Harriers’ plans to build a new stand (to be named the Bill Grieves Stand) at Aggborough are now in doubt following a fall in crowds in recent games. The club were planning to build an all-seater 2,500 capacity stand opposite the main stand but falling attendances may persuade chairman Lionel Newton to hold back on the plan. The club have however splashed out on a £20,000 electronic scoreboard.

The new Estate Road stand is nearing completion at Moss Rose. The £1.45 million structure at Macclesfield Town will seat 1,497 when complete and is the first part of a scheme to upgrade the ground. A new seated tier is planned to go over the Silkmen Terrace at the north end of the ground.

Blackpool fans have watched nervously over the last few months to see if work on building the new stands would actually get under way. The Kop End and old Main Stand at Bloomfield Park were demolished towards the end of last year and the date for reconstruction has been steadily slipping ever since. At the time of writing the club were promising that the builders Ballast would be moving in during February and that steelwork would be erected during April and May.

Bournemouth still hope that plans for a total rebuild at Dean Court may get under way soon. Funds are still needed before the scheme to turn the pitch through ninety degrees and rebuild all four sides can get under way. The current planning permission expires on March 17 and builders Barr are happy to move in as soon as the funds are in place.

An announcement was expected in February on the planned new 26,000-seat stadium for Portsmouth. The site of Fratton Goods yard is close to their existing ground at Fratton Park.

The 1964 Rainbow Stand at West Bromwich Albion was demolished inside a week from January 8th to make way for the new 8,000-seat "Handsworth Side Stand" which will complete the redevelopment of The Hawthorns by the start of 2001/02. (Demolition pictured in magazine) Capacity is limited to just under 20,000 during the works but will eventually be around 27,000. The new structure will cost £5m and the design will be similar to the existing end stands with the seats arranged on one tier divided by a wide mid-level gangway. Executive boxes will also feature in the stand, which allows for a second tier to be added should the club make the Premiership. Albion are also spending £1.4m on a much needed Training and Development Centre at Great Barr.