Colchester United have finally unveiled plans for a new 10,000-seat stadium (pictured in magazine) to replace the crumbling Layer Road. Full details have not yet been released but the intended site is close to the main A12 trunk road and should provide better access than their current base.

As mentioned on the preceding pages, Oxford United plan to open their new stadium in July. The Minchery Farm site has now officially been dubbed the Kassam Stadium in honour of the club’s current chairman Firoz Kassam. The venue will only be three-sided for the time being with a fourth side possibly being added at a later date. Situated in the south east corner of the city, the Kassam Stadium is close to a run-down council estate, although modern housing is also springing up around the ground.

Luton Town have successfully purchased a 55-acre piece of land near to Junction 10 of the M1 on which they hope to build a new stadium. The Hatters have been looking to relocate from their current Kenilworth Road base for several years and originally laid their hopes on a futuristic stadium named the Kohlerdome in 1994. This project hit planning difficulties and the legal wranglings were only settled in 1999 when the High Court upheld a Government decision to block the scheme. The club are now working on plans for the new stadium and hope to release further information soon.

Darlington are moving ahead, albeit slowly, with the new stadium at Neasham Road. Basic work has been taking place on the site for some months with machinery carrying out the basic groundwork. At the time of going to press the first metal supports for the main stand were just being put into place, the first steps towards an eventual 25,000-seat stadium. A small visitor centre is also in place for those wishing to make the trip.

Just after GT24 came out Fulham were buoyed by the announcement that Hammersmith & Fulham council had passed plans for the rebuild of Craven Cottage into a 30,000-seat stadium. Now that the Londoners have secured their Premiership place for next season they only have one more season in which they can use the Cottage in its current state. It is likely that a whole season will be needed for the rebuild to take place so a ground share is imminent. Rather audaciously, chairman Mohammed Al-Fayed announced in May that he was considering offering to use Wembley for a season whilst it lies dormant!

Brentford have now formally signed a deal with non-league Woking to ground share at their Kingfield ground as of the 2002-03 season. The Bees have been frustrated at the lack of progress in obtaining a site for a new stadium and have decided to sell Griffin Park and hold the cash pending a suitable site/planning consent coming along. Whether the share will actually go ahead is still unclear as chairman Ron Noades may be using the threat to get the local council to act to keep the club in West London.

In March triple-Cup Finalists Liverpool revealed that they were looking at a site currently owned by Railtrack in nearby Speke to build a 75,000-seat new stadium. The club believe their Anfield capacity of 45,000 is insufficient to keep pace with arch-rivals Manchester United who now boast 67,000 seats. Some angry supporters have set up an action group, called Anfield4Ever, to oppose the plans.

Hot on the heels of the opening of the new South Stand at Portman Road, Ipswich Town have obtained the go-ahead for a new North Stand as well. The demolition of the old North Stand began in May and work will proceed during the summer and into next season. This is the culmination of a £25 million investment by the club in the ground and its surroundings and the new capacity will be around the 30,000 mark.

Work began on Charlton Athletic’s new £9 million two tier north stand in March which will bring the capacity of The Valley to over 26,000. The roof of the old North Stand, first built in 1934 before being refurbished for the Valley return in 1992, was removed before the final Premiership game of the season against Liverpool. Work on the new stand should finish by February 2002.

Poor Bradford City have not only suffered by relegation to the Nationwide League, they have also been struggling to get the new second tier of the Sunwin Stand finished. Part of the new tier was opened for the visit of Derby County in April but the other half remains under construction.

Swindon Town have had both good and bad news in their bid to build a new stadium at Blagrove near the M4. Club chairman Terry Brady wants to buy a 125-acre section of the land and the club was recently given ‘preferred bidder status’ by the council. However, the plans include around 2,000 new homes and a leisure complex as well as a stadium and local residents have set up an action group to oppose the project. Even if all things went in the Wiltshire club’s favour, the start of building would still be at least two years away.

The new Commonwealth Games Stadium being built at Eastlands, and the intended new home of Manchester City, is well under way. The Stadium will be converted into a football venue after the Games in 2002 and City will take up residence in August 2003. With the current lively debate surrounding safe standing areas for football grounds, will this be the first top-flight ground of the modern era to be built with terraces?

Leicester City are pressing ahead with the purchase of the Freemans Wharf site from Powergen so that they can build a new 32,000-seat stadium there. Issues of traffic congestion still need to be addressed but the Foxes are confident of tying up a deal soon.

Southampton finally said goodbye to The Dell after more than 100 years of playing football on the ground. At the end of the season they staged a series of events to commemorate the passing of the stadium with a symbolic ‘last game’ against Brighton on May 26th. Brighton were the Saints first ever opponents at the Dell so it was a fitting gesture that they were also the last. In line with many other stadiums, parts of the famous old ground were sold off to fans as mementos. Standard wooden seats from the Leitch built West Stand went for £28 each. The site of The Dell will now be converted into 224 houses and flats by Barratt Homes. (For news of the new stadium see page 40 of the magazine)

Halifax Town have hit problems in trying to finish off the new East Stand at The Shay. An application to the Football Foundation for an extra £200,000 to cover the shortfall was deferred and the club have been looking at other means to fund the completion of the stand during the summer.

Preston North End fans gave the famous Town End at Deepdale a rousing send off in March when it was used for the last time for the League match against Wolves. A party-like atmosphere was created for the game with balloons and silly outfits the order of the day. A new stand is now being built on the site and some seats may be ready as early as September. The whole stand should be finished by the end of the year.

West Bromwich Albion are continuing work at the Hawthorns with the new Rainbow Stand on schedule for the July 31st opening game against Atletico Bilbao. When complete the new structure will hold 8,000 seats.

Everton, and entertainment partners SFX, are one of two consortia short listed to win the right to develop a 36-acre city centre site at Kings Dock, and both bids are currently being assessed by a panel of independent consultants who will determine their viability. A decision is expected by the end of June and, if approved, the Liverpool club hope to build a 55,000-seat stadium on the site.

In keeping with the whole project so far, progress on the new stands at Bloomfield Park is painfully slow for Blackpool fans. The builders Ballast are now on site and working but it looks like construction will continue into a significant proportion of the new season.

Hot on the heels of the announcement that Leyton Orient are set to replace the West Stand at Brisbane Road, news has also leaked from the club that the imminent planning application may include a new North Stand as well. The O’s recently received a hefty cheque from the Football Foundation to aid ground improvements and no doubt further aid would be forthcoming to upgrade the current open terrace.

In April The Football Foundation rubber-stamped a £1 million grant to Cheltenham Town towards the £1.25 million cost of the new 2,000-seater Wymans Road stand at Whaddon Road. Construction firm Barr Ltd will build the stand during the close season.

Despite delays of their own, Coventry City chairman Bryan Richardson held talks in April with Sports Minister Kate Hoey in which he offered to expand the Sky Blues intended stadium at Foleshill from 40,000 to 80,000 seats. Work has been slow to progress on the site and if the FA decided to go in as a partner on the scheme it may mean a speedier conclusion to building at the former gas works site.

As soon as the final whistle sounded in May, Cambridge United set about ground improvements which will see both the North and South ends of the Abbey Stadium demolished, the pitch moved further south, and the subsequent construction of new stands at either end. The work will progress well into the new season and away fans will be accommodated in the Habbin Stand during 2001-02.

Walsall’s plans to expand the Gilbert Alsop Stand were given the ‘green light’ at a meeting of the Walsall M B.C. Planning Committee in April. This means that the club’s plans to expand the stand to a two tier cantilever structure with a 4,000 capacity can now go ahead. On completion the Bescot Stadium will have a 10,500 capacity. Detailed planning discussions are now to take place with the Local Authority, the project will be put out to tender, and a grant application submitted to the Football Foundation. The project is expected to commence within the next 12 months.

The new West Stand at Chelsea failed to meet its deadline of April but work is progressing and it will be fully in use by the start of next season bringing the Stamford Bridge capacity up to 42,500.