Stadium Industry Update 25 April 2023
Stadium golf tour to head to 4 English stadiums
Selhurst Park
US-based Stadium Golf Tour has stepped up its presence in the UK after announcing plans for events at Selhurst Park, King Power Stadium, Hillsborough and London Stadium.
Selhurst Park, home of Premier League football club Crystal Palace, will house a uniquely designed course from June 15-18, with the experience to offer players the chance to tee off from all four stands of the stadium, aiming for greens located on the pitch.
The stadium is one of five venues to be included on Stadium Golf Tour’s UK tour circuit. Last month, it was announced that London’s Twickenham Stadium will house a nine-hole course from June 8-11.
Read more at: https://www.sportstourismnews.com/stadium-golf-tour-play-uk-tour-twickenham/
PSG reportedly set to submit bid for Stade de France
Stade de France
Paris Saint-Germain is reportedly set to submit a bid to buy the Stade de France amid uncertainty over the Ligue 1 football club’s future at its current home, the Parc des Princes. It was widely reported last month that PSG would participate in a new tender process to determine the future of the Stade de France, while the club was also said to be in talks over potentially developing a new stadium on the site of the Saint-Cloud racecourse.
SKIDATA appointed as access control partner for Sunderland AFC
Stadium of Light
English Championship football club Sunderland has entered into a partnership with people access solutions provider APT SKIDATA. As part of the five-year deal, APT SKIDATA will upgrade and install access control technologies at the Stadium of Light ahead of the 2023-24 season. The partnership is designed to provide Sunderland fans and guests at other stadium events with fast and secure access to the Stadium of Light, while reducing the club’s carbon footprint and contributing to its sustainability goals. The agreement will see near field communication (NFC) ticketing technology adopted using SKIDATA’s Sweb eTicket service. The solution will allow fans to buy match tickets on Sunderland’s dedicated digital ticketing website, with NFC passes to be instantly delivered to their Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.
Read more at: https://www.safc.com/news/club-news/2023/april/apt-skidata-partnership
CGI renderings of Manchester City Etihad Stadium expansion revealed
Etihad stadium
English Premier League football club Manchester City has submitted a planning application to Manchester City Council for a proposed expansion of the North Stand at the Etihad Stadium and a 3,000-capacity City Square fan zone. The club has also released the first CGI renderings of the plans after concept designs were unveiled in February. The expanded North Stand will include a larger, single upper tier above the existing lower tier, increasing the overall capacity of the Etihad Stadium from 53,400 to over 60,000. The City Square fan zone will be integrated into the North Stand, which will also house a new club shop, museum, food and drinks outlets, and a 400-bed hotel.
Read more at: https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/etihad-stadium-etihad-danny-wilson-city-city-football-group-b2321696.html
MDU Architetti wins international design competition for 2026 Mediterranean Games
Stadio del Nuoto
MDU Architetti has won an international design competition to deliver a new aquatics centre for the staging of the 2026 Mediterranean Games in the Italian city of Taranto. The Italian studio has emerged victorious from a process that attracted 37 proposals in the first stage. This was whittled down to five finalists, with MDU seeing off competition from Marazzi Architetti, Populous, Cecchetto & Associati and 3TI Progetti Italia. The Taranto 2026 Organising Committee had announced the international competition in order to raise the quality of the multi-sport event through the development of an iconic facility that could characterise the city’s waterfront and integrate with an area of considerable landscape interest.
WilkinsonEyre wins design competition for Lord’s Cricket Ground redevelopment
Lord’s Cricket Ground
Marylebone Cricket Club has appointed London-based WilkinsonEyre as the architect for the redevelopment of the Tavern and Allen stands at Lord’s. The project will see the Tavern Stand stripped back to its underlying steel framework to enable the structure to be extended and completely rebuilt. The smaller Allen Stand, parts of which date back to the 1930s, will be demolished and replaced by a new building. WilkinsonEyre has been awarded the contract following a design competition and the appointment extends the company’s relationship with MCC. The two parties worked together on the design and delivery of the Compton and Edrich stands at Lord’s, which marked the largest construction project in the club’s history.
Read more at: https://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/wilkinson-eyre-lands-more-work-at-lords-cricket-ground/5122838.article
Potential Birmingham City investors looking for new stadium
St. Andrews Stadium
Birmingham City is said to be close to a takeover deal, with the proposed US owners reportedly seeking to develop a new stadium for the English Championship football club.
The Bloomberg news agency today (Friday) reported that Tom Wagner, co-founder of New York-based Knighthead Capital Management, is close to acquiring a stake in City. The Mirror said the proposed new owners will regain ownership of City’s current home, St Andrew’s, with a view to redeveloping the site as social housing. Talks are said to be underway to move the club to a new stadium built on a 40-acre plot of derelict land at Birmingham Wheels Park, a motorsport facility in the West Midlands city. Site visits are said to have been made with the knowledge of Birmingham City Council.
Read more at: https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/birmingham-city-takeover-hedge-fund-29772989
Everton stadium construction remains on track after topping out ceremony
Credits: Everton FC
Everton and Laing O’Rourke have held a ‘topping out’ ceremony at Everton Stadium to mark the completion of the structure, with the two parties maintaining that the project remains on schedule. Dignitaries from the English Premier League football club and its construction partner jointly celebrated the achievement, 20 months since work began on the semi-derelict site at Bramley-Moore Dock.Everton officially began work on the new 52,888-capacity venue on July 26, 2021, with an official ground breaking ceremony held on August 10. All four stands have since been erected to full height, with the final sections of steelwork and terracing units being installed on top of the east stand, where the topping out ceremony took place.
Read more at: https://www.evertonfc.com/news/3208217/topping-out-ceremony-held-at-everton-stadium