Southends New Stadium Approved

Southends New Stadium Approved

Southend Football Club, affectionately known as the Shrimpers, has secured planning permission for their new stadium that they hope to move into in time for the 2008/2009 season.

The scheme has been designed by stadium stalwarts, HOK Sport, who have previously worked on the likes of grounds for Arsenal. The currently play at the 12,000 capacity Roots Hall but the new plans will see them move to their training ground at Fossets Farm which will be fully redeveloped into a new venue with 22,000 seats.

The design is typically futuristic for a stadium of the 21st century, plenty of reflective metallic surfaces and curving edges showing off a touch of zoomorphic inspiration. As with other clubs such as Bolton, this design sees something that is envisioned as an integral whole that cannot be easily extended hotchpotch like the stadia of old.

They are in effect a complete product from the word go, however we cant help but feel that in the long term some clubs will become big, and regret their compact grounds that they purchased complete from an architect - there's little scope for organic growth.

Plans also incorporate a 114 bedroom hotel and conference facilities to provide additional income for the club. Southend also hope that they can get a commercial bounce from their new home ground looking towards Coventry who get £1 million a year for their new stadium sponsored by Ricoh.

With the entire project costing £25 million, the sponsorship along should give them a yield of 4% p/a, making the new ground a decent investment for them. When combined with the redevelopment of their current site and the income that can create, moving a football team can be a profitable business for someone who does it the right way round.

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