LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — London’s Crystal Palace Football Club has released a new computer-generated aerial image of the proposed upgrades to the team’s aging Selhurst Park, and the impact it would have on the surrounding South London neighborhood.
The proposed upgrades would require the displacement of residents from six homes on Wooderson Close, and the redevelopment plans, which have been under consideration since 2011, have come under increasingly fierce opposition from local residents.
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has reiterated the team’s commitment to providing financial support for re-housing residents displaced by the proposed plan, describing it as one of the team’s “top priorities.”
Parish also noted the financial investment that the team would be making into the Croydon neighborhood.
“I would urge all our supporters to submit comments to Croydon Council to give our application the best possible chance of approval,” Parish told the Croydon Advertiser last month.
“This huge investment in Selhurst Park will provide a major boost to the borough in so many ways, including creating hundreds of new jobs, more facilities and space for our community to gather, and give thousands more fans the chance to experience top flight football at Palace,” he added.
The 26,074-capacity stadium first opened in 1924 and currently serves as the home pitch for Crystal Palace F.C. Late last year, the team unveiled the latest iteration of development plans for the stadium, which is expected to cost between £75-£100m, the team said.
Upgrades would include a new, five-story glass facade, and additional seating that would expand the stadium’s capacity to more than 34,000.
Plans will be submitted to Croydon Council in January and, subject to planning permission being granted, the team expects work to begin within the next 12 months and take up three years to complete. The proposed plan is currently undergoing a period of public comment.
