Chelsea and QPR may be thinking of moving, but Fulham FC have announced that they are going to stay at their historic home at Craven Cottage and expand the capacity to 30,000.
Chelsea and QPR may be thinking of moving, but Fulham FC have announced that they are going to stay at their historic home at Craven Cottage and expand the capacity to 30,000.
There has been recent speculation that Fulham might move to a new stadium or even ground share with QPR or Chelsea, although the latter scenario never seemed very likely. The club did, of course, ground share at Loftus Road after leaving the ground at the end of the 2001-2 season, the intention then being not to return but to build a new stadium, but spiralling costs put paid to that plan.
The ground has been the home of the club since 1896 and currently holds 25,700. The club is looking at ways to develop the Riverside Stand to provide the additional capacity. One intention of the redevelopment is to enhance the corporate offering, although the club wants any changes to be sympathetic to the design of this historic and distinctive ground.
Plans are still at a relatively early stage and a public exhibition will be staged later this month to test out the reaction of supporters and local residents in affluent Putney to the initial ideas.