On Thursday evening local council’s planning commission approved plans of the football side to redevelop their historical home. New Riverside Stand will raise capacity by 4,300 seats.

Yesterday Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s planning commission approved plans of Craven Cottage redevelopment that will see its Riverside Stand rebuilt from scratch, increasing capacity to some 30,000 seats.

Club representatives present at the hearing were delighted with its outcome, but haven’t announced any timeline for the investment yet.

Although capacity increase seems modest, the ground’s appearance will change significantly as its most exposed side, facing Thames, will have a very modern image. From the inside it’s also a major change with first double-tiered stand to be built at Craven Cottage.

As the new stand will have blueprint over twice the size of the current structure, it will also be a challenging project. contractors will have to go onto Thames itself with hospitality spaces, roof and river walk.

With the new structure Craven Cottage will vastly improve its corporate facilities thanks to skyboxes and lounges inside it. That will make the club more competitive in terms of matchday revenues and it’s not easy to compete if you have one of the smallest venues in Premier League.

Photo: fulhamfcstadium.com

Photo: fulhamfcstadium.com