Just 2 weeks before planned groundbreaking the project had been put on hold and is still yet to start. Now the general contractor sheds new light on reasons behind the decision.

It was anticipated that the Riverside Stand construction at Craven Cottage would begin in the summer of 2016. However, soon before groundbreaking the entire plan was put on hold. Now, speaking to Construction News, Kevin Underwood, director at Buckingham Group, revealed that the delay was caused by a review of the project.

“The chairman wanted to review the whole of the design, and went to a different designe.” said Underwood.

“I understand there’s now been a complete review, with a revised proposal that will hopefully go forward in the coming months. We were pretty disappointed that, two weeks before we were due to start on site, [Fulham owner Shahid] Khan decided he wasn’t going to proceed.”

The double-tiered Riverside Stand was initially presented in 2011 and received planning permission in mid-2012. That was still under the reign of Mohamed Al-Fayed at Fulham, but ownership changed in 2013 and Shahid Khan took over. Being owner of an NFL club already (Jacksonville Jaguars), Khan decided to maximise profit from the new stand, thus the review.