Selhurst Park redevelopment latest: A new option on the table but costs could edge beyond £200m

New York Times

15-04-2025

Crystal Palace remain committed to the redevelopment of Selhurst Park despite the cost of work having risen significantly.
The project, first announced in 2017 and originally due to be completed by 2021, has been beset by delays and rising costs. It was originally expected to set Palace back between £75million ($98.8m) and £100m but, by 2022, that had increased to £150m. It is now anticipated to exceed £200m.
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Palace, though, are confident it will not impact work being completed on the stadium.
Here's the latest on what's happening with the redevelopment…
The original plan was to build behind, up and over the Main Stand, which was originally built in 1924, before then demolishing it. However, one new option under consideration is to vacate the existing structure for the entirety of the build process, allowing for a full demolition and subsequent new build.
While this would likely speed up the project's completion, it would significantly limit capacity at Selhurst Park over the course of the build with no income received from the 6,000 spectators currently accommodated in the stand.
A smaller set of temporary seating would be provided at the front of the stand if this approach was followed, but there are logistical problems which would stem from it — not least finding a suitable alternative location for matchday hospitality, which accounts for much of the club's revenue outside broadcasting rights. The club would need to make provision for this, as well as for those season-ticket holders displaced by the build.
This option is least desirable and, while it remains under consideration, it is less likely to be pursued than the original plan which allows for the stand to retain its full capacity with an up-and-over build.
Once completed, the stadium's capacity will rise to 34,259 from its existing 25,486.
Funding was originally due to be secured via Palace's shareholders, with chairman Steve Parish reluctant to pursue a full-debt approach by borrowing the money in full and, instead, preferring to raise it via a mix of debt and equity.
Options are being discussed by shareholders but, despite continued uncertainty over the future of John Textor's stake in the club and the fact all four General Partners would be required to contribute in any capital raise, Palace are confident they will source the funding.
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Yet questions remain over the project's cost benefit.
The redeveloped stadium will provide Palace with approximately an extra £20m ($25.5m) per year in revenue, meaning it could take a decade for the project to break even.
This coming Saturday will mark seven years since Palace were initially granted planning permission in principle by Croydon Council, subject to agreeing a Section 106 agreement which would be used to fund community improvements.
But while that S106 was agreed, Palace did not sign it and, after changes to the London Plan (which determines how the UK's capital as a whole will develop over the next 20 to 25 years), the club were required to submit an amended planning application.
That amended application was subsequently approved by Croydon Council's planning committee in August last year, and the S106 has since been signed by both parties.
Last year, The Athletic revealed that, as recently as 202,0 Palace considered exploring a return to Crystal Palace Park, something for which plans were unveiled in 2011 but never pursued.
That prospect of returning to their original home on Sydenham Hill in south-east London, a few miles north of Selhurst, did not make it beyond initial discussions or to a serious proposal. Palace instead recommitted to the redevelopment of Selhurst Park.
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, Palace also opted to prioritise the redevelopment of the club's academy — a smaller and less expensive project at around £30m.
Then, ahead of starting the Main Stand work, it took time for the club to agree a deal with Sainsbury's, which The Athletic reported was worth several million pounds, for a piece of land which formed part of the supermarket giant's car park.
All of these factors contributed to delays, during which inflation has caused construction costs to rise across the board, impacting Palace heavily.
In June last year, Palace began preliminary work on the stadium and offices based in temporary buildings between the Holmesdale Road and Main Stands, which have stood for almost 30 years, were moved to a redeveloped area behind the Whitehorse Lane executive boxes which once hosted Crystals nightclub.
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Work to drain water away from the flooded basement in the Holmesdale Road stand, with water retention tanks costing £1m, has also been undertaken.
But there are now several issues which require decisions to be made before major construction work can commence.
As a result the project has fallen further behind, but is still expected to take two years to complete once piling — driving the foundations into the ground — begins.
Significant work is expected to commence this summer, but it is unclear what that will mean in practice.
There are also issues with the purchase of the one remaining privately-owned house in Wooderson Close, which Palace are considering options to acquire, and finding land within the borough on which the club can build the replacement homes obligated by the planning agreement.
Residents who had occupied the five social housing properties in Wooderson Close which are to be demolished were moved to new accommodation in October 2023 and those properties are vacant. Palace are required to pay the council the market value of the homes plus 2.5 per cent.
It has been an arduous project with many amendments, and some questions still remain, but Palace remain confident the redevelopment of Selhurst Park will be completed.