Today, the BCP council have approved the renovation plans for the Vitality Stadium. The plans are set to start on 9 February 2026. These enabling plans will allow the club to expand the stadium to 20,000 seats.
Known for being the smallest stadium in the Premier League with a capacity of 11,307, Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium is rooted in history.
Located in the south-eastern part of Bournemouth, it originally opened in 1910 under the name ‘Dean Court’ on a former gravel pit with just a small stand that meant the players had to change in a near by hotel.
In 1923, the first football match played at Dean Court resulted in a 0-0 draw against Swindon Town, with over 7,000 people in attendance.
Subsequent ground improvements were made due to the purchase of fittings from the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley enabling the construction of a 3700-seat south stand in 1936.
During this time, the club’s record league attendance was set in 1948, where 25,495 witnessed a 1-0 defeat to QPR.
Further developments were thin and few, with the only substantial change being the addition of roofs over terracing and the capacity remaining relatively untouched.
This was until 2001 whereby the stadium took a major revamp. The old Dean Court was completely demolished, with the new one being built on the same site.
The changes included the pitch being rotated ninety degrees and the ground being moved away from adjacent housing. In order to bring the stadium up to modern league standards, the redevelopment also included three new covered stands and all-seater configuration.
The new and improved Dean Court was reopened and to on 10 November 2001, with the first match in the stadium being played against Wrexham.
It also gained its first sponsors name being rebranded as the First Fitness Stadium. It went on to take two more names before it finally became known as it is today, the Vitality Stadium, following their partnership with Vitality Health back in 2015.
In April 2025, it was announced that Bournemouth had agreed to buy the stadium and plans were being made to redevelop it in the next two and a half years.
Plans to expand and modernise the venue have been made, aiming to increase the capacity to around 20,000 seats with the possibility of further growth to approximately 23,000.
The project includes a new, larger South stand to replace the current temporary structure, as well as the addition of corner sections, and upgrades to the North and East stands.
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