Grounding works have officially started at Vitality Stadium for the build of the new 7,000-seater South Stand, as AFC Bournemouth look to reach the next level on and off the pitch.
This will replace the current 3,000 seat South Stand, which is a temporary stand built when Cherries were promoted to the Championship in 2013.
Workers are on site seven days a week to get the upper tier of the stand functional by April 2027.
Large parts of the stand are being put together off site, and the current plan is to remove current temporary South Stand in the summer and import the already-built parts of the stand.
By the club doing this, there will be no capacity limitations this season, allowing the club to still maximise the amount of ticket money generated for the whole of the 2026/27 season.
Once the stand is fully complete by August 2027, the capacity of the stadium will rise to over 18,000. This will then mean that for the 27/28 season, Cherries will have a “red wall” behind the goal, which will naturally lead to an improvement of the atmosphere.
According to a recent atmosphere ranking conducted by The Football FanCast, AFC Bournemouth was labelled as the quietest fanbase in the Premier League. This clearly shows that an improvement of the atmosphere is needed, and the South Stand could be the reason for that.
When asked about if the South Stand will lead to a much-needed improvement to the atmosphere, AFC Bournemouth fan and founder of the Back of the Net podcast, Sam Davis said: “Naturally a stand with a new influx of younger fans should help enhance the atmosphere, and its proximity to the away fan section will certainly help create an improved decibel level.”
Ever since American billionaire Bill Foley became owner of the club in 2022, he has made it clear that he wants AFC Bournemouth to consistently compete at European level.
To fulfil those expectations, there will need to be more hospitality seating at the Vitality Stadium. The new South Stand will be a huge enabler in getting more hospitality seating.
Sam Davis echoed the importance of hospitality to the club. He said: “Hospitality makes up 40 per cent of Bournemouth’s match-day revenue, and this will help generate more money for the club to comply with SCR rules.”
SCR stands for Squad Cost Ratio, a Premier League financial rules that limits clubs to spending 85 per cent of their football-related revenue on player wages, transfer fees, agent fees and manager’s salary.
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