Update on major Stoke City summer projects at bet365 Stadium as club given permission for another change

Stoke City are aiming to get a new £1.5 million fan zone up and running in time for the new season – and there are already thoughts, some way down the line, that they could even set up another at the opposite end of the bet365 Stadium.

Stoke have been awarded planning permission to build a 1,550-capacity fan zone for events, refreshments and pre- and post-match, or non-match day, entertainment on what was a section of car park behind the Boothen End, close to Ricardo’s bar. Work started last month and the target is for everything to be up and running by the time the Championship kicks off on the weekend of August 10.

It is a busy close season at the stadium, with work also ongoing to install licensed standing for the first time since it opened as an all-seater ground back in 1997. That comes at the same time as the away end is being moved into the south east corner and home fans will take over the south stand, meaning that Stoke supporters will finally be on both sides of the tunnel when teams run out.

The club has now also been given permission for the car park directly behind the south stand to be used by home fans, with away coaches instead parking on the south car park – and that might eventually lead to further opportunities for development.

Vice-chairman Richard Smith, who is working with chief commercial officer Simon King to oversee all the infrastructure projects, said: “We’re about a month into installing the standing area and it’s going really well.

“We’re really looking forward to seeing that come to fruition. The other element of that is that we’re moving our home fans into what used to be the away area so we’ll have home fans either side of the tunnel going forward. Fans have also been crying out for some standing areas for quite a while so we’ll hopefully tick two boxes there with what is wanted.

“The other scheme that we’ve only just had news that we’re ok to do is that the parking area that sits behind the away end is going to become a home parking area so we won’t have away coaches parking there. I think that will be nice – and, who knows, that might give us an opportunity at some point to create another fan zone at that end of the ground.”

He added: “We’re only on week three of the fan zone project and we’re aiming to have that operational for the new season.

“It’s massive for the club and I think it will be really well received. It’s great in particular that we will have our own fans behind both goals. That will be a big improvement.”

What will be in the fan zone?

Stoke supporters have been clamouring for a fan zone outside the stadium for years. It will have a stage and food and drink kiosks, a children’s play zone and big screen.

Documents submitted by the club when they applied for planning permission show how it will be used for pre and post-match events and entertainment, fan engagement events, music and entertainment, company conferences and the screening of events such as the Euros and World Cup or movie nights.

“While many sporting venues have been providing some form of pre- and post-match entertainment for years, the delivery of such services is now becoming far more structured and sophisticated,” it was noted in a statement. “Fan zones are starting to be created on site at most major stadiums and can also increasingly be found within smaller sports grounds. Such zones – also referred to as Fan Villages – will usually open a few hours before the main event gets underway and often reopen following the final whistle.

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