The Cherries had a troubled time on and off the pitch in the 2000s. At one point, in the 2008-09 season, they faced being thrown out of the Football League over administrative and financial issues. They worked their way up to the Premier League in 2015, before dropping back to the EFL in 2020. Two years later, they won back their spot in the world鈥檚 most popular league competition.
But their ground, the Vitality Stadium鈥攆ormerly Dean Court鈥攊s the smallest in the Premier League. At the end of the current season, and subject to planning permission, work will begin to bring the ground up to Premier League and UEFA standards. The south stand will be knocked down and replaced with a 7,000 seat grandstand, as part of a project to make space for more than 20,000 fans, up from the current 11,286 capacity.
A new 3,000-seater lower tier of the south stand will be constructed first, and the south-east and north-west corners in-filled. Turnstiles for all stands will be relocated to the new perimeter, creating a larger outer concourse. A newly built and relocated ticket office will become operational at the new perimeter.
Internal refurbishment of both the east and west stands will then be completed, including the introduction of three new hospitality spaces. Updated media seating and enhanced broadcast facilities will be incorporated within the west stand. During the 2026-27 season, work will continue on the upper tiers of the south stand, with extension work on the north and east stands planned for the 2027 off-season. Along with in-fills on the other two corners, this will bring the ground up to it new capacity.
Permission for enabling works has been given, with Stadium Structures now getting to work on this. The descriptively-named specialist makes use of modular construction techniques and precision engineering, which, they say, will ensure the highest quality while minimising disruption to fans.
The full project will go before Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council鈥檚 planning committee in May.