Leicester City are reportedly ‘in a race against time’ to begin construction on their stadium expansion plans.
They plan to expand their King Power Stadium from 32,259 to a 40,000-seater stadium, with additional features like a 6,000-seater indoor arena and hotel.
Announced in 2021, construction expected to begin no earlier than 2024, but it yet to get started. The club faces a deadline as their building permit expires in December 2027, requiring construction to begin before then or reapply for permission.
Financial constraints, including FFP regulations and player sales, may delay the project, estimated to cost £150-200m or more.
Without improved finances, the project could be postponed indefinitely, with doubts about meeting the 2027 deadline.
EFL Analysis’ chief finance expert Adam Williams said: “The latest on the stadium expansion and redevelopment as far as I’m aware is that it’s not going to start until at least 2026. The club has got planning permission for Leicester City Council, which is valid until December 2027, so work would need to start before then unless they reapply for planning permission thereafter.
“It’s clearly a plan that has legs and is part of their wider masterplan to one day make a return on their investment, but the owners’ situation has changed since the process got underway. Their priority at the moment will be providing capital to cover day-to-day costs – wages and so on – as opposed to big capital expenditure projects like this.”
On if Leicester don’t delay stadium work, he added: “The scale of the project surely means they are looking at £150-200m-plus. I think that’s probably quite conservative, really. Man City’s recent redevelopment was £300m and Leeds are looking at around £200m. They are both of similar scale.
“It takes time to raise that kind of capital, and it doesn’t look like there has been any sort of progress made. Personally, I would be very surprised if there were shovels in the ground before that December 2027 cut-off. After that, they would have to have a re-think.”
WHAT LEICESTER ON THE STADIUM EXPANSION PLANS IN 2021:
Our ambition is to create a destination to enrich the life and vibrancy of the City’s sport, entertainment, living and working environments.
A vision for the future: To compete in the English game – the world’s most-watched sporting platform – requires a disciplined, sustainable and innovative business model that delivers an outstanding experience to LCFC fans all over the world.
Following the completion of our world class training centre, we are now turning our focus to the regeneration and development of the King Power Stadium site.
Our mixed-use masterplan includes:
– Expansion of the East Stand– Public realm and Fanzone– LCFC flagship fanstore– Club and commercial office space– 220-room hotel and business centre– Event and entertainment arena– Residential tower– Multi-storey car park and cycle hub
We’re transforming an iconic city landmark to bring further global recognition to Leicester.
King Power Stadium currently holds 32,261 seated fans and has operated at full capacity for league games since 2014.
Expanding King Power Stadium to a capacity of around 40,000 seats and improving the visitor experience with a better hospitality and food and drink offering will create an iconic Midlands destination with far-reaching benefits for the Leicester economy.
What does this mean for fans in the short term?
Every effort will be made to maintain stadium capacity throughout construction.
The Club will provide regular updates as the project progresses.
About the plans…
We are seeking full planning permission for our stadium expansion plans. Full planning permission includes all the detail required to commence construction.
Subject to receiving planning permission, the earliest possible completion date for the East Stand will be Summer 2024.
Our hybrid planning application seeks full planning permission for the stadium. All other buildings are being applied for in outline only.
An outline application establishes the principle of development and determines whether the nature, type and scale of development is acceptable. Further planning applications will follow to achieve approval for the specific details of those buildings.
The stadium expansion and wider masterplan are intrinsically linked, with interdependencies that will be vital to the long-term success of the project. As a result of this, plans are being submitted together as part of a single hybrid planning application.
Our public realm and Fanzone plans will introduce fully-accessible, high-quality public space and new landscaping across the King Power Stadium site.
The proposals will create a unique, social space for fans and visitors to the site, both on matchdays and throughout the year.
Public realm and fanzone
– Pop-up spaces suitable for food and beverage– Retail units– Craft and weekend market spaces– Outdoor entertainment and events area– Outdoor screens and viewing areas
The Avenue
The Avenue will provide an improved main arrival to the stadium from the east, enhancing connectivity and approach for both pedestrians and cyclists. The Avenue will include seating areas, a viewing area for the Raw Dykes Ancient Monument and new tree planting.
Enhanced food and beverage offer
An improved public food and beverage offering will enliven the development, increasing the appeal of visiting the King Power all year round for football supporters and other members of the public. These plans will help to create jobs and provide a top quality leisure destination for new and existing visitors and residents.
A new 6,000-capacity multi-purpose arena will fill an existing gap in the East Midlands market for a medium-sized event space capable of hosting a range of events including conferences, concerts, indoor sporting events and live performances.
We intend to link the arena to the new East Stand and hotel via footbridge.
The fanstore will be a prominent, stand-alone structure, providing a modern, experiential retail journey which immerses all visitors in the LCFC story.
We are currently considering the inclusion of a museum and interactive customer experiences within the fanstore.
A new 220-room landmark hotel and business centre is a key component in making a 365-day destination that attracts new spending to the area, creating jobs and allowing visitors to work, rest and relax onsite.
The residential tower will be a landmark high-rise building, which will include up to 234 units, across an anticipated.
20 storeys, supported by a range of communal and leisure facilities, as well as food and beverage and social areas.
The tenure type for the residential tower is currently under review and will be proposed as part of a future reserved matters planning application.
The South West Pavilion will deliver high-quality, Grade A office space and facilities, to attract professional services, businesses and investment, while helping retain more of Leicester’s graduate talent.
The offices will occupy a standalone location, with dedicated car parking.
The Pavilion will provide flexible office space for a variety of businesses and sectors, including start-ups, SMEs and the sports and entertainment industry.
A new 525-space, multi-storey car park and cycle hub will replace existing surface parking spaces on site.
Green travel remains a priority. The Club will continue to encourage visitors to use public transport and other sustainable travel modes wherever possible, taking advantage of the site’s proximity to the city centre to maximise rail and bus travel.
The new cycle hub will also provide secure cycle parking capacity, encouraging cycle use between the site and city via cycling routes.
Options for cladding and design will be explored with Leicester City Council at the detailed application stage and will complement the masterplan design development.
Once we’ve consulted the public, refined and finalised our plans, we will submit a hybrid planning application to Leicester City Council.
The hybrid application will seek full permission for the stadium expansion and outline (in principle) permission for the rest of the masterplan area.
A single hybrid application demonstrates the intrinsic relationship between the stadium expansion and wider masterplan for the King Power Stadium site.
The King Power Stadium site is already accessible by sustainable, non-car, modes of travel including a bus lane and dedicated cycle lanes on Aylestone Road. The Stadium is also less than a mile away from Leicester train station and the city centre transport hub.
LCFC is committed to sustainable travel that minimises impacts for the whole community. We are proposing a number of transport improvements as part of the hybrid planning application:
– A travel plan to encourage cycling, public transport use, car sharing and walking, as well as defining improvements to car park management.
– A 525-space multi-storey car park and cycle hub to replace existing surface parking spaces on site.
– Enhanced pedestrian and cycling connectivity through the site.
– Improvements to car park management.
The application will demonstrate how the proposals meet the environmental and sustainability policies and requirements of Leicester City Council.
Social & economic
In addition to around 1,000 jobs a year during construction, we anticipate the development will generate approximately 1,000 permanent jobs on-site, including additional matchday roles and further jobs linked to conferences, concerts, indoor sporting events and live performances.
The increase in matchgoing visitors alone will generate additional annual spending in Leicester of up to £10.5M, potentially rising to around £24M if even a quarter stayed overnight in the city. We estimate £190M of value will be added to the Leicestershire economy across the build period.
Heritage
The King Power Stadium site is adjacent to the Raw Dykes scheduled ancient monument. Our proposals include the creation of a new viewing area and interpretive information boards to allow the monument to be better appreciated and understood for years to come.
Environmental
An Environmental Statement will accompany the planning application, comprising an assessment of any significant environmental effects arising from the development. The application will demonstrate how the proposals meet the environmental and sustainability policies and requirements of Leicester City Council.
The Club has already made strong progress on environmental sustainability in recent years, particularly since the opening of our new training facility in Seagrave, where LED installations provide all onsite lighting (including floodlights) and electric transport solutions provide sustainable mobility across the 180-acre site. Several initiatives to significantly reduce single-use plastics have been in place across our sites for a number of years, while progress made during the pandemic with flexible working will enable us to reduce the number of personnel travelling to our sites on a daily basis moving forward.
Realising the King Power Stadium site masterplan will help LCFC continue progress already made on environmental sustainability.
Leicester City Football Club, The Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Foundation and Leicester City in the Community are among the most prominent, active and far-reaching forces for good throughout Leicester’s diverse communities.
Leading fundraising efforts in our communities, resulting in £8.5 million being raised for 151 causes since King Power acquired LCFC in 2010:
– The formation of the LCFC Foxes Foundation (since renamed after the Club’s late Chairman) to ensure long-term support for charitable causes in the city.
– £8.5 million raised to support 151 causes since King Power acquired LCFC in 2010
– A £2 million donation to the development of a specialist Children’s Hospital at Leicester Royal Infirmary.
– A £1 million donation to the University of Leicester to establish a Professorship in Children’s Health.
– Significant donations to Leicester Cathedral to support the historic reinternment of Richard III and the Cathedral’s continued renovation.
– The launch of the Gift of a Wish programme, providing more modest causes in the city and county with an opportunity to apply for financial support.
– Providing financial, operational and logistical support to Leicester Hospitals, Leicestershire Partnerships NHS Trust and Age UK Leicestershire and Rutland during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
– Using the power of football to improve standards in education, health and wellbeing and promote a sense of togetherness through Leicester City in the Community and its year-round programme of activity.
The Club and its charitable partners remain wholly committed to using our profile, visibility and influence to make a positive difference to our communities. We are proud to represent one of the most vibrant, diverse and passionate cities in the UK – a pride that drives our desire to showcase the best of Leicester to the world and bring world class events to Leicester.
