It has taken more than half a decade, but the redevelopment of Selhurst Park finally looks to be set in stone. 

Crystal Palace’s 99-year-old home is in need of modernisation and the building of a new Main Stand is viewed by chairman Steve Parish as a vital part of making the club more financially sustainable.

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Planning permission was originally granted in April 2018, but the timetable has slipped for various reasons — to the point where some fans have wondered whether the redevelopment will ever actually happen. After all, it was supposed to be complete by now. 

But significant progress has been made since Palace re-engaged with the process after prompts from Croydon Council, with a new planning application approved in principle in October.

So what is the latest and how close are we to seeing work begin?

Wasn’t the new Main Stand supposed to be open by now? Why has it taken so long?

The intention was to have the redeveloped stadium open in time for the 2021-22 season.

Palace spent more than £1million ($1.24m) on getting this development to the planning stage and responded positively to prompts from the council previously after the process stalled. They submitted an amended planning application last year due to changes in the London Plan (which covers the development of London), and that was approved at the council’s planning committee in October.

The club decided to prioritise the easier and cheaper redevelopment of the academy, which cost around £20million to complete. This was considered more likely to pay back the investment quickly with the idea that players are promoted to the first team and potentially sold on for sizeable fees.

But there was also the problem of agreeing a deal with Sainsbury’s over a piece of land in the car park which would fall into the overall footprint of the new Main Stand. Along with that, the club needed to agree a deal with the council over the social housing in nearby Wooderson Close (more on that later) and to be assured they had the funding in place.

An agreement with Sainsbury’s has since been reached. While the possibility of the supermarket selling up entirely was discussed in the very early stages, that seems extremely unlikely with the store recently undergoing a refurbishment and any costs likely to be prohibitive and unnecessary.

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In the club’s latest set of accounts, Parish assured supporters that the club intends to push forward with the redevelopment, saying the club’s “attention is now fully focused on completing the development.” 

Those same accounts reveal the extent to which Palace are reliant on broadcasting income, making the stadium improvements an important step towards becoming more sustainable. Out of £160million total revenue, £126.5m was from broadcasting.

Of the remaining £33.5million, £11.5m was from gate receipts. That will increase with more general admission seating, but more important is the increase in commercial income that will be generated through improved corporate hospitality facilities.

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So is everything in place for the redevelopment to commence?

Not quite. Although all the signs point to this happening and there appears to be no reason for it not to go ahead, Palace have yet to sign off on the agreement which is required for planning permission to be fully granted.

This is Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act (S106), which relates to the funding of community improvements levied on developers for any major development, and is not unique to Palace. It is aimed at projects such as improving transport (including active travel) in the area and mitigating any negative impact of the redevelopment.

The planning application contains a separate agreement known as the ‘Wooderson Close agreement’ which supplements the S106 and relates to the parcel of land currently occupied by six properties: five social homes and one privately owned.

This agreement requires the club to provide 12 months’ notice to purchase the land, ensuring residents are rehoused before work begins. Approval is still required from the Mayor of London’s office, but this should be a formality.

Some preparatory work around the land owned by the club will be able to start before that 12 months is up, but any major work which requires the use of the Wooderson Close land will have to wait.

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The club and the council’s housing director appointed an independent director last summer to work with the residents, and there have been frequent visits and meetings with affected residents. There is a target date of September 30 for the relocation of those affected residents. That relocation has started with one family already moved. All other council tenants have viewed properties and have agreed and accepted other council homes.

Palace are providing funding for the refurbishment of properties to a high specification, and residents are happy with how the club have behaved, especially since the renewed planning application went in. Parish and other club officials met with residents in October before the 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

So we are nearly there, but it is not time for breaking ground just yet.

OK, so when will the new stand be ready?

Work is expected to take around two and a half years to complete and is likely to begin in earnest at the end of the 2023-24 season. The target date for work to commence is May 2024. The timeframe is expected to be approximately 27-30 months, with potential discussions to be held with the Premier League (or EFL should Palace be relegated before completion) over ensuring Palace play the closing games of the 2025-26 season and the opening games of the 2026-27 season away from home to allow for contingencies. Liverpool and West Ham have had similar requests accepted by the Premier League in recent seasons.

The current Main Stand will remain open for the entire process and there will be no loss of capacity. Initial conversations were held over adding a second tier to the Whitehorse Lane End, where the current executive boxes are situated, but those plans were never developed.

Exploratory work has already commenced in the car park at Selhurst to establish the ground conditions in order to prepare for the laying of the foundations for the new stand, with holes drilled down to 35 metres.

The original cost was £100million. What is it now and where is the money coming from?

Parish confirmed last July that the stadium redevelopment would cost in excess of the £100m originally estimated, and with inflation so high over the past year, further increases can be reasonably expected.

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The club plans to raise capital via loans from shareholders. In practice that means the four General Partners will put most of the money into the club, with those who hold a lower percentage of the shares unlikely to provide much of the funding.

Parish, the club’s highest-paid director, did not take the majority of a £1.7m bonus due to him and will loan a significant percentage to the club for the redevelopment of the stand.

Josh Harris’ recent purchase, through a consortium, of NFL side the Washington Commanders should not negatively affect the redevelopment. His wealth is significant and shareholders are likely to be asked to contribute an amount proportionate to their holdings.

Although Harris and fellow Palace co-owner David Blitzer have unsuccessfully considered buying other Premier League clubs — most notably Chelsea — that does not mean they will not provide the financial muscle required to redevelop Selhurst.

There should also be no reason to require the sale of any players to secure funding, although sales to raise money for incoming transfers is a distinct possibility.

If Palace get relegated, will the redevelopment still go ahead?

Yes. The new stand is considered to be a priority and the funding would be in place already. This is too far down the line to give up on now unless something truly extraordinary and/or unforeseen occurs.

If anything, a redeveloped Selhurst Park would provide more revenue for Palace in their attempt to bounce back to the Premier League in the event they did suffer relegation.

Are you certain the stadium redevelopment will happen?

All the signs point that way: the open discussion of it in the recent meeting with the Supporters’ Trust, the mention of its importance in the accounts, continued dialogue with the council and affected residents and the inclusion of the new design in marketing posts for business events. The club has also put contracts out to tender for companies to carry out the work.

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But, until work has actually commenced, it would be unwise to offer any cast iron guarantees. There is no reason, though, for Palace to have re-engaged in the planning process and gone to this much time, effort and expense to get everything in place for it to then not happen.

“It’s fantastic, it’s brilliant for the club." ❤️💙#CPFC

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) October 22, 2022

“We wish we had finished this by now. It’s almost turned into a second part of my life project. We’re a very long way down the line (with the replacement housing),” Parish told the council’s planning committee in October.

This is as close to certain as you can get without spades in the ground.

(Top photo: Crystal Palace FC)