Ipswich Town Portman Road community-focused West Stand upgrade

Image: Hoopers Architects

The newly promoted Premier League team Ipswich Town Football Club has submitted plans to make improvements to the West Stand at their home field – the Portman Road Stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England (UK). The improvisations will be made keeping the community’s interest largely in mind.

‘BBC’ stated that the application documents lodged with the Ipswich Borough Council propose an expansion of the concourse at the ground level.

The application will now be considered by the Council as part of its standard planning process with a decision expected at a later date.
 

Community-focused

There is also an intention to allow more community use of the fan zone including non‑matchday events.

The fans would be able to enter the fan zone directly from Sir Alf Ramsey Way and Constantine Road without needing a match ticket creating what the club describes as a more flexible and community-focused space outside the stadium.

The club said the project would improve safety, accessibility and supporter comfort while also helping the fan zone evolve into a year-round community events space.

The Ipswich Town F.C. is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England (UK). The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.

The 30,000-seat Portman Road Stadium is a football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England (UK) which has been the home ground of the Ipswich Town Football Club since 1884.
 

West Stand

Beyond the stand itself the proposal also includes a refurbishment of the fan zone, the automated turnstiles, an increase in the car parking spaces, and the relocation of the kiosks.

In the documents the club said, “The proposal submitted represents a progressive development for the Ipswich Town Football Club.”

‘BBC’ further stated that the West Stand is Portman Road’s largest and holds 8,700 people.

In recent decades it has been redeveloped in phases including upgrades made ahead of the 2024-2025 Premier League seasons.

At the Southern end of the West Stand the office, archive and medical areas would all be relocated to create a larger concourse.

The expanded concourse would feature dual-serving kiosks capable of operating both inside the stadium and externally into the fan zone during concerts, screenings and community events.
 

Stadium Capacity Increase

The Ipswich Town Chairman and Chief Executive Mark Ashton said in 2024 that he was considering the long-term feasibility of increasing the capacity of the stadium including the West Stand.

The documents state that the current proposed changes will make a “more comfortable and safe experience on matchday”.

Earlier this month, the Ipswich Town sealed an immediate return to the Premier League finishing second in the Championship.

Plans also outline a reconfiguration of the turnstiles designed to reduce the pedestrian congestion on the surrounding streets including the Sir Alf Ramsey Way which is closed to traffic on matchdays.
 

Turnstiles

Under the plans turnstiles 42 to 47 would be removed entirely while turnstiles 48 to 58 would remain in place but become inactive on matchdays with supporters instead entering the stadium through 16 new automated turnstiles positioned along the back of the expanded West Stand concourse.

Plans also include a major increase in the concourse space beneath the West Stand with the area almost doubling in size from 864 square meters to 1,759 square meters.

The club says the redesigned arrangement would help ease pressure on the surrounding streets by moving the queues away from Sir Alf Ramsey Way and further into the stadium site itself.
 

Additional Facilities

The additional facilities would include new food and drink kiosks, bars, toilets, a multifaith room, a changing places facility, improved accessible access, and upgraded hospitality entrances.

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• Improvements
• Ipswich Town
• Portman Road

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