Stoke City £1.5m fan zone plans get nod

Article posted by Coliseum, May 27^th, 2024

Image: Stoke City FC

A new £1.5m fan zone for the English Football League (EFL) Championship team Stoke City F.C. home ground – the bet365 Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England (UK) – has been approved.

‘BBC’ stated that food, drink and entertainment will be available before Stoke City matches with a stage and 31ft (9.6m) video screen part of the plans.

Preston (UK)-based the English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world and was the top-level football league in England from its foundation until 1992 when the top 22 clubs split from it to form the Premier League, the highest level of the English football league system. The Football League was rebranded as the ‘English Football League’ (EFL) from the 2016-2017 seasons.

The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship in England and for sponsorship purposes as the Sky Bet Championship, is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the English football league system, after the Premier League, and is currently contested by 24 clubs.

The Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England (UK). The team competes in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.

The bet365 Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England (UK) and the home of the EFL Championship club Stoke City. It has a capacity of 30,089 following the completion of expansion works in 2017.

‘BBC’ further stated that the Stoke-on-Trent City Council approved the planning application for the zone, which will hold 1,550 people and will be built on a section of the car park at the North East corner of the stadium, close to the Ricardo’s bar.

The Stoke-on-Trent City Council is the local authority of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England (UK). As a unitary authority, it has the combined powers of a County Council and the District Council and is administratively separate from the rest of Staffordshire.

Thirty car parking spaces will be lost in the development but the club said the disabled bays would be relocated elsewhere.

The City planners said the proposals were “considered to be acceptable subject to conditions required to protect amenity within the area with regard to the control over hours and nature of use along with the finished appearance of the various structures.”

The use of the fan zone will be limited to between 09:00 and 23:00 to prevent noise nuisance to the residents.

According to the planning application, on matchdays it would be in use from three hours before kickoff.

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