Croydon Council first granted the club planning permission in principle to overhaul the Main Stand seven years ago this Saturday (April 19).
Yet, despite early groundwork starting last summer, the main construction has yet to begin.
Originally due for completion by 2021, the scheme has been plagued by rising costs, planning hurdles and funding uncertainty.
Recent reports by Bloomberg and The Athletic revealed that the project, once expected to cost £100m, is now likely to exceed £200m.
Sources close to the project say inflation in building material prices and complicated funding talks are to blame.
While Palace’s Chairman Steve Parish hoped to avoid taking on full debt by mixing loans with shareholder cash, ongoing uncertainty around US investor John Textor’s stake has added more delays.
Despite the club’s insistence that the project is still alive and that talks between shareholders are ongoing, fans are growing frustrated.
With little visible progress, many now question whether the expansion will ever happen.
After the reports were published, X, user James wrote: “It would be cheaper and better to find some land and build a new stadium. This is just ridiculous, all the delays.” Another fan, Michael Tulley, added: “The old stand will have fallen down by itself before anything starts happening.”
Last summer, Palace moved its temporary offices behind the Whitehorse Lane executive boxes and spent £1m on water tanks to drain a flooded basement on the Holmesdale Road stand—but major works have yet to take place.
The project aims to boost the stadium’s capacity from 25,486 to over 34,000 and bring other long-awaited improvements to the ground.
Land has already been purchased from the neighbouring Sainsbury’s, and the club plans to knock down nearby council flats on Wooderson Close to make space.
However, the following saga between the club, the council, and Wooderson Close residents delayed the project even more.
While the club and local authority were eventually able to rehouse all of the council tenants, the club cannot proceed with demolition until it has reached an agreement with the last privately owned house on the close.
The club must also find land elsewhere in the borough to build replacement homes, as required by planning rules.
Alongside the land issue, questions about the project’s design and how it will affect the rest of the ground are also being asked. The original plan was to build around the Main Stand before knocking the 100-year-old original down.
However, according to The Athletic, a new option being considered is to fully demolish the stand first and rebuild from scratch.
While this could speed up the project, it would temporarily slash stadium capacity and cut match-day income from the 6,000 fans currently seated there.
If the club opts to demolish the Main Stand first, a smaller temporary seating area could be added. However, finding a new space for its profitable match-day hospitality and displaced season ticket holders would pose a significant challenge.
While the club has yet to comment on the project’s current status, it says it remains committed to the plans.
