The Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) has submitted plans to build a brand-new 8,000 seat national stadium on the site of the current Victoria Stadium, it has been revealed.
Having recently taken over the Victoria Stadium complex in a £10m (US$13.2m) deal, the GFA has released its modernization proposals, which would allow the venue to be a Category IV stadium and therefore meet all FIFA and UEFA requirements to host international matches on both club and national level.
The GFA revealed it will be working with ANS and Dutch consultancy firm The Stadium Consultancy to create the new national stadium, which will be a major improvement on the current Victoria Stadium, which can only host 2,000 spectators.
With two alternative sites having dropped out, the new site will be built next to the runway of Gibraltar Airport. The new design will feature stands on all four sides as well as an international standard Futsal hall, plus 53,800ft² of leisure and sports facilities, training pitches and public space.
In addition, it was said the new Gibraltar National Stadium will be created in close collaboration with the Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFE) to enable greater accessibility with over 80 wheelchair spaces, an equal number of spaces for wheelchair companions, easy access seats, and a sensory room to cater for persons with autism.
“The concept is for a fully accessible stadium, in which the matchday experience is the same for every person attending an event – a stadium for all the community,” said a statement released by the GFA.
The statement further said, “The GFA is delighted to announce it is today submitting to the Development & Planning Commission, for the purposes of public consultation, a project to construct a new National Stadium for Gibraltar on the site of the current Victoria Stadium.
“The GFA has worked intensively over the past year with our Gibraltar-based project managers ANS and The Stadium Consultancy based in the Netherlands to develop a concept and design which we trust will be a source of great national pride for the whole Gibraltarian community, regardless of whether they are football fans or not.”
With plans submitted to the Development and Planning Commission, the outline for planning permission is expected in September. Should there be no issues, the GFA has said it intends to begin construction of the new stadium during the first quarter of 2019 and for it to be ready by 2021. The project will be phased to allow soccer matches to be played at the venue throughout the entire construction period.
June 27, 2018
