A fresh date has been set for a decision on Leicester City’s plans to extend the King Power Stadium.
The club’s Thai owners want to raise capacity at the stadium by 8,300 seats to more than 40,000, and add a 6,000-capacity indoor entertainment arena, a 220-room hotel, a 20-storey residential block, a new flagship club shop, and a multi-storey car park.
After months of discussions a formal planning application was submitted last October, but three target planning dates passed with no decision made.
The club and Leicester City Council put the delays down to the complexity of the plans.
However it has now been confirmed that a decision should come at a council planning meeting three weeks from now on Wednesday, September 14.
The delays, plus the lack of transfer activity at the club amid tighter finances, had brought concerns among fans that the stadium plans may be put on hold, or even scrapped.
But it is understood the club have never wavered in their commitment to the project, and were happy to be patient with the city council as they looked over the plans.
Earlier this month a city council spokeswoman said: “This is a complex major redevelopment scheme as well as a stadium capacity expansion. As such we have been working with the club and their advisors to get the application into a position to present to the planning committee with a recommendation for approval.
“We are in regular contact with the club and are in the final stages of negotiations with them.”
If given the green light next month, City’s earliest expected completion date for the new East Stand of summer 2024 may still be feasible if work starts soon after.
Liverpool’s new Main Stand at Anfield, which opened in September 2016, took 21 months to complete from when work first began. It is a similar size to the expansion city have planned.
It is expected that the new East Stand will be built behind the existing structure so as not to affect attendances while the season is ongoing. Then, during the summer months, the current stand will be knocked through, allowing the new stand to be connected with the rest of the stadium.
City have already been given permission by the city council for preliminary works around the site, which include the demolition of the National Grid building at the back of the East Stand, but no work has yet taken place.
