Pictures and a report from first public exhibition
The first public exhibition about a new stadium back in Wimbledon was very well attended today and revealed previously unseen images of what the Plough Lane site could look like after completion.
A computer-generated image above shows an aerial view of new Plough Lane and our gallery also features the stadium entrance to the facility.
In partnership with Galliard Homes, the exhibition at Lola Jones Hall, Tooting Leisure Centre, showed detailed proposals for this site. Club officials were on hand to answer questions about stadium plans, along with representatives of the planning and transport team for the project.
AFC Wimbledon Chief Executive Erik Samuelson said: “We’ve been going for over five hours now and I’m pleasantly surprised by how many people have been here. It’s been really well attended with a mix of fans and also local residents who want to know what’s going on, which has been interesting. It’s been good to explain about the project and perhaps correct any misapprehensions about the new stadium. That’s particularly important because we want everyone to support it. This is a big chance for people to come along and find out more about the new stadium.”
Dons fans of all ages attended the exhibition today, including some too young to have attended the old Plough Lane, which Wimbledon left over two decades ago.
Eighteen-year-old Chris Thorpe said: “I’ve seen pictures of the ground from years ago and watched old matches at Plough Lane, but it would mean the world for me to attend matches back at Wimbledon’s spiritual home. The Cherry Red Records Stadium has been good for us, but every club has to have ambitions to grow and aim for a bigger fan base.”
At the other end of the age spectrum, Andrew Fullard has attended Wimbledon matches since the late 1950s and was at Wembley in 1963 to watch the Dons win the FA Amateur Cup.
Andrew said: “It appears to be a very imaginative scheme. At the moment the area where the stadium would be is very shabby and run-down. The provision of housing in this project and a new stadium will regenerate the area. The stadium would be served by four local railway stations and the traffic would be no worse than for other football clubs in suburban areas around London.”
There are two more public exhibitions coming up, which will be staged tomorrow (Saturday) and Tuesday (see below for full address).
,which also provides additional information about the public exhibitions. http://www.redevelopingploughlane.co.uk/If you cannot attend on any of the below dates then it would be worth visiting
The dates, times and venue for each of the public consultations are as follows:
Lola Jones Hall, Tooting Leisure Centre, Greaves Place, SW17 0NE (Saturday 28 June 10.00 am until 2.00 pm)
Wimbledon Park Hall, 170 Arthur Road, SW19 8AQ (Tuesday, 1 July 12 noon until 4.00 pm).