Ipswich Town unveils plans to expand West Stand at Portman Road

Ipswich Town has submitted plans to make improvements to the West Stand at its Portman Road stadium.

The club, which was recently promoted to the Premier League, has applied for planning permission to Ipswich Borough Council to expand the concourse at ground level.

The plans detail relocation of kiosks, refurbishment of the fanzone, removal of portacabins and demolition of outbuildings.

Car parking provision would also be increased and a new gate erected on the northern boundary. A digital display board would also be added along with associated landscaping and works.

Portman Road has been the home ground of Ipswich Town Football Club since 1884.

Alongside club football the stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one senior England friendly international match, against Croatia in 2003.

It has staged several other events, including boxing, international hockey matches and music concerts.

The 2026 SVB LIVE Conference & Exhibition – focused on elevating the live experience – is being hosted at Everton FC’s spectacular new Hill Dickinson Stadium on October 1st and 2nd, with an Opening Night Icebreaker at Liverpool FC’s iconic Anfield Stadium on September 30th.

The West Stand is the largest stand in the stadium, consisting of three tiers and hosting a capacity of approximately 8,700 spectators, including a provision for 39 wheelchair spectators in the lower tier.

The plans lodged with Ipswich Council highlight how the stand has gone through a number of phased changes throughout the years.

In the late 1990’s phased works were carried out to infill and fit out the stand with a localised circulation core, together with internal office/hospitality/executive suites completed as part of two phases.

In 2024, additional work to provide new hospitality suites was completed, the dugouts were remodelled and the media gantry was moved and redeveloped to meet Premier League requirements for the 2024/25 season.

The West Stand backs onto the community pitch and FanZone. As existing, this face of the stand is not publicly accessible on match days.

The works would give improved access to the West Stand, utilising automated turnstiles to align with other recently developed stadium access, such as in the South Stand.

Office, Archive and Medical areas would be relocated to the south of the stand. WCs would be rationalised to create a larger concourse, while turnstiles would be moved to new West Stand threshold with new bars/kiosks either side.

Plans also outline a reconfiguration of turnstiles designed to reduce pedestrian congestion on surrounding streets, including Sir Alf Ramsey Way, which is closed to traffic on matchdays.

There is also an intention to allow more community use of the Fanzone, including non‑matchday events.

The application will now be considered by the council as part of its standard planning process, with a decision expected at a later date.

Work is already underway in the West Stand on other improvements, which will see the area for disabled supporters (Block DA) in the lower tier move from its current position at the Sir Alf Ramsey South Stand end to a section of what is currently Block JJ, close to the Sir Bobby Robson North Stand. Block DA will, in turn, be replaced by seating.

Safe standing is being introduced across the lower tier of the Sir Bobby Robson North Stand, increasing the capacity of the area.

As part of the work to facilitate the installation of the safe standing area, seating for disabled supporters will be introduced across the very front of the stand. This will result in a small number of necessary seat moves for existing season ticket holders.

Image credit: Hoopers Architects

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