AFC Wimbledon Aims To Have New Stadium Ready By '19-20

Artist's rendering of AFC Wimbledon's new stadium.afc wimbledon

League One side AFC Wimbledon aims to have its new stadium at Plough Lane ready for the beginning of the '19-20 season, according to the BBC. The club set a move-in date after demolition work began at the site to "clear Wimbledon's greyhound stadium." The club, which has played at Kingsmeadow since '02, will build a 9,000-10,000 capacity stadium, "which could later be expanded to hold 20,000." AFC Wimbledon CEO Eric Samuelson said, "The time it will take is variable. It will take what it takes because there's asbestos in the roof [of the greyhound stadium] and it'll slow things down, but we expect we'll start building in the autumn." The original Wimbledon FC was forced to leave Plough Lane in '91 following the publication of the Taylor Report in the wake of the '89 Hillsborough disaster, "which recommended that top-flight sides should play in all-seater stadiums" (BBC, 3/16).