Premier League side Fulham will spend two seasons "with just three sides of Craven Cottage open" during the £100M ($125.2M) redevelopment of the Riverside Stand, according to Giuseppe Muro of the London EVENING STANDARD. Work on the new stand "is scheduled to start at the end of this season and Fulham will be forced to have a reduced capacity until it is finished." The plans will see the existing stand demolished and "replaced by a new two-tier structure" to increase the capacity of Craven Cottage to around 30,000. Fulham estimates the project will take two years to complete, during which time Riverside Stand will be closed. The Riverside Stand currently has 4,689 seats, "so from next season the full capacity of Craven Cottage will be reduced to around 20,000" until the new stand opens in '21-22. Fulham named Buckingham Group Contracting the lead contractor for the project (EVENING STANDARD, 12/11).
FORMAL SUBMISSION: RTÉ reported Pro14 side Connacht Rugby "formally submitted a planning application" to Galway City Council for the redevelopment of the Sportsground Stadium. The planning application comes after a "detailed design process and extensive public consultation carried out in conjunction with technical advisers." The submission coincides with the official launch of the Government's Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund which opened last week. The Sportsground redevelopment will cost in the region of €30M ($34M) and the allocation of public funds is needed for the project to go ahead (RTÉ, 12/11).
