Vitality Stadium Expansion Latest: Bournemouth's New Era Takes Shape

AFC Bournemouth's ambitious redevelopment of Vitality Stadium is progressing rapidly, with dramatic new aerial footage revealing the scale of transformation currently underway at Dean Court.

In a recent video on Back of the Net, drone activity revealed the "organised chaos" in and around the footprint of the stadium, with the first stages of work expected to be complete ready for the first game of the season - which will be matchweek 2 of the Premier League campaign.

After receiving the full planning approval for the major expansion project on May 22nd in a BCP Council meeting, work is now well underway on the redevelopment that will almost double the stadium's capacity from around 11,300 to 20,200 over the coming years.

The first phase will see two corners being in-filled, increasing the capacity to just over 12,000. This phase is also set to include some expansion and refurbishments of the Main (West) Stand, the establishment of an Outside Broadcast Facility, and the introduction of perimeter fencing and turnstiles.

To enable this, some of the prioritised work includes the service diversions, including utilities and supporting infrastructure, the pedestrian and cycle route diversions to maintain safe and compliant access.

The expansion of the main stand will see the filling in of some "dead" spaces either side of the main stand, behind the terraces. As such, the steel frame can be visible in the North West corner, to the left of the main scoreboard, which will house first floor offices, and two TV studios on the second floor.

The media facilities form part of the club's long-term ambitions to meet increasing UEFA and Premier League requirements.

At the other end, on the south side of the main stand, there will be increased hospitality for the Cherry Orchard and Top Floor restaurant in the extra space that is created.

The north-west and south-west corners of the stadium are the areas that will be seeing lots of action in the next two months, with the former currently much more advanced than the latter. Both areas have had their floodlights removed, and are being prepared for new corner infills, each expected to accommodate around 360 supporters. This means, that the iconic side panels - with photos of the teams successes, have been removed - readying itself for the two sides to be linked.

Given that only two corners will be filled ready for next season (or as close as possible), once completed, the additions will increase the stadium's capacity to approximately 12,000 in the short term.

The corner developments are particularly important following the relocation of 600 supporters from the Main Stand after the introduction of additional hospitality facilities. The extra seating will help restore general admission availability while providing a modest overall capacity increase.

Away from the seating expansion, substantial progress has also been made on the stadium's new outside broadcasting compound. Located adjacent to the ground, the facility will provide dedicated infrastructure for television broadcasters, media operations and matchday technology services, including direct connections for systems such as Hawkeye. Trenches with cabling can be seen which will supply the various utilities in to the area.

New pathways and access routes are also being constructed around the site, including the diversion of the existing cycle path that currently runs alongside the stadium - this part is nearly complete.

Preparatory work is also underway for a future fan zone development.

While the fan zone itself is not expected to be operational next season, groundwork has begun in the area in the south west area of the stadium. This project will eventually include a dedicated ticket office.

In places, the channels for the installation of the perimeter turnstiles can be seen - and once enabled, this will allow supporters to enter a wider stadium "campus" before accessing individual stands - allowing for potential meet ups at half time with friends and family in different stands.

After this phase is complete, the next step will be the replacement of the temporary Ted MacDougall Stand with a permanent 7,000-seat South Stand - the build of which will commence next season, with a permanent structure being assembled both behind and above the existing stand.

Plus, as well as the remaining corner in-fills, there will be height increases of around 5m to both the North and East Stands. These later phases will account for the majority of the additional capacity needed to reach the club's target of 20,200 seats.

Despite concerns raised by some local residents regarding the increased height of the expanded stands, planning permission was granted earlier this year, paving the way for work to continue.

The speed of progress has already impressed many supporters, with new steelwork, infrastructure and construction activity appearing almost daily across the site.

When complete, the redevelopment will provide Bournemouth with a modern stadium better suited to Premier League football and future European competition, while also helping the club address long-standing demand for tickets.

For now, however, Dean Court remains a busy construction zone, with cranes, excavators and building crews working against the clock to ensure the first phase of improvements is ready for the start of the new season.