By Ethan Davies

Stockport County could play in front of 18,000 people after it unveiled plans to expand its home.

More details have been shared on the bid to grow Edgeley Park, where County have played since 1903. The club are currently flying high in League Two, but can only host 10,852 fans on matchdays.

That will all change if the proposals are liked by fans and approved by the council — club officials say the proposals will 'create a true community stadium'. Other ambitions for renovation include improving the matchday experience with more covered seats and better food and drink options, making access improvements for disabled fans, and building 'quick and easy routes into and away from Edgeley Park'.

"We know just how much the ground means to the fans and local community; it has been at the beating heart of Stockport for over 120 years," said Ken Knott, non-executive chair, on announcing a consultation on the project.

"Ultimately, we want to ensure that the stadium matches our level of ambition so it can continue to provide a first-rate home for the club and the local community for many years to come."

Edgeley Park's capacity at current is around 10,000 (Image - Alasdair Perry)

Mr Knott added: "This is a very exciting time for the club as we continue to go from strength to strength, both on and off the field. We have outlined our ambition to reach the Championship, and we have already taken great strides towards reaching this goal over the past two seasons.

"Ultimately, we believe that the expansion and enhancement of Edgeley Park is crucial in order to support the continued growth of the club and provide a platform for further success."

Further details on how the stadium would change have also been shared. Bosses hope to start with 'expansion and enhancement' of the historic Danny Bergara Stand — which would see its historic brick frontage repaired along Hardcastle Road — and the Railway End. 

The expanded North Stand would provide around 600 additional seats, increasing the capacity of this stand to around 2,680, while the new East Stand would see its capacity increase from 1,366 up to around 4,500. 

(Image - Alasdair Perry)

After that, it's thought Together Stand would be redeveloped to increase its capacity to around 5,500, plus bring in new food, beverage, and hospitality facilities. The final element would be a western extension to the North Stand, providing another 600 seats. 

The club says it will submit a planning application on the expansion in the coming months informed by its consultation, and start work in early 2025.

The consultation is open until Wednesday, April 3. As part of the process, several public drop-in sessions are taking place at the stadium on the following dates:  

• Tuesday 19 March 2023, 3pm – 7pm 
• Saturday 23 March 2024, 2:30pm – 5pm (matchday event)
• Monday 25 March 2024, 11am – 3pm

 To view more information on the plans, please visit the club's website.

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