Premier League club to demolish 101-year-old stand next month and transform stadium

Crystal Palace chief Steve Parish dropped a major update on the redevelopment of Selhurst Park during a live talkSPORT appearance.

The club’s co-owner and chairman confirmed that work to transform the stadium’s iconic main stand will finally begin in January 2026.

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The Eagles, who have played at their south London home since 1924, first eyed a revamp upon their Premier League promotion in 2013.

Palace considered moving away from the 25,486-capacity Selhurst Park, but instead announced expansion plans eight years ago.

A series of setbacks has beset the project since, with the cost said to have ‘ballooned’ to £150million from an initial £75-£100m estimate.

Selhurst Park expansion update

Parish has now confirmed on talkSPORT that construction to build a new 13,500-capacity Main Stand will finally begin in the new year.

During a live studio appearance on Sunday Edition in October, he said: “Fingers crossed they’ll [the fans] see some real physical progress in January.

“We’ve been a little bit delayed with things around buying the houses we’ve got to buy, and just some changes.

“We’ve actually changed a lot of the construction from all concrete, mainly concrete, to mainly steel.

“That’s been a bit of a sea change, but it saved us a significant sum of money. so it was worth doing that work.

“We’ve got a new company that are running the construction project. So it’s all systems go.”

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Crystal Palace main stand redevelopment

The club recently confirmed challenges to their expansion, which included rehousing nearby residents, have now been sorted.

Palace purchased six houses in Wooderson Close, five of which were council-owned properties, to demolish for the new Main Stand.

The FA Cup winners also needed to reach an agreement with Sainsbury’s over a patch of land in their car park in Whitehorse Lane.

However, their expansion plans were given a major boost when New York Jets co-owner Woody Johnson bought John Textor’s shares in Crystal Palace in June.

Parish added to talkSPORT: “Woody’s been brilliant. As a shareholder group, everybody’s completely aligned. This is something that has to happen for the football club.

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“When we went to Everton Stadium, which is amazing, hats off to them. They’ve done an amazing job. I thought that Goodison was a fantastic advantage for those guys. When you went and played, there was a real cauldron, a really difficult place to play.

“And I wouldn’t say [Hill Dickinson] it’s exactly as intimidating, but it’s pretty good for a big stadium. They’ve done a really good job.

“So, we need to do it. It’s an absolute must, and everybody now on the shareholder group is committed to doing it.

“So hopefully in January, there’s lots of things going on. Things are being moved, power stations, dressing rooms are being built.

“There’s a lot of things that maybe the fans can’t see, so it has been going forward.

“But the real physical things, things being demolished, etc., will start in January.”

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Did Crystal Palace ever think of moving?

“When I first arrived, we looked at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre,” Parish exclusively told talkSPORT.

Opened in 1964, the centre, which hosted 20 men’s FA Cup finals between 1895 and 1914, had become a sorry state of affairs over the years.

In May, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan showcased new images of the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre’s £130m regeneration.

Parish continued: “But as everybody knows, getting planning in this country is extremely difficult. And it’s not easy to do it where you are.

“But if you’re on an existing site and an existing stadium, there’s a lot less objections because people already come there 19 times a season, plus cup games, etc.

“So I think it’s easier to do it where we are. It would be a huge delay if we were to start looking somewhere else now.”