GFA submits plans for modern National Stadium

The GFA has today submitted to the Development and Planning Commission, for the purposes of public consultation, a project to construct a new National Stadium for Gibraltar of the current Victoria Stadium.

Just months after having paid the first £10 millions of instalments, after agreeing to take over the present Victoria Stadium complex, the Gibraltar Football Association have presented the first public images of their proposals for a major modernisation refurbishment project. The proposals are intended to bring the stadium in line with UEFA/FIFA requirements as a category IV stadium which would allow all international and European competitive matches to be played in Gibraltar once completed.

Working with ANS and Dutch consultancy firm The Stadium Consultancy, along with close co-operation with the Centre for Access to Football in Europe" a new 8,000 seater stadium with stands on all four sides has been tabled.

In a statement made on launching the project before the public a GFA spokesperson said "The GFA has worked intensively over the past year with our Gibraltar-based project managers ANS and The Stadium Consultancy based in the Netherlands to develop a concept and design which we trust will be a source of great national pride for the whole Gibraltarian community, regardless of whether they are football fans or not.

The new stadium will meet all of UEFA category IV regulations including capacity, which will be set at 8,000 seats."

"Moreover the GFA is especially pleased to be working in close cooperation with the Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFÉ) in order to deliver a model stadium on accessibility, with over 80 wheelchair spaces, an equal number of spaces for wheelchair companions, easy access seats and a sensory room to cater for persons with autism. The concept is for a fully accessible stadium, in which the matchday experience is the same for every person attending an event - a stadium for all the community."

"Following the conclusion of the public consultation period, the GFA expects to go before the Development and Planning Commission for outline planning permission in September. All being well, construction of the new stadium is expected to start during the first quarter of 2019 and will take two years to complete. The project will be phased in such a way to ensure that football will continue to be played at the facility right through the construction period, with minimum disruption envisaged."

"The GFA hopes the new project will enjoy the support of the community at large and is confident that it will deliver, by 2021, a national stadium of which every Gibraltarian can be proud."