World’s first timber football stadium moves step closer to reality
Forest Green Rovers' plans to build the world's first entirely wooden stadium have moved a step closer to becoming a reality, after getting the nod from the English Football League (EFL).
The EFL approval means the League Two club can now advance their plans for the 5,000-seater Eco Park stadium.
The new ground has been designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and will be capable of housing 5,000 fans in a state-of-the-art wooden stadium close to Junction 12 of the M5 near Stonehouse and Stroud.
The application also includes landscaped parking and two pitches, a 4G playing surface with access for the local community. The pitches will be organic and free of pesticides, fertiliser and chemicals with the grass tended by an electric lawnmower powered by solar energy.
The stadium itself will be 159m long, 144m wide and 19.5m in height.
The club was granted planning permission from Stroud District Council for the new ground in December 2019, after a previous application was rejected in June 2019.
The proposals were first tabled in 2017 as part of a wider "Gateway to Stroud" scheme by green electricity company Ecotricity.
The Gateway to Stroud scheme consists of a green technology business park with sustainably built commercial offices and light industrial units, alongside the new 5,000 seater stadium for Forest Green Rovers. New training pitches and a sports science hub will also be built adjacent to the stadium.
Ecotricity claims that by using timber a significant carbon saving could be made.
"Unlike most buildings, around three quarters of the lifetime carbon impact of any stadium comes from its building materials, while the opposite is true for residential and business buildings, where three quarters of the lifetime carbon impact come from the operation of the building," a company spokesperson said.
"The importance of using ethically sourced wood, is not only that it's a naturally occurring renewable material, but that it has very low embodied carbon compared to alternatives such as concrete and steel. So the stadium will have the lowest embodied carbon of any sports stadium in the world."
They launched a second bid in December the same year which for was approved by six votes to four.
