Aerial view of Selhurst Park. Pic: Crystal Palace Football Club

In response to the speculation surrounding proposals to develop Crystal Palace’s stadium at Selhurst Park, Croydon Council have revealed they are already in talks with the club with ‘a major announcement’ due soon.

Palace Chairperson Steve Parish said last week that the club are hopeful of revealing their plans  before Christmas.

The council has now come out in support of the club’s renovation plans. A council spokesperson said: “Croydon Council is working with Crystal Palace Football Club and is supportive of its ambitions for Selhurst Park stadium. 

“Very early discussions have been held regarding the club’s proposals and the council awaits further information to allow an agreed way forward to be identified.”

Speaking at the Boxpark Christmas lights switch-on last Tuesday, Parish told the crowd of his ambitions for the Premier League side, stressing that he wants to retain the vibrant atmosphere for which the club has long been known.

Parish said: “We’ve been working very hard for a long time to try and get the right idea and we think we’ve now got it, so this side of Christmas there will be a major announcement.

“When I came into this thing, the aim was to bring something for all of us to be proud of on the pitch and very importantly off the pitch. We want to give everybody in Croydon a south London stadium that we can all be proud of and not lose our atmosphere and uniqueness.

“That’s a dream for me, a lifelong dream and one that hopefully everybody will share when they see what we’ve put together. It’s fantastically exciting times for us to look forward to.”

Selhurst Park currently has a maximum capacity of 25,456 and has been the club’s home since 1974. Since their promotion to the English top tier back in 2013, there has been a continued desire to refurbish the stadium, which is currently the 15th largest in the Premier League. 

In the past, Parish has discussed the possibility of expanding the ground’s capacity to 40,000.