The stadium, which once hosted the FA Cup final, had fallen into disrepair for several years. The new Wembley has been home to English football’s most prestigious fixtures since 2007. Previously, Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium hosted this high-profile event from 2000 to 2006, and the original twin-tower Wembley Stadium hosted the event from 1923 to 2000.
However, the Crystal Palace National Sports Center in south London actually hosted the FA Cup final from 1895 to 1914, and opened in its final form in 1964, when it was converted into a purpose-built athletics venue. Boasting a capacity of 15,500 people and expandable to 24,000 with the addition of temporary seating, it has welcomed international athletic events and outdoor concerts by legendary artists such as Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen.
However, the arena was forced to close in November 2022 due to safety concerns. Although the concrete pillars supporting the floodlights were suggested to be structurally unsound, the venue looks to have a bright future.
After the closure, the running track was torn apart and the scoreboard and stands were in disarray. Crystal Palace Sports Partnership chairman John Powell told the Guardian in 2023: ‘At the moment there are rats on the indoor track and there’s pigeon droppings all over the place.
“There were trees growing out of the West Stand and there was a travesty of floodlights, which meant no one practiced there after dark now. London is the only European capital not to have its own athletics stadium.
“Crystal Palace is the most accessible athletics stadium in the country, so it’s an absolute joke that this is being allowed to happen.” Nevertheless, this situation appears to be changing.
The site is set for a major makeover as London Mayor Sadiq Khan invests millions of dollars into revitalizing the historic venue. The Mayor said: “I am delighted that the once-in-a-generation redevelopment of Crystal Palace National Sports Center has reached another important milestone with the submission of a planning application for its renovation.”
Proposals submitted to Bromley City Council feature a complete refurbishment of the listed structure. These are reportedly designed to improve accessibility, expand the gym and introduce a new padel centre, basketball court, five-a-side football pitch and a full-sized multi-sport pitch.
Richard Dobson, area director at Morgan Sindall in London, said the proposals showed “what a leisure center should look like: contemporary, sustainable, inclusive and community-centred, while paying homage to the venue’s inspiring heritage”.
He added: “This combination of drivers means the site not only returns to its original vision of a ‘glass pavilion in a park’ supporting the health and wellbeing of Londoners, but also lays the foundations for a center of excellence.”
