Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish insists the long-awaited redevelopment of Selhurst Park is on track, despite admitting that the project has taken far longer than expected.
Palace first revealed plans to expand their stadium nine years ago. The redevelopment was initially expected to cost between £75 million and £100m.
However, inflation and a series of delays have pushed the price well beyond those early estimates, with the latest figure now above £200m.
Palace, who have called Selhurst Park home since 1924, began the latest stage of the project this summer by demolishing six houses on Wooderson Close.
They did so during the closed season to avoid further delays, although construction on the main redevelopment hasn’t started.
Parish said rising material costs are one of the biggest challenges facing the project.
The club is now reviewing some of the materials planned for the stadium’s exterior and considering minor design changes to reduce the overall cost.
“The material cost is the big issue,” Parish told The Athletic.
“There’s been such inflation, so we’re just reviewing materials that we’re using on the facade and maybe some slight design changes, just to see if we can value-engineer the cost down slightly.
“We have a new project management company that we are hopeful will start soon. It will get done. We’re absolutely committed to it.
“It’s essential. We started demolition and enabling works because we couldn’t do any of that outside of the closed season.
“We were a bit in front when we did it; otherwise, it would have meant a year before we could have started anything.
“We’re putting a fan zone back temporarily. It won’t be quite the same, but at least it’ll be a place where fans can congregate. The new hospitality is sensational – probably better than we had.”
Funding is still another important issue as Palace haven’t fully secured the money for redevelopment.
However, Parish also said the club is exploring different financing options and expects the necessary funding to be put in place.
The delay has partly been influenced by the club’s decision to prioritise spending on the first team, while inflation has made the stadium project increasingly expensive.
