Plymouth Argyle Chief Executive Andrew Parkinson has confirmed that the club hopes to have the redeveloped Mayflower Grandstand open in time for New Year’s Day 2020 at the latest, the day Argyle host Swindon Town at Home Park.
Speaking to Plymouth Live, Parkinson reiterated that the club are still hoping for the stand to be completed by the last quarter of 2019, as per the target previously stated by Jon Back. Argyle’s Chief Executive said that the club “are looking at the end of October for the construction to have been completed, there or thereabouts”.
The club will also have to host a series of successful test events prior to allowing fans to enter the redeveloped stand for a professional match. The work on the new Grandstand, which will have cost the club around £6.5 million in total, originally began in the summer of 2018.
As well as making money from match-day sales, the new Grandstand is also expected to generate considerable revenue from the club for business functions, with a banquet hall that can seat up to 440 diners or as many as 550 people if the space is used as a conference facility. The Sandy Park facilities ensure the Exeter Chiefs bring in significant income aside from their match-day revenue, and this is the model that Home Park and Argyle are trying to model.
As well as the stand redevelopment, the Green Taverners have been overseeing the building of the two-storey supporters bar in the corner of the ground between the Mayflower and Barn Park stands. Although this is nearing completion, it will not be ready for Argyle’s first home game of the season against Colchester United on Saturday, with Parkinson confirming that the club are “hopeful it’s going to be ready for the match against Salford on Tuesday 20th August.