Stoke City moved to the Bet365 Stadium in 1997, and to the club’s credit, they have continuously ensured that the ground is modern and cared for instead of letting it grow old and behind the times.
When the club first moved from the Victoria Ground to the new stadium, the capacity was 27,500, but that has since gone up to over 30,000, while the facilities inside and outside the ground have also been upgraded over the years.
While another Bet365 Stadium expansion is unlikely at present, the club are in the midst of major renovation work that will modernise the ground further. Here is the latest.
Stoke City Bet365 Stadium expansion: Latest updates
May 2025: Work on brand-new training facility continues
One of the renovation projects that gained traction at the Bet365 Stadium during the ground’s overhaul was the construction of a brand-new state-of-the-art training facility for the first team. In March 2025, the club confirmed that work on this structure was ongoing.
A statement read: “Creation of the new state of the art pavilion, scheduled for completion in December [2025], is the first phase of a £12 million project at the Potters’ training ground.
“The second phase of the development will follow and will be a refurbishment of the existing building which will exclusively serve the Club’s Category One Academy and women’s team. Work is already underway on developing the brief and design for this project.
“The new facility will increase the scale and quality of the performance, recovery, rehabilitation, gymnasium, nutrition and sports science facilities available to Potters’ players.”
It was also explained that this project, once completed, is expected to take the club’s total investment in training facilities to £25 million since the Potters purchased their Clayton Wood training complex in 2009.
While an exact completion date is unknown, it is another demonstration of Stoke City moving in the right direction.
Stoke City Bet365 Stadium expansion plans
In 2022, the club began a £20m five-year refurbishment project at the Bet365 Stadium. As part of the project, the club promised to:
- A transformation of Delilah’s Bar with the installation of large-screen TVs, an enhanced bar and an upgraded kitchen.
- The installation of 8,400 new seats in the Franklyn Stand.
- Upgraded floodlights
- Upgraded concourses in the Tile Mountain Stand and South Stand with new toilet facilities.
- Refurbished facilities in the West Stand.
- Converting the Chairman’s Suite and Boardroom into one prestigious room.
- New hospitality packages for guests on matchdays and non-matchdays.
- A regenerated Players’ Lounge.
The club have been busy over the past two years on several of these projects. Delilah’s Bar has now been renovated and is now known as ‘Ricardo’s’ in honour of Stoke Legend, Ricardo Fuller. Meanwhile, the floodlighting upgrade was completed ahead of the 23/24 season which now allows the club to put on light shows before night matches.
Ahead of the 2024/25 season, the club moved the away end to try and enhance the atmosphere inside the stadium. The Caldwell Construction Stand is now almost entirely for home supporters with away fans moved to the south-east corner. Safe standing has been installed in the upper section of the Caldwell Construction Stand and the new away end.
Previous Bet365 Stadium expansion
The ongoing work at the Bet365 stadium is the biggest project to take place at the club since the south-east corner was filled in during the summer of 2017. As part of the project, more than 3,000 seats were added to the corner, while two big screens and a matchday media centre were also installed.
The story of how the south-east corner expansion project came to fruition is quite ironic, as the club delayed doing it for as long as possible until they felt secure in their Premier League status. Then, the season after the work was completed, they were relegated to the Championship.
