Why Crystal Palace staying at Selhurst is the right move for the club

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A Croydon Advertiser article, on why Palace should relocate from Selhurst Park to the Crystal Palace athletics stadium, recently sparked debate among the Eagles’ faithful. The divisive issue is one close to Palace fans’ hearts as they ask themselves: what is the best direction forward for the club and how can they balance the influence of modern football with the clubs’ roots and heritage?

The discussion was somewhat put to rest by a subsequent Croydon Advertiser article that stated that club chairman Steve Parish said in May that the intention was to expand Selhurst to a capacity of 40,000. The news could not be any brighter for Palace fans despite the fact that many were keen on moving to the Crystal Palace Athletics stadium.

Palace are playing in their golden days. An FA Cup final run, four consecutive seasons in the top-flight, four consecutive seasons without having to play at the Amex, and the signing of world class players such as Yohan Cabaye and Steve Mandanda demonstrates the club’s power and rise.

Selhurst has made a name for itself in the Premier League for the loud boisterous support and authentic atmosphere. Matches at Selhurst are as much orchestrated by the supporters as by the players. The stadium has a charming appeal because it is a relic of traditional English football.

Selhurst is nothing state-of-the-art. It doesn’t take you aback on first glance. Instead, its a stadium that gets its beauty from the experiences we as Palace fans have gotten from its less-than-perfect outside facade, its inconveniently placed poles in the Main stand, and its wonderfully inconsistent architecture. Selhurst Park charms because it isn’t perfect. Stadiums like St. Mary’s and the Emirates are all so plain and don’t produce the same match-day experience.

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In 2014, on average, both stadiums produced less noise on average than Selhurst Park. Both stadiums are significantly larger. It’s not just romance that provides the best argument for Palace to stay home; it’s practicality and finances.

Parish’s decision to seek a larger home was wise and responsible.

Building a new arena is expensive and despite growing income would mean the club would have to find new funds. In 2011, when the idea of moving away from Selhurst was first discussed, a new 40,000 seater stadium at the site of the Crystal Palace Athletics stadium was proposed. The project seems dead after resistance from the Bourough of Bromley and comments from Parish.

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Stadium investments carry risk. They carry even more risk than when it involves relocating and building a new stadium. Relocation would involves Palace financing construction while also upkeeping Selhurst during construction of the new ground. It would be likely that to cope with the expenses, the new stadium would be pricier for fans and see many supporters priced out.

With all the recent advancement, its easy to forget that we stumbled into this league. Unlike clubs such as Middlesbourough, Leicester City, and Watford who had promotion coming for several years after play-off snubs and missing automatic promotion by a hair, Palace unexpectedly hit form and then caught itself on the fall to hold on to a play off spot. The years before that fateful promotion campaign, Crystal Palace were battling relegation to League 1 and even the dire possibility of reduction to Semi-Professional status during the administration years.

For the first time in 25 years or so Palace have been stable. A move could put the financial stability that Steve Parish has been so cautious with in jeopardy. The costs of building a new stadium are big but the real problem is that while the club finance the construction they must finance themselves at Selhurst Park.

The unthinkable is what is most dangerous for Palace: relegation. A drop in income due to TV money would not be able to finance a wage bill that large. Moreover, attendance could likely drop as much as we’d like to deny it. Just look at Brighton. Their shiny new Amex stadium wouldn’t fill for their crunch clash in the play-off semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday.

If Palace were to get relegated, the club would have a larger wage bill than ever before and have to build a new stadium with less revenue than they had planned. Imagine being a parent a losing your job while trying to send your child to an expensive school while having a mortgage to pay.

This season the Eagles finished closer to relegation than the club would’ve liked. In 2014/2015, Neil Warnock had to be sacked to save Palace from the relegation dogfight. It’s a realer possibility than we’d like to believe.

Undeniably, Palace need a bigger home to match their ambitions; Selhurst Park allows the club to grow at a more comfortable pace, matching progress and financial responsibility. Palace can redevelop one stand at a time. The costs can be broken down. In the event of relegation or short funds, the club can stop expanding beyond the stand currently being worked on. That is something that cannot be done when building a new stadium; it’s all or nothing. The club can keep their character at Selhurst and modern football does not have to wash the club away into another arena that looks like every other.

Liverpool have adopted the venture of maintaining their home but keeping it up to speed with modern times. The current redevelopment of Anfield is upgrading the stadium’s capacity little by little and allowing the club to stay at home even during the renovations. It’s a similar procedure to the one undertaken by Wolverhampton Wanderers when they felt they were outgrowing Molineux.

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The club in 2015 proposed to Croydon council the possibility of building a new main stand behind the current one in order to expand capacity. Plans for stadium expansion could be released by the end of the summer period.

This is the best way forward. The club can play at the stadium that personifies the club and the people it plays for.

Redevelopment won’t be easy and many things have to be sorted. The club must buy the Sainsbury’s conveniently yet inconveniently built into the stadium. The supermarket chain has proved to be an obstacle in construction so Parish must negotiate a purchase of land or strike a deal.

Selhurst is a special place for the fans and the club and must stay that way. Palace can accomodate more fans and renew the stadium to match the clubs new status without jeopardizing all.

Redevelopment won’t be easy and many things have to be sorted. The club must buy the Sainsbury’s conveniently, yet inconveniently, built into the stadium. The supermarket chain has proved to be an obstacle in construction so Parish must negotiate a purchase of land or strike a deal.

Selhurst is a special place for the fans and the club and must stay that way. Palace can accomodate more fans and renew the stadium to match the clubs new status without jeopardising all.

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