Stoke City tease exciting stadium changes could come in 2027 | OneFootball

Stoke City have outlined their plans to improve the matchday going experience for supporters at the Bet365 Stadium

Stoke City’s promotion push has suffered a major setback in recent weeks with a dip in form.

The Potters were in contention for a top six finish, and maybe even a place in the automatic promotion places, in the opening months of the campaign.

However, Mark Robins’ side have fallen into the bottom half of the Championship, having won just one of their last nine league fixtures.

Stoke have not been in the top flight since 2018, and have not even finished inside the top half of the second division standings in the years since, let alone the play-offs.

Robins took charge midway through last season, and he oversaw an 18th place finish, avoiding relegation by just two points.

Relegation isn’t nearly as big of a concern this year, but their hopes of a play-off place have diminished, with the gap to Wrexham in sixth now 10 points.

Stoke City considering Bet365 Stadium upgrades

Stoke are exploring the possibility of buying more land around the Bet365 Stadium in a bid to upgrade their facilities and improve the match-going experience.

Vice-chairman Richard Smith has opened up on their plans, with their sights set on improving the experience for the supporters.

He’s revealed that the club are still in the planning phase, which could take a few months, but that he is hopeful work will begin by the end of the year.

“We have also started the next project, in the planning phase, at the stadium,” said Smith, via the Stoke Sentinel.

“We will be busy planning and designing those over the next few months and then looking to implement them, with any luck, towards the end of this year if not next year.

“Things come in cycles as well.

“There are projects that I did in 2009 or 2010 which were great when we first did them but now need doing again.”

Smith believes that football has changed, and that upgrading the concourse facilities could lead to an improvement for fans who go to games every week, with plans still only in the early phases.

“Times change as well. For example, when the stadium was first built we had 50 executive boxes but football isn’t like that anymore,” he added.

“People want to be in a more social environment, a bit different environment.

“They don’t want to be coming to a football match suited and booted necessarily.

“There is a place for that but it’s not everybody’s thing and, for want of a better expression, the designer jeans brigade want a different thing.

“Some of the projects we will be looking at will be to try to fix that issue.

“But I think the most significant project that we’ll be doing over the next couple of years will be to try to improve the concourse facilities so that fans have a better experience.

“The fan zone has been a great success, Ricardo’s has been a great success and now it’s about the next stage of that metamorphosis at the stadium.”

Stoke recently concluded work on a new £10 million training facility, with the first team now working at Clayton Wood.

The Potters have expanded their facilities due to an increase in demand for pitches caused by the expansion of their academy system.

Meanwhile, Robins’ side have fallen to 14th in the Championship table, 10 points behind the play-off places with only 11 fixtures remaining.

The club have struggled for results in recent weeks, having won just one game in the league since they started 2026 with back-to-back victories over Hull City and Norwich City.

However, the gap to the relegation zone is 13 points, meaning the team should be safe from the drop for another season.

Next up for Stoke is a trip to face 16th place Swansea City on 7 March in a 3pm kick-off.

Investment in stadium infrastructure is a positive step for Stoke

Stoke’s home stadium can hold a capacity of around 30,000, and upgrading the concourse facilities won’t improve that.

However, making the matchday going experience better for the average supporter is a worthwhile endeavour, and it is a positive sign from the club that they are planning that investment.

Improving the team’s training facilities is also a step in the right direction, and should be a welcome sight for supporters.

While results on the pitch have underwhelmed in recent years, the Potters have shown a commitment to investing in the improvement of the club regardless.