Derby County: Will Pride Park's capacity be increased? | OneFootball

FLW takes a look at whether Pride Park will be expanded in the coming years as the club continues to rise four years after administration.

Derby County's attendances at Pride Park this season have once again been extremely impressive, and few other clubs in the division are consistently seeing as many supporters through the gates as the Rams have in 2025/26.

Despite finishing just above the relegation zone last time out, only Sunderland and Leeds United had a higher average attendance than the East Midlands outfit last season, with both clubs having significantly larger stadium capacities, while they were also both fighting for promotion.

This season, John Eustace's side are once again finding themselves incredibly well-backed, with only four other clubs having a higher average attendance. Three of those sides include the three relegated clubs, while Coventry City top both the attendance and league table.

However, with Derby once again towards the top end of average attendances in the Championship, conversations about an increase in capacity for Pride Park could start swirling, and Football League World has taken a look as at the feasibility of that happening in the near future.

Derby County have not spoken about increasing Pride Park's capacity under David Clowes

In 2017, Matthew Montague Architects made plans to expand Pride Park Stadium. While the capacity of the ground would stay the same, a brand new plaza-like concourse would be built in the East Stand, adding new food and drink options, as well as retail opportunities.

However, as the years went by, and administration gripped Derby in 2021, these blueprints remained purely fantasy, and since then there has been very little in regards to significant changes to the club's home ground.

While small upgrades did happen in the summer, such as a newly-designed home changing room, the front of the stadium (West Stand) had a major overhaul with the exterior paintwork changing from silver to black. This now matches the club's colours, and has helped bring more identity back to the East Midlands side.

Current owner, David Clowes, has not made any speculative plans to add more seating to Pride Park, and instead any developments will be minor for the time being.

A Pride Park Stadium capacity expansion seems unlikely at Derby County right now

For now, it seems extremely unlikely that Derby will increase the capacity of their home ground. They consistently get over 27,000 fans through the gates in DE24, and there is no denying that they are one of the best supported sides in the division.

However, it would take until the Rams are in the Premier League to make such a significant decision as expanding their stadium, with the cost of making these changes difficult for a Championship side to afford, especially if they still plan on pursuing the top flight.

Clowes has run Derby excellently since completing his takeover in July 2022, and this is not a financial decision that would be expected of the local businessman, with there no guarantee that the stadium would be full enough for an increase.