What happened to Plymouth Argyle’s 46,000-seater stadium plans? | OneFootball

There had previously been plans to extend Plymouth Argyle's Home Park to 46,000 as part of the FA's bid for the 2018 World Cup, but what happened?

Plymouth Argyle have had an up and down few years, and the club's supporters will be hoping that they can find some stability if they're to win promotion into Championship in future years.

Argyle are currently playing their football in League One, and after a dismal start to the 2025/26 season, Tom Cleverley's side are in with an outside chance of finishing in the play-offs.

It's Plymouth's first season back in the third-tier of English football, having been relegated from the Championship last term, in what was a frustrating season.

Home Park has been the home of Plymouth Argyle since 1903, and has been key to Plymouth's successes in recent years, and with a capacity of 17,900, it's a ground that creates a great atmosphere when the home crowd are behind them.

However, the capacity and appearance of Home Park could have looked considerably different if plans had gone through in 2018.

There were plans for Home Park to be one of the stadiums used in the 2018 World Cup, as Plymouth was chosen as one of the host cities by the FA.

Home Park's redevelopment plans

With England launching a bid to host the World Cup in 2018, there were plans to extend the capacity of Home Park to 46,000, which is over double the current capacity.

Not only this, but there would have been £150million project for shops, restaurants, a hotel, and even an ice rink in the surrounding area of Home Park.

A new pier and tramlines were also planned for Plymouth if the bid was successful, which also will have seen other competitions such as the America's Cup in sailing being hosted in the surrounding area.

Plymouth were scheduled to host four matches in the 2018 World Cup, as well as training camps and 'fan fests'. All of this would have generated £292million and 3,700 jobs in the local area.

The impact of the failed World Cup bid

The official bid that England made to host the 2018 World Cup ultimately fell short, as Russia was chosen as the host country instead. Not only did this come as a frustrating update for the FA, but the host cities that were set to be involved were also dealt an irritable blow, which included Plymouth, who suffered a significant financial loss following the failure of the bid.

The Plymouth Herald revealed that the city council lost £700,000 after the bid was unsuccessful. That wasn't the end of the financial troubles that the bid put Plymouth under, as they owed £17million due to the project, which ultimately sent Argyle into administration.

James Brent’s Akkeron Group agreed a deal with administrators to purchase the club, who then sold the stadium back to the city council, and then Plymouth paid £135,000 a year to rent it from them.

Plymouth have since rebuilt in the years since that failed bid, and have spent two seasons in the Championship, and although their stay was brief at that level, there are plenty of reasons for their supporters to be optimistic of a brighter future both financially and on the pitch moving forward in future years.

Argyle fans will be hoping that their side can put together a positive run of form between now and the end of the 2025/26 season, as they target winning promotion back into the Championship at the first time of asking.