Exciting Ipswich Town expansion plans announced for Portman Road | OneFootball

Ipswich Town are planning to expand Portman Road

Ipswich Town chief financial officer Tom Ball has confirmed that the club wants to expand Portman Road to a capacity of around 40,000.

The Suffolk outfit’s home ground currently holds a maximum of 29,673 supporters, but that could increase by about 10,000 in the coming years.

The Tractor Boys have enjoyed a strong few years since the appointment of Kieran McKenna as manager, even spending a season in the Premier League, and they have their sights set on establishing themselves in the top flight long-term.

As part of their plans to grow the club, an expansion to Portman Road could be on the horizon in the near future.

It was reported late last year that the Championship side had reached an agreement in principle with Ipswich Borough Council to buy land behind the stadium as part of their plans to expand beyond the 29,000 capacity.

Ipswich Town’s 40,000-seater plans for Portman Road announced

Ball has outlined Ipswich’s ambition to expand Portman Road to roughly 40,000 seats, suggesting they are looking into building at the Cobbold Stand and potentially the West Stand.

The CFO has confirmed that architects have taken a look at potential plans, which also include possibly filling in the ground’s corners, but that concerns over displacing season ticket holders for between 18 months and two years have slowed down the process up to now.

“How big do we want or how big do we see as practical?” said Ball, via TWTD.

“Forty thousand is the aim.

“It’s one of the things we’re starting to look at now - how do we expand and replace the Cobbold Stand?

“Is there anything we need to do to the West Stand in terms of expanding that and putting another tier behind?

“We’ve had architects look at this on and off now for the last couple of years.

“Filling in the corners has been suggested, we’ve had various people look at various things.

“And we were talking with another group earlier today.

“The fact that the club’s done this for the past few years, it’s not that we’ve lost focus on it, we’ve been working on this in the background all the way along, but it’s really tricky to find a way to develop without displacing season ticket holders and members for a period of 18-24 months.”

Ipswich are aiming for promotion back to the Premier League this season, with the team in the mix for a top two place.

McKenna’s side are among the clubs in the fight for a play-off place as we approach the halfway mark, having lost ground to the likes of Coventry City and Middlesbrough.

The Suffolk outfit will be keen to have a strong second half of the campaign, as they target an immediate Premier League return in 2026 after suffering relegation last season.

Portman Road expansion plans show how far Ipswich Town have come

When McKenna took over Ipswich, the club were in League One and looked no closer to promotion to the second tier.

The rise they’ve enjoyed under the Northern Irishman has been incredible, and the plans to expand Portman Road to 40,000 show just how far they’ve come.

These are exciting plans for supporters, even if season ticket holders being temporarily displaced could prove a short-term logistical nightmare for the club.

If Ipswich can follow through on these plans, then it would be a great step forward for the Championship side.