The 20 football stadiums that will change by 2030

Football is rebuilding itself

Something significant is happening to European football's physical landscape. At any given moment in the sport's history, a handful of stadiums are under construction or renovation. But right now, the number of major stadium projects underway or approved is unprecedented. By 2030, the matchday experience at some of the biggest clubs in the world will be unrecognisable from what it is today.

Some of these are expansions — clubs adding capacity to meet demand. Some are wholesale relocations — clubs leaving grounds they have occupied for over a century. Some are rebuilds so extensive that the finished product will share nothing with the original except the name and the postcode.

For fans who care about grounds — their history, their atmosphere, their character — this is a moment worth paying attention to. Some of these stadiums deserve to be visited before they change forever. Others represent the arrival of something genuinely exciting. All of them are reshaping the geography of European football.

Here are the 20 stadium projects that will define football's next chapter, grouped by how far along they are.

Under Construction

1. Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock (Liverpool, England)

Everton are leaving Goodison Park after 132 years. The new 52,888-capacity stadium on Liverpool's waterfront is the most emotionally significant stadium move in English football in a generation. Goodison is one of the most atmospheric grounds in the Premier League — tight, loud, hostile in the best way. It is also falling apart. The new ground, designed by Dan Meis, will be a modern bowl with a single-tier home end holding 13,000 supporters. Construction is advanced, with completion expected in 2025-26. The final season at Goodison has already begun, and every remaining match there is a farewell.

If you have never been to Goodison, go now. You are running out of time.

2. Camp Nou Renovation (Barcelona, Spain)

Barcelona are in the middle of the most ambitious stadium renovation in European football history. The Espai Barca project is rebuilding Camp Nou while the club temporarily plays at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Montjuic. The renovated Camp Nou will hold approximately 105,000 spectators with a full roof, improved sightlines, and a complete overhaul of the stadium's infrastructure. The project has been plagued by delays and cost overruns, but sections of the stadium have begun reopening. The full completion is targeted for 2026-27, though few people familiar with the project's history would bet their house on that timeline.

The Camp Nou you remember — open to the sky, slightly crumbling, magnificent in its scale — is gone. What replaces it will be more comfortable, more modern, and entirely different.

3. Santiago Bernabeu Renovation (Madrid, Spain)

Real Madrid have already completed the most dramatic phase of the Bernabeu renovation — the retractable roof, the retractable pitch, the 360-degree video scoreboard. The stadium now functions as a multi-purpose entertainment venue capable of hosting NFL games, concerts, and tennis events alongside football. The capacity remains around 85,000, but the experience is transformed. The project cost exceeded €1.8 billion, making it one of the most expensive stadium developments in history.

The new Bernabeu is a statement about what Real Madrid thinks a modern stadium should be: not just a football ground, but a permanent event space. Whether that improves or diminishes the matchday atmosphere is a debate that will run for years.

4. Anfield Road End Expansion (Liverpool, England)

Liverpool completed the Anfield Road End expansion in 2023, taking Anfield to approximately 61,000 capacity. But the club has signalled further ambitions. The ground continues to evolve, and the broader Anfield area regeneration project means the surroundings are changing as rapidly as the stadium itself. Liverpool's approach has been incremental — expand one stand at a time, maintain the atmosphere, avoid relocation — and it has worked. Anfield remains one of the most atmospheric grounds in England, even as its capacity approaches that of much newer stadiums.

5. Stamford Bridge Redevelopment (London, England)

Chelsea have spent years trying to solve the Stamford Bridge problem. The current ground holds around 40,300, making it one of the smallest in the Premier League relative to the club's status and demand. Plans for a 60,000-seat rebuild have been drawn up, shelved, revised, and redrawn multiple times. Under the current ownership, the project appears to be moving forward again, with designs for a new stadium on the existing Fulham Road site. The logistics of rebuilding on a constrained West London site while maintaining the club's Premier League schedule make this one of the most complex stadium projects in European football.

The current Stamford Bridge has character — cramped, old-fashioned, loud when it needs to be. Whatever replaces it will almost certainly be more impressive and less distinctive.

6. San Siro Replacement (Milan, Italy)

Inter and AC Milan have been trying to resolve the future of the San Siro (Stadio Giuseppe Meazza) for years. The current plan involves a new shared stadium near the existing site, though the two clubs have at various points considered separate stadium projects. The San Siro is one of the most iconic football grounds in the world — the third tier, the towers, the atmosphere on European nights — and its potential demolition or repurposing has generated enormous public debate in Milan.

The politics of Italian stadium development are notoriously complex, involving municipal approvals, heritage designations, and competing commercial interests. As of now, the project is approved in principle, but the timeline remains fluid. The San Siro could be gone by 2030, or it could still be hosting derbies. Italian bureaucracy is the only force in football more unpredictable than Italian defending.

7. Nuovo Stadio Flaminio (Rome, Italy)

Lazio have received approval to renovate the Stadio Flaminio, which has been abandoned since 2011. The project would give Lazio their own dedicated ground for the first time, ending their tenancy at the Stadio Olimpico which they share with Roma. The restored Flaminio would hold around 50,000 spectators. The project represents a significant shift in Roman football — for decades, both clubs have shared the same vast, atmospheric but often half-empty Olimpico. Separate stadiums would fundamentally change the matchday culture of the city.

8. Stadio Pietralata (Rome, Italy)

Roma have been pursuing their own stadium project for over a decade. The current plan centres on a new ground in the Pietralata district of Rome, with a capacity of around 55,000. The project has survived multiple changes in city government, several redesigns, and the kind of bureaucratic delays that are standard for major construction projects in Rome. If both Roma and Lazio succeed in building their own stadiums, the Stadio Olimpico will lose its football tenants entirely — an extraordinary change for one of Italy's most historic sporting venues.

Approved and In Planning

9. Tottenham Expansion (London, England)

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium opened in 2019 and is already one of the best football grounds in the world. The club has planning permission for further development of the surrounding area, including additional commercial and residential space. The stadium itself, at 62,850, may not expand significantly, but the broader Tottenham experience is being built around it. The south stand single tier — 17,500 standing — remains the benchmark for atmosphere in a modern English ground.

10. Newcastle / St James' Park Expansion

Newcastle have explored options for expanding St James' Park, which currently holds 52,305. The club's Saudi-backed ownership has the resources for a significant project, and demand for seats far exceeds supply. An expansion to approximately 60,000 or more has been discussed, though the city-centre location creates constraints. St James' Park's position — towering over Newcastle city centre — is one of the most dramatic settings in English football, and any expansion needs to preserve that.

11. Bayer Leverkusen / BayArena Expansion

Fresh off their unbeaten Bundesliga title in 2023-24, Leverkusen are planning to expand the BayArena from its current 30,210 capacity. The club's recent success has dramatically increased demand, and the current ground feels undersized for a club competing regularly in the Champions League. An expansion to around 38,000 is under discussion.

12. Marseille / Stade Velodrome Renovation

The Velodrome was extensively renovated for Euro 2016, but Marseille have signalled interest in further improvements to match the club's ambitions under current ownership. The 67,394-capacity ground is already one of the largest and most atmospheric in Ligue 1, and any changes are likely to focus on premium facilities rather than capacity.

13. Atalanta / Gewiss Stadium Rebuild (Bergamo, Italy)

Atalanta are rebuilding the Gewiss Stadium (formerly Atleti Azzurri d'Italia) in phases, with the goal of creating a modern 25,000-seat ground that matches the club's rise to the top of Serie A. The Curva Nord has already been rebuilt, and the remaining stands are scheduled for redevelopment. Atalanta's project is a case study in how a smaller club can modernise its stadium incrementally without relocating or taking on crippling debt.

14. Lyon / Groupama Stadium Improvements

Lyon moved into the Groupama Stadium (Parc OL) in 2016, leaving the Stade de Gerland after decades. The 59,186-capacity ground is modern and well-equipped, but the club continues to develop the surrounding area and improve the matchday experience. The stadium's location outside central Lyon remains controversial among fans who miss the accessibility and atmosphere of Gerland.

Proposed or Early Stage

15. Wolves / Molineux Expansion

Wolverhampton Wanderers have explored options for expanding Molineux, which currently holds 31,750. The Stan Cullis Stand is the most likely candidate for rebuilding, which could take capacity toward 40,000. Wolves' sustained presence in the Premier League under Fosun ownership has made expansion a question of when, not if.

16. Aston Villa / Villa Park Redevelopment

Villa Park is getting a significant redevelopment of the North Stand, which will increase capacity to over 50,000 and create a modern, single-tier stand designed to be the centrepiece of the ground. Under Unai Emery, Villa have returned to the Champions League, and the ground needs to match the club's renewed ambitions. Villa Park has always had a sense of occasion — the Trinity Road Stand, the Holte End — and the redevelopment aims to enhance rather than erase that character.

17. Crystal Palace / Selhurst Park Renovation

Crystal Palace have been planning the redevelopment of the Main Stand at Selhurst Park for years. The current ground holds 25,486, and the new Main Stand would increase capacity to approximately 34,000. Selhurst is a proper old-school English ground — tight, loud, intimidating — and the challenge is to modernise without losing the qualities that make it one of the most hostile away trips in the Premier League.

18. 2026 World Cup Venues (United States)

The 2026 FIFA World Cup across the United States, Mexico, and Canada will use existing NFL stadiums, many of which are undergoing football-specific modifications. MetLife Stadium (New York/New Jersey), SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles), AT&T Stadium (Dallas), and others will host matches in grounds that seat 70,000-100,000. The sight of football in these vast American venues will be one of the defining images of the tournament, even if the atmosphere may struggle to match that of a dedicated football ground.

19. Leeds / Elland Road Modernisation

Leeds have plans to modernise Elland Road, which currently holds 37,890. The 49ers Enterprises ownership has explored expansion and improvement options, particularly for the West Stand. Elland Road is a ground with enormous emotional resonance for Leeds fans, and any changes need to respect that history while addressing the legitimate need for modern facilities.

20. Nottingham Forest / City Ground Redevelopment

Nottingham Forest have planning permission for a new Peter Taylor Stand at the City Ground, which would take capacity to over 38,000. The City Ground's setting on the banks of the Trent is one of the most picturesque in English football, and the redevelopment aims to take advantage of the riverside location. Forest's return to the Premier League has made the financial case for expansion considerably stronger.

What gets lost

There is a tension at the heart of every stadium project. Modern stadiums are better in almost every measurable way — better sightlines, better facilities, better accessibility, more comfortable, safer. But the things that make a ground feel like a football ground — the tight corners, the closeness to the pitch, the quirks of a building that was not designed so much as accumulated over a century — are often the first casualties of modernisation.

Goodison Park is uncomfortable, awkward, and crumbling. It is also one of the most atmospheric grounds in English football. The new Everton stadium will be objectively superior in every technical respect. Whether it will feel the same is a question that can only be answered by the first generation of fans who grow up there.

The San Siro's third tier is vertigo-inducing and the facilities are decrepit. But when it is full for a European night, there is nothing else like it in world football. Camp Nou was too big and too quiet for league matches against mid-table opponents. But for a Clasico, the scale was the point — 98,000 people creating a wall of noise that no 50,000-seat modern bowl could replicate.

What gets built is always better. What gets lost is sometimes irreplaceable.

Visit them before they change

If you are a groundhopper — or if you want to become one — the next four years represent a unique window. Some of the most historic grounds in European football are about to be transformed or demolished. The Goodison Park you can visit today will not exist in 2027. The San Siro you visit this season might be the last San Siro in its current form.

This is not nostalgia for its own sake. These grounds shaped the culture of their clubs and their cities. Visiting them now, while they still stand, is a way of witnessing football history before it becomes photographs and memories.

Use the stadium map to plan your route. Build a stadium bucket list that prioritises the grounds that are changing. Book the flights. Get the tickets.

The concrete will not wait for you.