King’s Park Athletics Stadium

Bournemouth Borough Council appointed Feria Urbanism to help prepare a design brief for a new athletics stadium in Kings Park, Bournemouth.

In 2017, AFC Bournemouth, the town’s Premier League football club, announced that they wish to build a new football stadium in King’s Park, Bournemouth. Subject to development proposals, public consultation, and the necessary planning consents, should it go ahead, this project is likely to have a significant effect on the provision of athletics in King’s Park. It is possible that the football project is likely to require the rebuild and relocation of the athletics stadium to make way for the new AFC Bournemouth stadium.

The potential redevelopment of facilities should be viewed as an important opportunity to review the current level of athletics provision in the park and help deliver improved and enhanced facilities in the future. It is also acknowledged that the redevelopment proposals will inevitably cause a degree of disruption to the local athletics community, during a relocation and construction phase. With this context in mind, Bournemouth Borough Council appointed Feria Urbanism to engage with the athletics community to find out more about their concerns and aspirations considering the AFC Bournemouth announcement.

The results of our study can be used in several ways. The first is to represent the views of the athletics community as work progresses on the AFC Bournemouth relocation project. The second application is to provide a benchmark or measurement against which various stadium relocation options can be assessed. The third application is to help inform a design brief for use by an architectural team that will develop designs for the replacement facility.