1. AFC Wimbledon is a professional football club based in Wimbledon, London, England. The club was founded in 2002 by fans of the original Wimbledon Football Club, which relocated to Milton Keynes and became MK Dons.
2. The new club was formed by supporters who felt that the move of the original club was a betrayal of its heritage and history.
3. AFC Wimbledon started out in the Combined Counties League, which is the ninth tier of English football. However, the club has been steadily climbing the football pyramid and reached League One, the third tier of English football, in 2016.
4. AFC Wimbledon has a strong fan base and is known for its unique story and fan-led ownership structure. The Dons Trust is a supporters' group which is pledged to retain 75% control of the ownership.
5. The club opened its new stadium at Plough Lane in 2020. It was built on the site of the former Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium.
2. The new club was formed by supporters who felt that the move of the original club was a betrayal of its heritage and history.
3. AFC Wimbledon started out in the Combined Counties League, which is the ninth tier of English football. However, the club has been steadily climbing the football pyramid and reached League One, the third tier of English football, in 2016.
4. AFC Wimbledon has a strong fan base and is known for its unique story and fan-led ownership structure. The Dons Trust is a supporters' group which is pledged to retain 75% control of the ownership.
5. The club opened its new stadium at Plough Lane in 2020. It was built on the site of the former Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium.
Home of AFC Wimbledon
Opened 2020
Capacity 9,300
★★★★★
★★★★★
I came along as a 'neutral' to see the new stadium and enjoy a football match. I was impressed. Great stands with a good view of the game, although perhaps not as good as the flats around the ground! . The facilities were modern with an excellent variety of food and drink available. Only one complaint - I enjoyed a cold beer before the game but the burger to go with it was also cold.
8 months ago
Went on an official stadium tour. Enjoyable couple of hours been shown around by the tour guide ( Ray ). Basically saw everything behind the scenes and also went on the pitchside. They also have a museum. Very informative and interesting tour. Would definitely recommend the stadium tour 👍
8 months ago
History (from Wikipedia)
Wimbledon F.C. played its matches at the original Plough Lane stadium, approximately 200 yards (183 metres) from the current site, from 1912 until 1991 when it began a ground-share with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, with the intention of moving to a new all-seater stadium elsewhere at a later date due to the original Plough Lane stadium being considered unsuitable for conversion into a modern all-seater stadium. Numerous locations within and beyond the borders of Merton were considered for a possible new stadium, but none of these came to fruition, and in 2003 the original Wimbledon club relocated 70 miles north to Milton Keynes, being rebranded as Milton Keynes Dons the following year.
In 2002 a phoenix club, AFC Wimbledon, was formed by a section of the club's supporters after the Football Association gave Wimbledon F.C. permission to move to Milton Keynes. In the meantime, AFC Wimbledon played at Kingsmeadow, at that time the home of Kingstonian.
Since its inception, AFC Wimbledon stated that one of its primary aims was to return to Merton, with a new stadium close to what it regards as its "spiritual home" of the original Plough Lane. This aim formed the basis of a project to create a new purpose-built stadium on the site of the Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, located approximately 200 yards from the original Plough Lane football stadium, where the original Wimbledon side played for 80 years.
Plans to develop the greyhound stadium site as either a multi-purpose stadium or as a football stadium were publicised frequently by the club and the media prior to 2013. In 2013 AFC Wimbledon announced that discussions were underway with Merton Council over a joint bid for the greyhound stadium and the surrounding land, in cooperation with developer Galliard Homes, to build a new football stadium, 600 residential properties and a range of community facilities.[3]
Development[edit]
Construction proceeded with the permanent west stand initially, with main entry from the south off Plough Lane. This is a four-story structure with general admission access from the first floor, and hospitality above. This structure seats about 4,500 spectators; semi-permanent stands on the other three sides brings initial capacity to 9,000.[4][5] Among the semi-permanent seating, the most vocal home fans will be in the south, which will include a safe standing area; a family area along the east; and away fans will be in the north stand, which is isolated with its own entry.[6]
The plans for the football stadium were approved unanimously by Merton Council on 10 December 2015.[7][8] Clearance of the site in preparation for the new football stadium and housing was begun on 16 March 2018.[9] The stadium's opening was initially planned for summer 2019, but the current target is the start of the 2020-21 season.[10] The land's freehold was transferred to an AFC Wimbledon subsidiary on 24 December 2018, among other transactions that also formally transferred ownership of Kingsmeadow to Chelsea.[11]
Finances[edit]
The club thus purchased and cleared the site of the former Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium in anticipation of construction. In 2019 it was announced that a minimum of £2 million in crowdfunding would be needed to construct a scaled-down version of the original design with a single permanent stand and an initial capacity of 9,000; as of August 2019, the £2 million mark had been raised through Seedrs.[12] In November 2019 it emerged that financing of a final £11m needed to complete the ground as envisioned was not forthcoming; the club's fan ownership initially considered scaling down the project, or accepting outside investment into the club by relinquishing ownership to meet the shortfall.[13] However, alternate financing was quickly raised by club supporters by way of a bond issue which raised over £5 million. In May 2020, the final remaining financing needed to sign all construction contracts was confirmed following key investment from local businessman Nick Robertson.[14]
Opening[edit]
AFC Wimbledon played their first match at the ground on 3 November 2020 against Doncaster Rovers, although the formal handover by the construction company was not expected until mid December.[15]
The first match ended in a 2-2 draw.[16] The first ever goal at the new stadium was scored by Wimbledon's Joe Pigott in the 18th minute of that match.[17]
In December 2020, the Dons Trust revealed they were discussing a potential groundshare agreement with Rugby League side London Broncos.[18]
In 2002 a phoenix club, AFC Wimbledon, was formed by a section of the club's supporters after the Football Association gave Wimbledon F.C. permission to move to Milton Keynes. In the meantime, AFC Wimbledon played at Kingsmeadow, at that time the home of Kingstonian.
Since its inception, AFC Wimbledon stated that one of its primary aims was to return to Merton, with a new stadium close to what it regards as its "spiritual home" of the original Plough Lane. This aim formed the basis of a project to create a new purpose-built stadium on the site of the Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, located approximately 200 yards from the original Plough Lane football stadium, where the original Wimbledon side played for 80 years.
Plans to develop the greyhound stadium site as either a multi-purpose stadium or as a football stadium were publicised frequently by the club and the media prior to 2013. In 2013 AFC Wimbledon announced that discussions were underway with Merton Council over a joint bid for the greyhound stadium and the surrounding land, in cooperation with developer Galliard Homes, to build a new football stadium, 600 residential properties and a range of community facilities.[3]
Development[edit]
Construction proceeded with the permanent west stand initially, with main entry from the south off Plough Lane. This is a four-story structure with general admission access from the first floor, and hospitality above. This structure seats about 4,500 spectators; semi-permanent stands on the other three sides brings initial capacity to 9,000.[4][5] Among the semi-permanent seating, the most vocal home fans will be in the south, which will include a safe standing area; a family area along the east; and away fans will be in the north stand, which is isolated with its own entry.[6]
The plans for the football stadium were approved unanimously by Merton Council on 10 December 2015.[7][8] Clearance of the site in preparation for the new football stadium and housing was begun on 16 March 2018.[9] The stadium's opening was initially planned for summer 2019, but the current target is the start of the 2020-21 season.[10] The land's freehold was transferred to an AFC Wimbledon subsidiary on 24 December 2018, among other transactions that also formally transferred ownership of Kingsmeadow to Chelsea.[11]
Finances[edit]
The club thus purchased and cleared the site of the former Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium in anticipation of construction. In 2019 it was announced that a minimum of £2 million in crowdfunding would be needed to construct a scaled-down version of the original design with a single permanent stand and an initial capacity of 9,000; as of August 2019, the £2 million mark had been raised through Seedrs.[12] In November 2019 it emerged that financing of a final £11m needed to complete the ground as envisioned was not forthcoming; the club's fan ownership initially considered scaling down the project, or accepting outside investment into the club by relinquishing ownership to meet the shortfall.[13] However, alternate financing was quickly raised by club supporters by way of a bond issue which raised over £5 million. In May 2020, the final remaining financing needed to sign all construction contracts was confirmed following key investment from local businessman Nick Robertson.[14]
Opening[edit]
AFC Wimbledon played their first match at the ground on 3 November 2020 against Doncaster Rovers, although the formal handover by the construction company was not expected until mid December.[15]
The first match ended in a 2-2 draw.[16] The first ever goal at the new stadium was scored by Wimbledon's Joe Pigott in the 18th minute of that match.[17]
In December 2020, the Dons Trust revealed they were discussing a potential groundshare agreement with Rugby League side London Broncos.[18]
Things to do near the stadium.
Dip & Flip - Wimbledon.
I can't take all the credit for finding this spot, because the Yelp reviews drew me to them. You won't be disappointed at all. The service was fast, the... Read More
Figli del Vesuvio.
This was a really good local Napoli pizzeria - their wood-fired pizza oven takes pride of place in the open kitchen, where you can watch the chefs prep the... Read More
