Rising high above a stretch of the River Thames familiar to millions around the world thanks to the annual Boat Race, Fulham’s new Riverside Stand is already a worthy addition to the London skyline.
Who says so? Simon Inglis, the UK’s foremost stadium expert
and author of the seminal book on the subject, The Football Grounds of England
and Wales, the first edition of which was published in 1983.
“I personally think it’s the best football stand of the 21st
century,” he says. “You immediately think, ‘Wow, an architect has been involved
in this’. I love the way the roof cantilevers over, almost like a giant wing.
And how it’s beautifully articulated round the back, near the river.
“It is somewhere with the potential to be a real iconic
London landmark. At the same time, I’d say it has a bold and quite American
approach to it. Very shiny black cladding, which you could say
makes it rather resemble a funeral parlour.
“But it fits in with Fulham, playing in black and white.”
Inglis also approves of how the £100million development,
which will fully open in 2025, has further opened up the north bank of the
river in west London, with the public now able to walk behind the new stand.
Previously, those following the ‘Thames Path’ from Hammersmith had to cut
inland along Stevenage Road to navigate Fulham’s home before returning to the
water’s edge in Bishop’s Park.
Fulham’s new Riverside Stand might not, of course, be to
everyone’s taste. Others may prefer a more traditional look, such as the
Archibald Leitch-designed stand, complete with the adjoining Craven Cottage,
that sits directly across Fulham’s pitch from this gleaming, new addition to
the capital’s skyline.
In fact Fulham offers an intriguing blend of the old and the new in stadium design (although there have been fan complaints about ticket pricing).
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