Host of consultants working on plans for £650m Twickenham stadium upgrade

A host of consultants including project manager RLB, architect Populous and QS T&T Alinea have been formally confirmed as working on the masterplan to redevelop the home of England rugby union at Twickenham which stadium bosses hope will see the number of concerts held at the west London venue increase significantly to help bankroll the work.

Governing body the Rugby Football Union (RFU) wants to revamp the ground, now renamed the Allianz stadium, under ambitious plans to improve transport links, reduce capacity to improve spectator comfort and stage up to 15 concerts a year – five times the stadium’s current permitted amount.

Called the Stadium Masterplan Project, others working on the scheme include transport and civils consultant WSP, fire engineer Arup, planning consultant DP9, M&E engineer Griffiths Evans, landscape architect Planit and buildability consultant JDP London.

The estimated cost of the work has been put at £663m with the RFU hoping to start work after the 2027 Six Nations championship.

Twickenham had its last major building work carried out nearly 20 years ago when Mowlem, later bought by Carillion, completed the South Stand redevelopment to raise capacity from 75,000 to its current 82,000 in 2006.

But the RFU says many of the stands have not been upgraded since, adding that the ground lies empty for too much of the year.

Twickenham is currently allowed to put on three concerts a year, each with a capacity of 55,000 and wants to expand this to 15 a year with an 82,000 capacity. But it needs permission from Richmond borough council to do so.

In a document on its Twickenham plans published earlier this month, the RFU said: “Of the concerts that are held here, two events are required to take place on Saturdays and no single act is allowed to perform across three consecutive days. These restrictions make it difficult to attract top global artists. As a result, Allianz stadium has missed opportunities to host world-renowned performers in recent years – at a time when the concert industry is booming.”

By contrast, the Tottenham Hotspur stadium is allowed to hold 30 non-sporting events a year while the figure for Wembley is higher still at 32.

The RFU said: “Despite its iconic status, Allianz stadium remains underutilised, with the pitch and stands sitting empty for up to 340 days a year – a figure that rises during Rugby World Cup years. This significant underuse represents a major missed opportunity to generate the revenue necessary to fund essential improvements and enable the game of rugby to flourish nationwide.”

It added: “We want Allianz stadium to be a best-in-class, multi-event venue. Meeting our ambitions for Allianz stadium will require significant investment. To generate the revenue needed over the coming years we need to increase the number of major non-sporting events hosted at the stadium. These events will help unlock the financial potential of the venue, enabling us to elevate the stadium experience for visitors and neighbours alike, while investing in the game of rugby across England.”

The RFU is due to hold three more consultation events next week – including two at the stadium itself – to outline their plans for the stadium’s future with an initial consultation, launched last autumn, generating more than 3,000 responses.

It added: “While it is too early to share any images of what the stadium might look like, these events will offer the chance to hear from the RFU about what we are hoping to achieve and how we have taken on board your feedback.”

Under a timetable published for the work, Twickenham is hoping for a decision on planning and licensing consent, allowing it to increase the number of major non-sporting events, to be made by September this year.