Watford have been playing at Vicarage Road for over a century, but their plans for a new stadium have been scuppered.
The club had been looking to move away from their historic ground and build a new 33,000-seater stadium, complete with all the bells and whistles. But the plans came crashing down when the council rejected them, leaving Watford stuck at Vicarage Road.
The stadium that never was
The new stadium would have been a massive upgrade from Vicarage Road, with a capacity of 33,000 compared to the current 22,000. It would have also included a fanzone, cinema, football pitches, a 6,000 capacity indoor arena, a hotel and more facilities.
Developers proposed building the stadium on the site of the closed-down Bushey Hall Golf Club, which is just two miles away from Vicarage Road. The stadium was set to be a carbon-zero complex, with the design leaked in 2020.
Why did the plans get rejected?
As soon as the plans were revealed, they were met with opposition from local councillors and residents. The main issue was that the golf club is on greenbelt land, which is protected from most developments. The council believed that the bid for the new stadium didn't meet the criteria for the status of the land to be changed.
Due to the decision, Bushey Hall Golf Club will remain a greenbelt site until 2034, and Watford will have to stay at Vicarage Road for the foreseeable future.
What could have been...
If the plans had gone ahead, Watford would have moved into the fourth-largest ground in the Championship. Only Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough, Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium and Derby's Pride Park have more seats.
Instead, Watford will have to make do with their current home, while Birmingham City and Luton Town are both closing in on new stadiums of their own.
