Eagle-eyed supporters attending Thursday evening’s UEFA Conference League play-off first leg against Fredrikstad may well spot a number of changes around the ground ahead of our first home match of 2025/26 – as Chief Operations Officer, Jonty Castle, explains below…
“It’s been an exceptionally busy summer for the club,” Castle said.
“There has been a lot of investment at Selhurst Park this summer in order to make the stadium ready, make the supporter experience as good as it can be, and provide some great additions to our infrastructure.
“The Supporter Services team, the Safety team, the Maintenance team and the IT team have also been working at a high pace, and should be commended for us being ready for UEFA Category 4 requirements, a new Premier League broadcast cycle, and a very busy season ahead.”
The pitch
“Over the summer, the existing pitch has been completely renewed to ensure the club continues to have an exceptional playing surface, installing a brand new Desso pitch. This involved replacing the lower root zone, the upper root zone, and replacing and improving the undersoil heating by extending it to cover run-off areas beyond the touchline and the extended areas, as well as adding in new irrigation.
“The pitch is currently below the ideal regulation size. Whilst this is fine for Crystal Palace fixtures, it limits the other events we can host, as both UEFA and FIFA fixtures require a pitch of 105m x 68m.
“As part of the stadium redevelopments, the pitch infrastructure has been built out to the required size, and some of you may notice we have already moved and extended the pitch by around a metre at the Holmesdale end.
“The other end of the pitch, at the Whitehorse Lane end, will be opened up once the new stand is built and we can remove the Whitehorse Lane floodlight towers.”
