Leaving the Mem 'most likely' option for Rovers
Bristol Rovers chairman Hussain AlSaeed says moving away from the Mem is the "most likely" option.
Bristol Rovers chairman Hussain AlSaeed has said moving away from the Memorial Stadium is the "most likely" option the club are considering. Rovers' owners have been exploring redeveloping their home stadium and increasing its capacity, however AlSaeed said in January plans had stalled due to a number of studies returning a "red flag". There are a number of location "targets" in and around Bristol the League Two club are examining, AlSaeed said, that are unrelated to any previously explored.
However AlSaeed added plans to move were not "concrete" with the ground having been Rovers' home since 1996. "It [moving] would be most likely that the option that we are considering at the moment because of all the red flags that we had in the Memorial - the location, all that - it makes it extremely difficult to redevelop," AlSaeed told BBC Radio Bristol. "We're looking and there are more targets and we are cooperating with the local investors, local developers to guide us through that.
There is a few options available and we're evaluating those options. "Our fans have been misled in the past regarding the new stadium and regarding where they're going to live so I'm not going to say that until I have concrete plans. " Rovers to 'explore' stadium move as Mem plans stall Rovers target Fruit Market site for new stadium Multiple attempts to relocate Bristol Rovers have fallen by the wayside over the years.
The club was involved in a High Court battle with Sainsburys over a deal to buy the Mem in 2011, while a proposed move to a ground at Bristol's Fruit Market site was still " on the table " when Kuwaiti businessman AlSaeed took over as majority owner of Bristol Rovers in 2023, before acquiring the full shares in November 2024. More than £400,000 has been spent investigating redevelopment options at the Memorial Stadium in recent years, in fees for studies, surveys and architecture design. The ground is in the busy residential area of Horfield and adjacent to Gloucester Road, a 1.