HERE WE GO :EFL club were forced to abandon £92m stadium plans that even included sharing with arch rivals

It’s hard to imagine ground sharing with your biggest rivals, but this was nearly a reality for Bristol City fans.

Ashton Gate has been home to the Robins for over 120 years, with the 27,000-seater stadium undergoing a redevelopment in 2016 which saw its capacity increase from 21,000.

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But not long before this, the club had set their sights on an even bigger upgrade, in a completely different place.

In 2007, Bristol City announced plans for a brand-new 30,000-capacity stadium just a kilometre away at nearby Ashton Vale.

Estimated to cost £92million, the proposed ‘Bristol City Stadium’ was billed as a potential venue for major tournament football as part of England’s 2018 World Cup bid, with Bristol chosen as one of the host cities. Though this bid was ultimately unsuccessful, there were hopes the capacity could be extended to 42,000 had it played host to the huge sporting event.

Having won promotion back to the Championship just a season prior to unveiling the ambitious plans, chairman and owner Steve Lansdown was optimistic when announcing the project’s upcoming steps at the club’s AGM in 2007.

He said: “It’s not too far from Ashton Gate and is still in the club’s heartland, so this is very exciting times for Bristol City Football Club.

“Ashton Gate has been fantastic for us, but it is tired and limited in capacity. We owe it to everyone – for Bristol City and the West Country – to build a stadium to be proud of.”Lansdown continued: “The plan is to have the stadium with us for the start of 2011/12, with 2009 being the deadline for work to begin.

It will be a 30,000 seater initially with the option to take it up to 40,000, which is a requirement for World Cup football. It may turn out cheaper just to build a 40,000 seater rather than adding on 10,000 seats a few years down the line.

“These are all things we need to look at, along with other things like naming rights, what the final cost will be and how to fund it.”

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The project received approval from Bristol City Council in 2009, with further plans announced for housing, restaurants and bars, and a hotel to be built on the Ashton Vale site.

But it was another idea floated around the multi-million pound proposal which could have caused quite the stir.

With both City and local rivals Bristol Rovers wanting bigger capacities by the turn of the 21st century, the city council had been exploring the possibility of building a new stadium for both teams

These plans would also have included Bristol Rugby, now called the Bristol Bears, where Landsdown is the majority shareholder.

Despite this, the chairman initially ruled out any possibility of a ground share with either of their city counterparts, before later agreeing to include the rugby club in their proposal.

Ultimately, football fans did not have to worry about a potential joint new home, with the project eventually being abandoned in 2013.

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