A New 700-seater stadium at the Hemel Hempstead home of rugby league side Hemel Hempstead Stags could provide a 'world-class' facility for the team and its community, a director of the club said.
Plans for the major new facility in Pennine Way, set to also include a state-of-the-art astro-turf pitch and changing rooms, have been lodged with the council.
And according to a director of the Stags, Callum Irving, both the club and the wider c
ommunity will gain if the idea gets the go-ahead from planning chiefs.
Mr Irving said: "It would be massive for the club.
"But the largest benefits are going to be for Hemel Hempstead.
"It would be an ultra-modern sporting facility available for people to use."
Mr Irving said the new sports stadium complex, to include a total of three grass rugby pitches – the third also used for lacrosse, would help to raise the profile of Stags as the only rugby league side in the South of England playing in National League 3.
He said previous plans for a stadium on the site had been drawn up in the late 1990s, but that the latest plans would provide better facilities for the community as a whole.
"It's the fruition of possibly three to four years' work.
"The previous plan was all about the league, whereas this is about a world-class facility for the community."
Mr Irving said the plans included a flood-lit 'third-generation' astro-turf pitch that could be used for football and rugby training, and state-of-the-art changing rooms.
The new centre is also set to include a function room that could be used for lawn-mat bowling and other community activities and the first team pitch would be flood-lit, he said.
A decision on the stadium plans is expected by Dacorum Borough Council this summer.
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