RFU CONSULTS COMMUNITY ON FUTURE OF ALLIANZ STADIUM

24th March 2025 Stuart Higgins

The England Rugby Football Union (RFU) has launched a programme of community engagement aimed at shaping the future of The Allianz Stadium at Twickenham.

Only last week the RFU CEO Bill Sweeney suggested England’s traditional HQ may have to move to Milton Keynes or Birmingham to remain competitive and attract non-rugby revenue generating events.

Currently, the Allianz Stadium could be empty on as many as 340 days a year, while Wembley, The 02 and Tottenham Hotspur’s ground can offer big acts such as Beyoncé and the Rolling Stones which produce significant income streams

This is part of the consultation programme which can easily be found online:-

THE FUTURE OF ALLIANZ STADIUM

Allianz Stadium has been the home of England Rugby for over a century, becoming a cornerstone of the sport and a highlight for fans each year.

As the governing body for rugby union in England, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) reinvests all revenue into the game to support its growth at every level.

Like all businesses though, we face financial challenges, which ultimately impact our ability to sustain rugby’s growth.

With Allianz Stadium generating around 85% of our revenue, maximising and investing in this key asset is essentialTo address this, we’ve developed a vision to enhance the stadium as a world-class venue for sport and entertainment, and in turn generate more income all while becoming a valued local asset.

WHY RUGBY MATTERS

More than just a game – rugby enriches lives, from improving the health and wellbeing of its players to creating stronger, more connected communities.

All profit the RFU generates is reinvested into the game across England with 85% of our funding coming from events held at Allianz Stadium.

The RFU supports a network of 378,000 players and delivers around £30 million of investment into the community game.

The value of rugby to the UK is even greater, contributing £2.03bn in social value to the economy in 2023/24.

THE CHALLENGES WE FACE

Despite its iconic status, Allianz Stadium remains underutilised, with the pitch and stands sitting empty for up to 340 days a year – a figure that rises during Rugby World Cup years. This significant underuse represents a major missed opportunity to generate the revenue necessary to fund essential improvements and enable the game of rugby to flourish nationwide.

At the same time, we recognise that it is of the utmost importance that whatever we do here is done in a way that minimises our impact on the area we call home.

Current planning and licensing restrictions mean we are limited to hosting just three major non-sporting events each year, with the stadium and bowl lying empty for as many as 340 days a year.

Many of the stands have not been upgraded since the late 1990s and early 2000s, meaning the stadium requires significant and costly ongoing investment and upgrades.

We must also invest in tackling some of the issues that we know impact our closest neighbours, including transport, and work to make this stadium a place they can feel part of.

SEE OUR VISION

TAKE OUR SURVEY

Once you’ve had a chance to read our vision for the future, you may be interested in exploring in more detail the transport measures we propose to improve travel to and from

Building on our previous engagement with the community on the future of Allianz Stadium, we would like to invite you to meet with us at one of our events to hear about our vision first-hand. Please feel free to drop in at any of the below times:

Event 1

Tuesday 25 March, 4pm – 8pm, The Clubhouse Bar, East Stand, Allianz Stadium, 200 Whitton Road, Twickenham TW2 7BA

Event 2

Wednesday 26 March, 5pm – 8pm, The Exchange Twickenham, 75 London Road, Twickenham TW1 1BE

Event 3

Saturday 29 March, 10am – 4pm, The Clubhouse Bar, East Stand, Allianz Stadium, 200 Whitton Road, Twickenham TW2 7BA

To access the events at Allianz Stadium, please enter via the gates between Gate E and F.

We hope you can join us at one of these events. However, if you are unable to attend in person, please be aware that we will not be sharing anything that isn’t already on the website right now.

While it is too early to share any images of what the stadium might look like, these events will offer the chance to hear from the RFU about what we are hoping to achieve and how we have taken on board your feedback.

KEEP IN TOUCH

To hear more and stay up to date with direct updates, please sign up to our mailing list.

Or go to www.ourstadiumconsultation.com

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