Crystal Palace fans have expressed a tinge of anxiety on social media after hearing that Bovis is no longer working on the new main stand at Selhurst Park.
A report from Building states that ‘the firm left several months ago’ – leaving many supporters worried that plans for a redeveloped Selhurst Park are crumbling.
We Are Palace reached out to Adam Williams – Head of Football Finance and Governance Content at GRV Media – to explain this update in simpler terms.
While the departure of Bovis is potentially nothing more than a fulfilment of their commitments, there has still been a “failure” on the part of Crystal Palace for how this situation has been managed.
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Williams – who has also cleared up talk of a bonus payment for Ebere Eze winning the Premier League – said: “So, Bovis had a PCSA, which is a pre-construction services agreement. It sounds like that has simply been fulfilled and they have moved on. That’s not uncommon.
“A similar thing happened at Leeds United not long ago, when they dropped KSS after they had designed the revamped Elland Road and appointed BDP Pattern for the actual construction. The designs for the stadium stay the same, but the actual construction will be delivered by BDP Pattern. They are separate contracts.
“In Crystal Palace’s case, we can’t know until there is briefing from either Bovis or the club whether this represents anything other than the expiry of a pre-agreed deal. So, while I can’t rule out that this is an indication of differences between the club and the firm, I don’t suspect there is anything untoward here.”
Williams – who has also explained the truth behind our new shirt sponsor Temporal – added: “It sounds like the other company involved, Morrisroe, however, was appointed to do actual work on demolition and structures, but that contract has also reportedly ended before much of that work has started. To me, that seems like the more newsworthy nugget here, especially given that they are working with Aston Villa on their own stadium project. Again, you’d need to look at the terms of the deal, though.
“In terms of the overall delays to the expansion of Selhurst Park, we know that they have secured finance from Goldman Sachs, so that shouldn’t be a barrier. I think, therefore, that you can only attribute delays to the planning system and, potentially, getting the right agreements in place with different contractors.
“Even when you have got planning application confirmed from the council, there are still so many conditions and hoops that you have to jump through to get started. Clearly, it’s very frustrating for Palace fans – but I think the failure here is one of expectation management from the club rather than the actual duration of the process itself.”
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