Brentford may groundshare if promoted

Brentford have confirmed they will look to groundshare if they are promoted to the Premier League and can’t bring Griffin Park up to the required standards.

Chief executive Mark Devlin said the club’s aim was to stay at their current home until the new stadium at Lionel Road is built.

But he admitted promotion could force them to play elsewhere to fit the requirements of the top flight, with detailed proposals due before the Premier League’s board by 31 January.

Devlin said: “Every Championship club has to submit their plans for meeting Premier League rules and we are working on that now.

“Clubs will be required to put these into action upon promotion so it is not an exercise to be taken lightly.

“Griffin Park falls short of meeting Premier League requirements in some areas.

“In order to complete this document properly we are looking at creative and innovative solutions to meet those requirements.

“We will submit those ideas to the Premier League, as is required, in January.

“Should we be unable to meet the regulations at Griffin Park, one alternative is to ground share.”

Particular sticking points for being able to stay at Griffin Park include a lack of sufficient floodlighting, undersoil heating, dressing rooms meeting specific dimensions and provision of media working areas of mandatory size.

And Devlin hinted the Bees would not rule out playing in a rugby union stadium such as Twickenham or Harlequins’ Stoop home.

He said: “If a groundshare is required, the club will consider all stadiums in the local area, both those currently used for football and not.

“I should stress that no conversations have taken place with any other club or third party.

“Club representatives have only spoken to the Football League in order to ensure we complete the document by January 31.”

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