Dale Vince lifts the lid on Forest Green Rovers stadium project

The owner of National League football team Forest Green Rovers hopes the club's ambitious stadium plans will act as a catalyst for the development of more eco-friendly sports facilities.

After tending out a brief to design the stadium earlier this year, Dale Vince and the Forest Green board have whittled the competition down to two firms - Glenn Howells and Zaha Hadid - from an original pool of sixty.

Talking to Sports Management, Vince lauded both the designs as being economically and environmentally sustainable, and called the project the first of its kind in the world.

Both designs have eschewed the use of carbon-based substances and concrete materials in construction. Vince suggested that wood may be used as the main material for the stadium, while the arena will use solar power to create its own energy and rainwater to for the pitch irrigation system.

He said the design had to take into account the position of the pitch - so that it could be well placed to create a good atmosphere for fans, but also have good access to wind and the sun in order to grow naturally.

Vince - who is also the founder and owner of alternative energy company Ecotricity - said that he hoped the development would be a catalyst for change in the way stadiums are designed and built, and that a number of other football clubs had been in touch to garner advice on eco matters.

You can read the full article from Sports Management HERE

Images: Top - Dale Vince. Bottom - Glen Howells Architects' proposal for the stadium / Glen Howells Architects