Customers are the English team Forest Green Rovers and its owner, green energy tycoon and founder of Ecotricity, Dale Vince. After acquiring the club, he first banned the feeding of football players and fans with beef, pork or lamb - for health and ethical reasons, and in 2015 announced that the team had become completely vegan - like himself. Vince is also progressive in matters of architecture: he wanted to get a wooden stadium, because during its construction, including the production and delivery of materials, a possible minimum of CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere - and at any stadium ¾ of carbon dioxide emissions during its entire existence has been accounted for by building materials. Moreover, wood is a renewable resource.
The stadium will be built almost entirely from sustainably harvested wood using methods that reduce CO2 emissions. The frame, roof consoles, facade lamellas will be made of wood. Densely spaced load-bearing elements of the frame will make it possible to make wooden terraces for spectators' rows and even interfloor ceilings. The roof will be a transparent membrane, which will ensure the normal growth of grass on the field, soften shadows disturbing the players, and visually reduce the volume of the stadium when viewed from afar.
Seats of the first row will be removed from the field by only five meters; all places will receive an unobstructed view. First of all, stands will be built for 5,000 people, and when the club reaches great success, the number of seats will be increased to 10,000.
The stadium will be built on a meadow, and around - while preserving the natural environment - a public space will be created for everyday use by local residents. The stadium, along with grass and all-weather fields, multifunctional sports facilities and a sports science center, will be included in the development of Eco-Park, an Ecotricity project with a budget of £ 100 million. On 40 hectares, in addition to the above facilities, there will be a business park of "green" technologies with resource-efficient office and industrial buildings. There are plans to create 4,000 jobs, including space for the expansion of Ecotricity, now the main employer of Stroud City: 700 people work for Vince's company. A nature reserve and a public transport interchange are also planned in the Eco-Park.
Forest Green Rovers Stadium, like the entire Eco Park, will be either carbon-neutral or even CO2-negative thanks to its own sources of green energy.
