Over four years have now passed since Brentford bid farewell to Griffin Park in unprecedented circumstances.
The Bees played their final match at their 116-year-old former home in July 2020, doing so behind closed doors as the COVID pandemic prevented fans from attending one last time.
Griffin Park was Brentford’s long-time home until 2020
And despite a muted goodbye to their beloved old-school stadium, the west London outfit have refused to stand still since then.
A Championship side at the time of their departure, Brentford have gone on to establish themselves in the Premier League at their new GTech Community Stadium home after promotion in 2021.
But the same cannot be said for the site of Griffin Park during this period.
While demolition of the once 12,300-capacity ground was completed in 2023, with plans to build 75 new homes in its place, it has since been left in a state of ruin.
Currently, the old stadium remains boarded up, with the abandoned former venue lying beyond and no further work having taken place.
The former club shop ‘The Bees Superstore’ can also still be seen, despite no longer being in use after a new merchandise store was opened a month after move to the GTech in October 2020.
And though progress may have stalled temporarily at the Bees’ spiritual home, there remain big plans for a redevelopment of the site.
EcoWorld London, the company responsible for the project, revealed in September they were preparing to submit another planning application for a housing scheme at Griffin Park.
Having previously planned to build 75 new homes, it is understood that the new proposal will now see this figure increase to 149, with construction hopefully starting in winter 2025.
The property developer also confirmed that the new site, which is to be called Griffin Park, will pay tribute to its heritage.
Demolition of Griffin Park began in 2021, and was completed in 2023
The building for Brentford’s old club shop remains, though no longer in use
At the heart of the development will be ‘The Green’, a large community space for activities and events, and will feature ‘The Hive’, situated where the stadium’s centre spot once was.
EcoWorld say that The Hive will act as ‘a space for remembrance,
reflection and congregation’, and will also feature seating and artefacts from the ground.
In keeping with the Bees’ nickname, pollinator plants will also be found here.
Plans for the redevelopment are similar to the transformation of Arsenal‘s former Highbury home, after their move to the Emirates Stadium in 2006.
The Gunners’ old ground has now been redeveloped as the Highbury Square apartment complex.
Like the proposed project at Griffin Park, the north London site contains several nods to its past, with half of the flats incorporating the skeletal remains of the old East and West stands.
But while Arsenal’s former pitch has been turned into private gardens, the outdoor area at Brentford’s former home will be open to the public.
Brentford’s final game in front of fans at Griffin Park came in a 5-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in March 2020Getty Images – Getty
There will certainly be plenty of pieces of club heritage in the surrounding area to the newly developed Griffin Park, too.
The former stadium was iconic for the fact it was the only English stadium to have a pub on every corner of the ground.
While one, The Princess Royal, has now closed, three of these still remain, including ‘The Griffin’, which inspired the stadium’s name.
And while little appears to have taken place at the venue since the Bees bid farewell with a Championship play-off semi-final victory over Swansea, there could soon be new life breathed back into the former EFL staple.
