Maidstone United’s new stand officially opened

National League side Maidstone United officially opened its new steel-framed 1,768-capacity stand for the recent fixture against Sutton United.

Steelwork contractor REIDsteel worked directly with Maidstone United to design, draw, fabricate and erect the £850,000 structure at the club’s Gallagher Stadium.

As well as the steelwork, the company’s work also included cladding, 500m of handrails and disabled access ramps.

The Maidstone United stand is the latest to be erected by REIDsteel. Previous projects have included the landmark Holte End at Aston Villa’s Villa Park as well as stands for Portsmouth and Charlton Athletic.

REIDsteel Project Engineer Toby Hill-Cousins said: “The stand significantly enhances Maidstone’s capacity and allows it to meet National League standards.

“It is a unique structure as it can accommodate 1,768 standing fans but also has the capacity to be adapted in the future to accommodate 884 seated fans by removing intermediate steel infill panels and bolting in seats.

“This detail was very well executed and planned by our team and the architect Steve Harrison of Arete Architects in Maidstone, who did a tremendous job from the initial design and with the co-ordination between us and the other trades.

“It was a pleasure to work with Maidstone United and we hope the new stand will give fans all the support they need to cheer Maidstone to success on the field and help the club grow off the pitch too.”

The fully galvanized 81t, steel-framed standing terrace has been built behind one of the goals. It consists of 11 double standing rows, formed with non-slip metal decking supported by a series of steel rakers.

The stand has an 11m-wide cantilevering steel roof structure, which includes a 1m-high facia for advertising.