Inside Brentford’s new state-of-the-art stadium as Bees target promotion

Brentford have done something truly remarkable during lockdown.

The Championship club have built a state-of-the-art stadium, finished the two-year project time and all done within budget to give themselves a new 17,250 seater home to be proud of.

They narrowly missed out on reaching the Premier League in the play-offs last season but the Brentford Community Stadium is worthy of being in the top flight.

It is a challenge at the best of times to build a new football stadium and yet, despite the obvious financial and logistical hurdles, it will host its first competitive game against Wycombe in the Carabao Cup on Sunday.

Mirror Sport was given an exclusive first look at the magnificent new stadium in West London which is a short walk from their old ground at Griffin Park but is a huge step forward.

It is also home to Brentford’s latest signing, 24-year-old striker Ivan Toney, who will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Andre Gray, Neal Maupay, Ollie Watkins and Said Benrahma who all made names for themselves with the Bees.

Toney, who was League One’s top scorer last season with 24 goals in 32 games for Peterborough, even turned down Premier League interest to join Brentford because he is convinced that both the team and the stadium will get to the top flight.

Toney said: “All of the lads were in the dressing room and we were thinking it’s like a Premier League ground and if you’re in a Premier League ground then you need to play like a Premier League team even though we’re in the Championship.

“That will push us to become a Premier League team come the end of the season.

“It’s a great stadium. We played against Oxford in a friendly and straight away we felt it was like home. I feel like I can sure goals there and I can’t wait to be involved against Wycombe.”

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Toney also believes that working with Brentford boss Thomas Frank can help him improve just as it has done in the past for players who have stepped off the club’s prolific production line.

He said: “I feel like he’s a manager who can get the best out of players. He’s a manager who can put his arm round someone when they’re not having the best of times.

“We had a few chats on the phone and I really felt we were on the same lines in what we both want to achieve, being ambitious and where we want to take the club.

“Coming from League One, it’s a big jump to the Premier League. I did have Premier League options but I chose Brentford because I felt it was the right platform to elevate my career and also I believe I can help the club get promoted.”

It has got a train line on three sides of the ground, excellent transport links, a state-of-the art big screen, security system and there is a nod to the club’s previous home at Griffin Park with red and white goal nets plus they have used bricks from the old Stable Block in the new North Stand.

There are multi-coloured seats which are partly designed to ensure that if the ground is less than capacity then it does not look as if it has got rafts of empty seats, although they already have 11,000 season ticket holders.

Brentford’s operations director Alan Walsh said: “We are incredibly proud of the stadium and also to finish it on time when you consider the difficulties for contractors and building in lockdown and social distancing.”