Football club Fulham FC has unveiled renders of its Populous-designed Riverside Stand at its Craven Cottage stadium in London that show a rooftop swimming pool.

Described as “a European football stadium first”, the rooftop pool overlooking the Thames forms part of the redevelopment of the Riverside stand for the Premier League football team.

Populous is designing Fulham FC’s Riverside Stand

Designed by architecture studio Populous, the stand will have a capacity of around 8,000 spectators when it completes later this year and will raise the capacity of Craven Cottage to 28,500.

Along with stadium seating, the stand will contain restaurants, bars, conference facilities, event spaces, a boutique hotel and a health club.

The stand will include a rooftop swimming pool

Renders also show a rooftop pool, which will form part of the Sky Deck on the top three floors of the stand. The images suggest that the pool will not have views of the pitch, but will instead look out to the Thames.

“Our vision for the New Riverside Stand at Craven Cottage was to create a unique experience that has not been seen before, whether in the context of football or beyond,” said Populous senior principal Philip Johnson.

“It’s a privilege to bring this innovative design to life, with amazing spaces set to house incredible experiences for fans and guests and a world-class terrace that will drive the atmosphere in the ground, all set in a unique location on the banks of the Thames,” he added.

“This project demonstrates new ways of designing individual stands, and we are proud to be part of the club’s next chapter.”

It will have views of the river Thames

Although Fulham’s swimming pool is a European first, several other stadiums around the world include pools.

At Everbank Field, home of the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team – which is also owned by Fulham FC-owner Shahid Khan – two swimming pools overlook the pitch in the north stand. While Chase Field, which is the home of Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks team, has a pitch-side pool.

In Australia, a temporary pool is often built alongside the pitch during international matches at the Brisbane Cricket Ground.

Recently plans were revealed for a baseball stadium in South Korea that will have an infinity pool overlooking the pitch.

The development will also include a riverside walkway

Craven Cottage is one of numerous stadiums that Populous has designed in the UK capital, including several for other Premier League football teams.

It designed the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for Premier League football team Tottenham Hotspur FC and the 2012 Olympic Stadium, which is now home to West Ham United FC.

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