A "massive step forward" has been taken towards the development of AFC Wimbledon's new stadium.

Land on which that the will be built in Plough Lane has been transferred to a subsidiary of the Dons Trust, The Wider Interests of Football Limited. This means the club now owns the freehold to that land.

AFC Wimbledon chief executive Erik Samuelson said: "In the meantime, the work to develop the design of the stadium continues apace and we can turn our attention to finalising the options.

"When that is done, the Trust’s stadium oversight team can complete its plans to consult fans and members, initially about the design (which is still being worked on) and then later in 2019 the match day experience."

A number of other transactions took place at the same time as the land transfer.
These included the completion of the sale of The Cherry Red Records Stadium to Chelsea and the consequent transfer of funds to the club; the use of some of those funds to repay the existing loan from Barclays, which was secured on our current stadium; the transfer of existing stadium grants from the current stadium to the new site; and making available the funds from Merton Catalyst (the joint venture of Galliard Homes and Catalyst Housing Association).

Mark Davis, Chairman of the Dons Trust, said the news was a welcome Christmas present for Wimbledon supporters. 

"Finally, we no longer need to call Plough Lane our spiritual home – it’s our actual home," he said.

"There are many people who deserve our thanks for making this happen, and I shall save their blushes for another day. 

"In the meantime, we look forward to creating the stadium and matchday experience that our supporters want and to making Wimbledon the proud hosts, once again, of a football team that punches well above its weight."