Extreme rainfall causes huge sinkhole to appear on prominent London football pitch

Extreme flooding has caused a huge sinkhole to appear on the pitch at the Wimbledon FC Stadium in south west London.

The collapsed pitch has led to the stadium closure - and it is set to cost at least £1 million to rebuild. 

The damage to the stadium comes after the UK has been hit by a deluge of wet weather and flash flooding over the weekend. There’s also more heavy rain due for the latter part of the week. 

Over the weekend, roads and houses in central and southern England experienced a month’s worth of rainfall in hours. 

The problems at the Cherry Red Records Stadium have been caused by the heavy and persistent rainfall. The wet ground caused the settlement beneath it to dissolve and shift, causing a large hole to appear. 

Architects KSS worked with the now-collapsed contractors Buckingham Group on the £34 million redesign of the stadium, which has a capacity of 9,300 and was completed in 2020.  

The collapse of the football pitch highlights the importance of being prepared for flooding events. It also shows how data can play a large part in planning and future-proofing construction projects.  

Being prepared with early warnings helps prevent against severe flood damage, which in this instance, has caused a significant financial impact on the football team and the stadium owners.