West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace has confirmed the club have scrapped plans to extend the Hawthorns – and launched an outspoken attack on new Premier League financial rules.
Speaking to more than 800 fans and sponsors last night at the club's end-of-season dinner, Peace confirmed Albion's U-turn on stadium expansion plans.
And he branded the new Premier League regulations "anti-competitive" and insisted they will favour bigger teams by deterring new rich benefactors from buying clubs.
They secured a record Premier League points total and a record number of Premier League wins in a season by beating Southampton on Saturday.
Peace's confirmation that a stadium expansion will not take place reverses his pledge – to turn the Hawthorns into a 30,000-seater venue – at the same event two years ago.
Peace said: "A gradual increase in capacity is the best way forward. Attendances are only rising on average by 200 per season.
"That's largely due to the general and local economic environment, and the increasing number of televised games. We believe that the atmosphere generated by a packed ground is desirable.
"So we will now find ways of adding seats within the existing stadium rather than building new capacity and creating indebtedness within the football club."
Financial fair play rules, which will restrict clubs to a wage bill increase of £4m per season for the next three years and limit financial losses to £105m in total over the same period, were approved by the Premier League earlier this year. Albion voted against the proposal.
Peace said: "Whilst it is our view that all football clubs should be financed in a sustainable manner that is guaranteed, we would prefer to operate in a market free from other regulations.
"We believe the new rules are anti-competitive and will further reinforce the existing pecking order in the Premier League."
Peace also praised head coach Steve Clarke and his staff and his players for breaking the club's Premier League record for points and wins with Saturday's 3-0 victory at Southampton.
TV presenter and Baggies fan Adrian Chiles hosted the event while former X-Factor runner-up and Eurovision contestant Andy Abraham performed, as did magician Ben Hanlin.
Fans mingled with players, who signed autographs and posed for photographs before the awards were handed out, with defender Gareth McAuley picking up both the fans' and players' player-of-the-season trophies.
On-loan striker Romelu Lukaku also collected two trophies, adding the young-player-of-the-year title to his leading goalscorer award.
Supporter of the year was Warwickshire-born Peter Tandy, who is a lifelong season ticket holder despite spending most of his adult life living in Yorkshire.
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