On 17th January 2007 Rovers were granted planning permission to redevelop the Memorial Stadium into an 18,500 all-seater arena.

The decision was made at a Bristol City Council meeting this evening in front of a crowd of joyous Gasheads, officials and directors.

The news meant the ambitions proposals, which include a host of plans that will benefit the local community as well as the city as a whole, could become a reality, and every Rovers supporter can now look forward to watching their team in a brand new stadium within the immediate future.

"This is a massive step forward for us, and a momentous day in the history of Bristol Rovers Football Club," chief executive Bill Smith told bristolrovers.co.uk after the decision was announced.

"Over the last year or so, there's been a lot of negative news surrounding the club, but this is superb news for the city of Bristol, Bristol Rovers, and all our supporters.

"It became obvious as the evening wore on tonight that we would be given permission to go ahead with our plans, but to actually hear it and for it to be a reality is fantastic.

"At the moment the feeling is just absolute euphoria, and it will take a while to set in. The club has waited a long time for this day, and our fans everywhere should be overjoyed and proud.

"A lot of work has gone into tonight's decision so far, and there's still an awful lot of work to be done going forward. But this is the first and possibly biggest hurdle we will have to overcome.

"Now we can look forward to turning a dream into something real, and with this evening's verdict in place, the future for Bristol Rovers looks very bright."