Ipswich Town Football Club (ITFC) has applied for a license variation to hold boxing and wrestling matches at Portman Road, marking a major step in the club's efforts to diversify its event offerings beyond football. With this change, the ancient stadium might host multiple sports, drawing crowds and stimulating the local economy.
The Ipswich Borough Council has received the license application, which requests authorization to hold boxing and wrestling competitions at Portman Road. If accepted, it would enable ITFC to expand the variety of events it hosts by using the stadium for high-profile combat sports in addition to its principal function as a football stadium.
Ipswich Town has called Portman Road home since 1884. It can accommodate over 29,000 people and is well-suited to hold big events. Football is still the club's primary focus, but the addition of boxing and wrestling may present additional business prospects.
Although any information like possible event dates or commercial partnerships has not yet been made public, a statement from the council's website attests to the application's filing. This may be a profitable step for ITFC and a big draw for sports fans in Ipswich and beyond, especially considering the rising popularity of boxing and wrestling in the UK.
If the application is accepted, more people may travel to Ipswich to see boxing and wrestling matches, which would help the city's hotels, restaurants, and retail establishments. The town's position as a sporting center may be further cemented if it were to hold big boxing matches or wrestling performances at Portman Road. This action also fits with a larger pattern of multi-sport events being held in football stadiums. Major boxing matches have taken place at stadiums like Old Trafford, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the Principality Stadium in recent years, demonstrating that football fields can effectively serve as combat sports arenas.
Although Ipswich Borough Council has the last say, supporters will be watching to see if Portman Road is the next football stadium to adopt this exciting change. If permitted, Ipswich Town FC may soon be adding a new chapter to its illustrious athletic history by hosting fight nights and wrestling spectacles at its renowned stadium.
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This story was originally published April 3, 2025 at 2:03 PM.