Museum to celebrate Molineux glory days

An interactive museum will open at Molineux by Christmas as part of the £18 million rebuild of the stadium's North Bank, it was announced today.

It will house memorabilia charting the club's 135-year history, from its beginnings as amateur squad St Luke's, to its unofficial Champions of the World status during the 1950s and its current Premier League battle.

The museum will be a similar size to one at Chelsea FC, which is 7,212 sq ft.

Wolves spokesman Matt Grayson said today the museum had been included in plans to improve the experience of visiting fans.

"Not every club has its own museum, but then not every club has as deep and rich a history as we do," he said.

"It seemed like a really sensible thing for us to do.

"For supporters, it's another great addition to the match-day experience.

"We hope it will appeal to fans both young and old.

"The vision for us is for kids to be going with their mum or dad or grandparents, and everyone will walk out of there having had a great time."

He said while some of the exhibits would be permanent, there would also be more "fluid" elements with different exhibitions throughout the year.

Visitors will be able to examine how footballs, strips and even boots have changed from the days of Billy Wright to what Kevin Doyle and Matt Jarvis step out in today.

"It's all about engaging with our supporters of the future," Mr Grayson said.

"The youngsters that might have their heads turned by the Man Uniteds of the world, we want them to wake up to the team that's on their doorstep instead.

"Part of that is that it won't be static – displays and exhibitions will change to encourage fans to come back."

The scale of the museum, along with an upmarket restaurant and bar complex in the hospitality suite, has meant the cost of the rebuild had gone up to £18m, from the budgeted £16m.

Club chairman Steve Morgan said the hospitality suite – which will cater for up to 1,700 fans, up from 1,200 – will be up and running in time for the start of the 2012/13 football season, with the museum set to open a few months later. A new gastro pub, called the WV1 Bar, will seat 250 supporters, while the separate WV1 Restaurant will seat 300 supporters.

The latest developments in the project were unveiled in full at a press conference today, with a computer-generated film showing a fan's viewpoint as they travel through the complex.

Bosses visited other stadiums around the world, from Brighton to Kansas City and Tampa Bay in Florida, to gain inspiration for the development.

Mr Grayson said the company behind the museum set-up – Mather & Co – were also behind the museum at Wimbledon, and the National Football Museum in Manchester.

It will be one of the few club museums outside the top flight, with Wolves joined by a handful of others such as Millwall FC who boasts its own small-scale version.

Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal all have their own museum.

The ambitious plans, which will increase capacity to 37,000 from its previous levels of 29,408, were given the go-ahead in February last year.

Mr Morgan said he wants to create a stadium to rival the Premier League's best and enable the club to compete with England's top clubs.

He said he was "absolutely confident" Wolves would stay up next season.

He added the stadium plans did not hinge on whether Wolves stayed up or were relegated at the end of this season.

"We sincerely believe we will be in the Premier League next season," he said.

"But these plans don't depend on league status. It's more a question of resources and how we prioritise those resources.

"It's about creating a better experience for our fans – it's the 21st century now and the way football fans were traditionally treated is no longer acceptable."

He said the North Bank Bar would also be open after matches, for fans to relax and let the traffic dissipate.