Northampton Saints Rugby Football Club (NSRFC) has confirmed plans for a £6m redevelopment of its Franklin's Gardens stadium as part of a deal with supermarket ASDA.

The club plans to increase the venue's capacity to 17,000 spectators after it admitted earlier this year that the last few years had seen the stadium operate at 98 per cent with its current 13,500 capacity. Proposals include replacing the Sturtridge Pavilion with a new stand as part of the scheme, which will be funded through the sale of a long-term lease on the Edgar Mobbs Way car park (Car Park D) to ASDA.

NSRFC chair Keith Barwell said: "We have sold out our Heineken Cup match against Munster over a month ahead of schedule and season ticket sales have increased for two straight years. "Furthermore, European Rugby Cup (ERC) is now stipulating that knockout matches have to be played in a stadium with a minimum capacity of 15,000, which is more than the current capacity. We don't want to be in the situation where we face the prospect of taking big games away from Northampton."