CHAIRMAN Jeff Mostyn has revealed Cherries officials are holding fire on a decision as to whether the club should increase capacity at Dean Court until the end of the season.

Mostyn has also quashed rumours of a possible groundshare and dismissed suggestions Cherries would be prevented from going up due to the size of the Goldsands Stadium.

Cherries lead the Championship by a solitary point ahead of tomorrow’s sell-out with Sheffield Wednesday and attendances have risen in line with the team’s on-field fortunes.

But while facilitating bigger crowds would appear to be an obvious solution, Mostyn says careful consideration needs to be given to the logistics and financial benefits of adding extra seats.

He told the Daily Echo: “At this moment in time, no final decision has been made regarding the possibility of increasing the capacity. The dynamics could change quite dramatically if we were to add extra seating and there are a number of factors to consider.

“We have to be mindful of the fact that all away clubs are entitled to 10 per cent of the overall allocation and there could be issues regarding segregation if the capacity were to increase.

“At present, the manager’s desire is to have home supporters in the South Stand and that may have to change due to the limited allocation in the segregated area in the East Stand. If capacity were to increase, we would have to house away supporters elsewhere, probably in the South Stand.

“That is one consideration. We also have to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of investing in additional seating compared with how much revenue it would generate. Our attendances have been excellent in recent weeks but we also must remember that not every game this season has been a sell-out.”

Mostyn said another key factor in delaying a decision was due to the board’s desire to wait until the conclusion of the season, with strict rules applying to clubs staging Premier League games.

He added: “The things we have to be mindful of are all related to media and television. We are well advanced in our thinking as to how the ground would have to take shape but everything is dependent on the final three games of the season.

“Grounds staging Premier League football must meet certain criteria on a number of different aspects, including hard wiring all media areas and improving the floodlights for broadcast purposes. For instance, if we were fortunate enough to go up, we would have to make provision for up to 100 press seats, but these are all requirements we could meet.”

Asked whether there was any truth in rumours of a groundshare or Cherries being blocked from going up due to the capacity at Dean Court, Mostyn said: “I can give a categorical no to both. No official from this club has made a statement or even given consideration to a possible ground-share.

“I can understand why there is an element of speculation about the second rumour because there used to be rules where a minimum number of seats were required in stadia hosting Premier League football but that is no longer the case.

“Finally, I can categorically confirm to supporters that irrespective of which division we are playing our football in next season, it will certainly be staged at Dean Court."