A HOTEL, offices, conference facilities, restaurant and a new stand could be built at Rodney Parade as the Dragons look to regenerate their ground.

The rugby region is set to take their plans to Newport council as it looks to develop the now disused clubhouse and an area of grassland, commonly known as the ‘cabbage patch’.

The Dragons admit the scope of their expansion could be subject to change.

But chairman David Buttress is confident it can create hundreds of thousands of pounds to be ploughed back into the region.

They intent to build a new stand on the North Terrace of the stadium.

It has been an exciting week for the city after Tuesday’s news that an international hotel chain has agreed a 10-year franchise to open up in Newport’s Chartist Tower as part of a £12 million development that could bring in 350 jobs.

Mercure, a midscale brand with 756 hotels in 55 countries, could be set to move in by next summer.

That could coincide with the opening of the new £84m International Convention Centre Wales at the city’s Celtic Manor Resort.

The redevelopment of Rodney Parade would be a welcome addition.

The Welsh Rugby Union bought the ground from Newport RFC last May in a deal that also saw them take ownership of the Dragons.

Buttress was appointed as chairman in September after becoming a minority stakeholder and has made no secret of his ambition to build on the north end of the nine-acre site.

“We had our first board discussion about it six weeks ago when we shared preliminary drawings and plans,” he said.

“We are going to talk to the relevant key stakeholders in Newport now, the council etc, over the next three or four months about what those plans look like in detail.

“At a board meeting this week we discussed the feasibility of the project and what the financial returns could look like and what it would cost to do it.

“It’s a lot of work and a redevelopment this size, as you have seen with other Newport city centre redevelopments, are several years as projects.”

Mr Buttress added: “I hope that we look back in five years and be grateful that we did it because I believe that north end of the ground can generate high hundreds of thousands of pounds a year, maybe more if we do a great job. It’s very important and that income is recurring.

“The most likely outcome is that it will be office, hotel, meeting space, conference, a restaurant but we are open-minded because there might be things that prove to be a better option.

“At this stage of the project we are open-minded but we have a broad idea of what it could start to look like.

"We are forming views but we are pragmatic and willing to change or flex given feedback.”

The WRU own the site but it would be the Dragons that are fund any development – and take the income generated by it. “It’s the directors and the board that are responsible for delivering the plan, not the shareholders,” Mr Buttress said.

“The WRU are not going to write us a cheque and say to go and develop that area. We as a board will have to raise that money and we will be under pressure to deliver because we will have to raise the capital or find partners in order to develop that end of the ground.

The Dragons are currently building a new bar, one that will be available for away football supporters who use the ground for Newport County AFC matches, where their gym used to be at the southern end of the ground.

The region is also giving the changing rooms a facelift.