Plough Lane: AFC Wimbledon to play first game at new ground on 3 November

Plough Lane, pictured in March this year, was able to be completed thanks to a investment which included a crowdfunding campaign

AFC Wimbledon say they will play their first game at their newly-built Plough Lane home when they face Doncaster Rovers in League One on 3 November.

The Dons have begun the 2020-21 season groundsharing at Queens Park Rangers' Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.

Their final game at QPR is due to be against Blackpool on 27 October.

"Not only will we open the doors on our home, it is also the start of a brand-new era for our club," said chief executive Joe Palmer.

"I would like to relay our gratitude to QPR, who have been very professional and attentive towards us and who have gone out of their way to accommodate our needs."

The club, which signed its final construction contract in May, say a behind-closed-doors test event still needs to be held at the ground, while electricity needs to be connected and floodlights erected.

It is hoped that once this happens, the necessary safety certificate will be granted, paving the way for the Dons to return to Plough Lane, having played at Kingsmeadow from 2002 to May 2020.

However, the club say a formal handover of the ground from construction contractors Buckingham will not happen until early December, which is when some of the rail seating in the stadium is due to be installed.

Plough Lane in Merton is considered to be the spiritual home of AFC Wimbledon, as the original Wimbledon FC played there before being forced to leave their ground in 1991.

The new stadium, which is on the site of the now-demolished Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, will have an initial capacity of 9,300.