Watford FC are exploring options to potentially increase Vicarage Road stadium’s capacity to 30,000.

Chairman and chief executive Scott Duxbury spoke about potential stadium expansion at the club’s popular ‘At Our Place’ event last week and revealed that the Hornets are already in talks with Watford Borough Council about increasing Vicarage Road’s capacity.

The stadium can currently accommodate 21,577 fans after the club installed a further 700 seats in the Sir Elton John stand after the Hornets’ promotion to the Premier League in 2015.

But the Golden Boys are now drawing up plans to increase Vicarage Road’s capacity, which could see either the Graham Taylor or Sir Elton John stands expanded so that the ground can accommodate up to 30,000 supporters.

Duxbury said: “We’ve engaged a company to conduct a survey to see how we can expand the stadium but still keep the aesthetic look we have now. They are looking at the Sir Elton John stand and the Graham Taylor stand and seeing what is the most effective way for us to expand.

“We are already in dialogue with the council. While I won’t go into specific timelines, we hope that sooner rather than later we will be able to close on a plan.

“We are looking at two scenarios, one taking us to 25,000 and one taking us to 30,000. I would like to take us to 30,000, because it puts us in that tier of clubs just outside the top six.”

He added: “What we are going to do at the stadium, and our desire to increase the capacity, isn’t to generate new revenue, but to give us a technical advantage because on a matchday it does make a difference. The more numbers we can get the more likely we are going to make this a fortress.”