Scunthorpe United Football Club (SUFC) has appointed stadium contractor Buckingham Group to build its new £18m stadium, scheduled to open in time for the 2016-17 season.

The League One club’s new 12,000-seater stadium will be developed as part of the mixed-use Lincolnshire Lakes project – which is spearheaded by Lucent Group and will include 3,500 new houses, a commercial park, a school and a transport hub.

The designs and masterplan for the stadium have been created by the Frank Whittle Partnership (FWP) and come as SUFC chair Peter Swann is keen to provide the club with a new home and move the club from its current 9,000-capacity Glanford Park.

The overall FWP plan also includes a 100-bed hotel, a multi-use indoor arena, community sports pitches and, potentially, indoor and outdoor bowling facilities.

Buckingham Group’s previous projects include Silverstone Wing at the historic racecourse, the Copper Box use during London 2012, Stadium MK in Milton Keynes and the Amex Stadium in Brighton.

Kevin Underwood, partner and director at Buckingham Group, said: "We're looking forward to work with the club – and designers – to deliver a superb stadium that the club and fans will be proud to call home."

SUFC received planning permission for the stadium from North Lincolnshire Council in May 2015.