Detailed planning permission was fully granted in June 2007 on the stadium which would cost £14 million, replacing the club's Layer Road ground, which had been their home since Colchester United's foundation in 1937.

Potential resolutions for the problem included moving the pitch and building a new main stand, but proved to be too expensive for the club's ailing finances.

A new location for a replacement stadium was mooted at Turner Rise, Colchester, as new owner and chairman Jonathan Crisp introduced developers Norcross Estates as shirt sponsors for the 1987–88 season.

[13] Layer Road was sold back to the Council for £1.2 million in the early 1990s in order to clear Colchester United's debts, with the club leasing the stadium for three years.

petition set up by Colchester's Evening Gazette newspaper and with 13,000 signatures in support, the Cuckoo Farm plans were submitted to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott for a decision to be made on the application.

[20] Prescott gave his approval for the regeneration project for the north of Colchester in January 2005, meaning construction work could begin as early as 2006 after planning application had been submitted in autumn 2005.

[8] More good news followed with the announcement by Colchester Councillors that work could begin on the stadium prior to the opening of a new access route linked to the A12 in January 2007.

[26] The first fixture to be played at the Community Stadium was a friendly between Colchester United and Spanish club Athletic Bilbao, on 4 August 2008.

[30] Mark Yeates scored the first competitive goal at the stadium in a 2–2 draw with Oldham Athletic on 30 August 2008[31] but the U's had to wait until 25 October 2008 to register their first win at the ground.

They won emphatically against Carlisle United, scoring five with goals from David Perkins, Dean Hammond, Akanni-Sunday Wasiu and two netted by Mark Yeates.

[33] Utilising the space of the Layer and Centennial suites, the stadium also plays host to a range of other activities, including conferences, banqueting, weddings, parties and events.

[40] This was followed by girl group Little Mix making their Colchester debut on 8 July 2018 as part of their popular Summer Hits tour.

The first international game at the stadium saw England under-19s defeat their German counterparts 1–0 in front of a crowd of 9,692 on 18 November 2008 courtesy of a Henri Lansbury goal.

[42][43] The next international fixture saw England under-21s qualify for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship as they beat Lithuania 3–0 with two goals from Danny Welbeck and one from Marc Albrighton.

The Young Lions cruised to a 5–0 victory against Iceland on the night, with goals from Marvin Sordell, Martin Kelly, Craig Dawson and two scored by Gary Gardner.

Canaries manager Paul Lambert had been in charge at Colchester when the U's defeated Norwich 7–1 on the opening day of the season at Carrow Road.

Shortly after this event, Lambert defected to Norwich, and with bad feelings between the clubs spelt a fiery affair for the return fixture.

[52] In May 2009, the Colchester Community Stadium was named overall winner in the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors East of England Awards.

The RICS said the stadium project had been a "fantastic new facility for Colchester United Football Club" and that it also gave "benefits to the wider community".