The K's In Point

Re: Shared use stadium

By SDG (SDG (Ks))4/1 20:33Wed Jan 4 20:33:31 2023In response to Re: Shared use stadium

Views: 2004

IMO we can aim for something that might be affordable and be a little (or a lot) beneath what we've been used to for decades, or spend the rest of the 2020's making "perfect" the enemy of "good" and throw pragmatism out of the window.

This is the crux of it for me and the debate we need to have. The athletics track would involve various compromises around shared use, sightlines, pitch quality and so on; it’s quite understandable that people want a football-specific facility but we need to be realistic.

We could bring the track to a minimum viable step 3 ground with our money (and Mark said as much at the fans forum). Some sort of new clubhouse, some terracing on the far side and moving the discus cage would be the main requirements. It already has 390 seats, more than enough for step 2. I don’t think those changes alone would be enough to make it good - that would need more money and probably partnership with CRE/school/Council - but it would be viable and it could be improved over time.

The board have been trying for eight years to get something better, since announcing our departure from KM, and they haven’t even cleared the first hurdle of finding a site. Each of the plans has been less realistic than the last, especially Lovelace. Chalky Lane can’t work - it’s got very poor access, is on the green belt and above all is another football club’s.

Our AFC money is being whittled down by the year. There has to come a point where we accept that we simply don’t have the land or the £5m+ we’d need to build a new ground of our own, and make some compromises.