Kidsgrove plan stadium improvements

The news follows on from the club’s run to the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup, which earned them a significant sum in prize money.

The club which was established in 1952, and has been at its current ground since 1961, wants to use the project to lay the foundations for many more successful years at their home off Hollinwood Road in Kidsgrove.

This means many of its facilities, which are now in need of improvement, have got to be either refurbished or replaced over the next few years. 

Phase one of the project will take place next summer, when it is hoped that the club’s ageing floodlights will be replaced with a modern, more reliable and efficient system that will also reduce impact on the club’s neighbours.

Phase two should see several of the buildings on site replaced and additional parking created to improve traffic and parking issues.

A key part of the scheme is to ensure that new facilities provide flexible spaces which local people want to use for a wide range of other activities outside of match days.

The club’s vice chairman, Ian Cooper, told the club’s official website: “This project is critical to the club’s future, we need to ensure the club is a place that more local people feel welcome and want to visit, both on match days and at other times.

“The club has always been an important part of the community in Kidsgrove and we are keen that this is a practical demonstration of our commitment to the town.”

To find out what people want the club to provide, a large-scale consultation exercise has just launched. Drop in sessions are planned at the club between 4pm and 6pm on Friday 16 November and 10am and 12 noon on Saturday 17th November as well as at Kidsgrove Library on Monday 20 November between 10am and 12.30pm. People can also complete a short online survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/KAFC