Grimsby have been desperate for a new home for years but in may now be a reality that is not too far off as D3D4’s Grimsby Town Correspondent Sam Barrick explains …

After 25 years of trying, numerous false dawns, several failed attempts, countless setbacks and endless holdups, Grimsby Town finally seem as close as we’ve ever been to getting a new stadium. The club have agreed with an enabling developer (EXTREME Leisure) to build a new £250 million site at Peak’s Parkway. The council have given EXTREME the option to buy the land at the preferred location and the club have negotiated a 999 year lease for the new stadium, numerous 3G pitches, sport science facilities and conference facilities on a peppercorn rent meaning Grimsby Town FC will be a club that generates money seven days a week and is totally self-sustainable.  This is the dream for all clubs at this level yet it appears to be unbelievably hard to get off the ground. Bristol Rovers are another club who can relate to this but I am sure there are many others.

Grimsby Town as a club has worked tirelessly for over 25 years to secure a new stadium to replace the perceived out of date Blundell Park. We thought we had got a done deal in 2010 when the council approved Great Coates and gave us the option to buy the land but sadly there were 2 conditions that we were not willing to fulfil. The first was that we had to buy 25 acres for the stadium and facilities and a further 25 acres to protect the wildlife, the other issue was that the railway station would have needed upgrading due to more cars needing to go over it and more trains would need to run on match days. This would cost an additional £3 million and the club simply, and justifiably, wouldn’t pay this.

We’ve had a problem for years with regard to local politics. Our majority shareholder and the man who is effectively the chairman, John Fenty, is an unapologetic Conservative and the council are and will forever be Labour in an area considered to be their heartland. Local politics has been a huge issue and continues to cause issues as the Lib Dems attempted to frustrate the process by “calling-in” the decision on giving EXTREME the option to procure the land in order to construct the complex within the 5 year timetable agreed by the council, the club and the enabling developer. We finally got the green light in April and all things appear to be running far too smoothly at the moment and mine and many others main concern is that everything is about go pear shaped. The complexities of building a new ground are enormous and the number of things that could go wrong is practically endless. I do get the impression, however, that there is concerted effort to ensure that this time we finally secure our new home.

The council want the land for houses; we want a new ground to make the club more financially viable. The only vehement opposition to the new ground is from the locals, as would be expected, there is a cemetery located in close proximity to where new ground is to be built and some locals argue that it doesn’t pay sufficient respect to the deceased or the relatives visiting the deceased in the cemetery. Sadly, wherever we build it there will be some forceful opposition to it. In my opinion, these people need to consider the bigger picture and think that their lives will be immeasurably better because of the new community stadium and facilities. The local football club, that is now on the up, will be very nearby and they could easily go to some games, there will be 3G pitches and an ice rink for recreation very nearby for them and it will only be noisy during the construction of the complex and on 20 Saturday afternoons plus the occasional Tuesday evening. I believe that is not a substantive enough argument to totally derail the whole exercise which is in the best interests of 99.9% of citizens living in the Grimsby and Cleethorpes area.

I genuinely believe that this time there is strong likelihood that Grimsby Town’s new stadium will finally be built. We are seeing a more accommodating approach from all parties. The club is being very pro-active and the council are more considerate and rational minded. We have a club that has aspirations to push on up the leagues and a new ground will only bring the community together more and make the football club more appealing to everyone in the surrounding area, including and most importantly, to families that may not see Blundell Park as the kind of place they feel is accommodating to children. It will be better for everyone.

Words Sam Barrick