EFL stadium kitted out with £7m of equipment from the Millennium Dome with kids' play area turned into training centre
AN EFL stadium is packed to the Gills with trinkets from the Millennium Dome.
Priestfield Stadium has been home to
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Gillingham's Priestfield Stadium has been furnished with leftovers from the Millennium Dome
Credit: Rex Features
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Former chairman Paul Scally grabbed a host of bargains when the Dome closed over two decades ago
Credit: PA:Empics Sport
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The site in Greenwich was developed after the Dome closed as an attraction
Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd
Former Gills chairman
The government auctioned off thousands of items following the Dome's demise.
Scally - who bought Gillingham for £1 in 1995 - spotted an opportunity.
And the 69-year-old got carried away with his bidding at the auction 23 years ago.
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Scally estimates the club received up to £7million worth of equipment after shelling out just £750,000.
The purchases helped Gillingham refurbish a new
While the club megastore boasted £250,000 of fittings bought for just £5,000.
Scally explained to
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"I've bought tea trolleys, ovens, fire extinguishers, 300 sets of bone china, glasses and all sorts on top of the bigger stuff.
"This has allowed us to move the club forward quicker than I had envisaged. We just kept going back to the site for more gear.
Abandoned EFL stadium left to rot with pitch covered in weeds just five years after hosting final match
"I bought a seven-and-a-half ton lorry to transport everything and we must have made 100 trips to Greenwich.
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"I've had to borrow a 10,000 sq ft warehouse off a mate because there isn't enough room at the ground for everything."
Scally also managed to get his hands on a new indoor training centre.
Valued at £1.5million, the Gills chairman converted an 80m x 40m play area from the Dome for just £70,000.
Scally gained control of the club in 1995 for a nominal fee of £1, but also took on its £1.5m debt.
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He
Scally was voted off the club's board last year.
Gillingham are currently in League Two, having bounced around the third and four tiers for the past two decades.
They spent five seasons in the Championship from 2000, but have not returned since relegation in 2005.
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