Marine FC: Club hopes fans will chip in for £8m new stadium
A Merseyside football club has announced plans for a new £8m stadium to be partly funded by its fans. Marine FC, based in Crosby, Sefton, said it wants to "safeguard the club for the next 100 years" by increasing its capacity to 5,000.The proposed new stadium, which still requires planning permission, will include a community hub with health and wellness facilities.Marine's chief executive James Leary said: "I think if we don't go for it we'll regret it".
The club said its fanbase has grown exponentially in recent years. Mr Leary said since it played Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur in the 2021 FA Cup third round, it has won two promotions and average attendance has increased from 350 to 1,400.
The club's associated charity, Marine in the Community, has also expanded and now provides support to "thousands of people locally". Marine, who compete in the sixth tier National League North, currently play at Rossett Park on College Lane."Everybody who's been to the ground knows it's limited," Mr Leary said. "There's certain restrictions, there's limitations to how much we can grow, how much we can build, how much we can increase the capacity to. "So it's really to safeguard the club for the next 100 years."This is an important milestone and something we hope to make a reality."Mr Leary said the club had searched extensively for a suitable site in the L23 post-code area and has settled on land off Edge Lane, owned by businessman Craig Sneddon. The project will be supported by developers Bellway Homes, but Mr Leary said the club still needs to raise most of the £8m needed. He said that while permission needs to be obtained from Sefton Council to build on greenbelt land, "positive" conversations had taken place. Mr Leary said a crowdfunding page has been launched and added: "If anyone can donate to support the project it will be a massive boost. "If we can't raise the funds the project will not happen."
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