Chasetown plan £500k ground

Chasetown are planning a £500,000 development of their ground - regardless of their FA Cup fate.

The Scholars, who hosted Nuneaton for a place in the first round proper, are looking to build a new 500-seater stand, new dressing rooms and two hospitality suites behind the bypass end of the ground at Church Street.

Plans depend on the levels of grants the club can get from the Football Foundation and local authority under 'match' funding, whereby the club will provide the same amount of funding as other bodies.

Also under the scheme, the current dressing rooms on the clubhouse side of the ground would become a players' lounge.

The club already plan to build a two-storey stand to replace the existing structure on the clubhouse side as part of a long term project.

But the new venture would be done first to help achieve to Chasetown.

"Any money we raise from this run will be used to improve the infrastructure of the club," said secretary Mick Joiner.

"Meetings are ongoing with the local authority with the endeavour to get planning approval which is needed before any funding is available.

"They say we need planning approval to get funding, but it's a bit of a chicken and egg situation because we've got to see how much funding we can get to do the right plans.

"Ongoing discussions will hopefully bring about £500,000 funding requirement.

"Our continued success would drive this forward immediately. The feelgood factor we had two years ago has appeared again now and the pipedream - this ground development - seems closer.

"We're taking this club from being based in a football field, to a football ground, to a football stadium.

"Next year will be our 25th year here and we're hoping this development will be the starting point of the second 25 years."

Ambitious boss Charlie Blakemore welcomed the proposed development.

"I'll be putting Mick (Joiner, secretary) under pressure to get the work done because it will help attract better players," he said.

"But I don't like these mercenary players who come in as fly-by-nights.

"I want people coming because they want to buy into what we're trying to build here and play for Chasetown."

Blakemore is hoping more subtle developments will also help attract quality additions.

"We've improved the pitch and it's much better to play on now," he said.

"And all the players have got their own numbered training kit - these things cost nothing but mean so much to players."

With an FA Trophy home tie against Radcliffe Borough next Saturday, the Scholars don't return to league action until November 7 when they host Bedworth.

Second-placed Chasetown already have two games in hand on leaders Leamington and Blakemore insists he hasn't lost sight of their main focus - the league.