9:42am Saturday 24th July 2010
By Helen Russell
OFFICIALS at a North-East football club have expressed their delight at seeing their new stadium taking shape after an eight-year wait.
Construction on Bishop Auckland FC’s 2,000-capacity ground, in Tindale Crescent, County Durham, started in March, and is scheduled to finish in October.
The Northern League First Division club’s 250-seater main stand is now in place, and work is under way on its interior, which will include changing rooms, toilets, treatment room and offices on the ground floor, with a community function room and bar area upstairs.
Blue and white galvanised sides are being fitted to its exterior, which will feature the club’s logo on the front.
The frame for the second stand, located behind one of the goals, is also in place, with terraces for 472 spectators.
There will also be space for fans to stand around the pitchside, behind advertising boards, and a car park with 120 spaces.
The other two sides of the pitch will feature large areas of landscaping, which will be used for future expansion of the stadium.
Recent heavy rain has helped the development of the turf, turning it a rich green colour.
Although the stadium has not yet been named, the club hopes to start playing there in October.
Terry Jackson, club chairman, praised the developer, Terrace Hill, and contractors Hellen’s and Brim’s for their involvement with the building work.
He said: “Everyone involved with the club and its supporters are really pleased with the progress, it’s fantastic.
“It is exciting to see the project finally coming to fruition and rising from the ground, as it were. It is also an excellent example of regeneration in the area.”
Kim Fryer, the club’s commercial manager, said: “The upstairs function room will be available for events such as weddings, Christmas dinners, charity functions, business meetings and exhibitions.
“We are very much trying to build a partnership with the local community. We want to encourage everybody to use the facility, because it is not just a football environment, we want this to be a community facility. It will have very contemporary decor, and the bar area will be very modern, with no football memorabilia.
I think it is very good for the area, especially with the economy the way it is.”
Meanwhile, fans are being offered the opportunity to have their names or a short message put on bricks for the main stand’s wall.
For an order form, go to bishopafc.com or call Pamela Cowey, on 07884-215686.
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