Consett AFC are preparing a triple celebration as they leave Belle Vue Park, their home of 63 years.

The club, who will play in a new purpose-built stadium next season, begin the countdown in earnest on Wednesday, 8 May, with a friendly against a Sunderland XI.

The opposition is quite apt, as the first game staged at the ground was against Sunderland Reserves in the old North Eastern League on 19 August, 1950.

The match kicks off at 7pm, and admission is £5 for adults, £3 for OAPs, and £1 for Under-16s.

A good crowd is hoped for, as the club have used social networking site Twitter recently to build a growing band of young fans, the 'Conny Army'.

A special souvenir programme will be on sale, with plenty of Belle Vue-themed content, priced £2.

The Steelmen's final league game is on Saturday, 11 May, at 3pm, against newly-crowned FA Vase winners Spennymoor Town.

Consett have resisted the temptation to cash in, and will be charging the usual admission prices for the game, as detailed above.

Finally, the curtain comes down on Belle Vue when it hosts the League Cup Final, Newcastle Benfield v Spennymoor Town, on Saturday, 18 May.

Kick-off is 3pm, and with no Premier League, Championship or Northern League games that day, chairman Frank Bell is hoping for a good crowd, of anything from 500-1,000.

Recent home games have seen a steady trickle of groundhoppers from as far as away as Cleethorpes, London, Brighton, Watford, and even one from Holland.

More are expected for the last-ever game at the ground, which was voted one of the Northern League's favourites in a poll a few years ago, Admission (set by the league) is £5 and £3 for all concessions. A special matchday programme will be priced at £1.50.