Industry News

Gillingham seek fan support for new stadium

Gillingham, the English League One football club, has issued a call for supporters, partners, local residents and other fans to back its plans for a new stadium.

The third-tier club has already announced a proposal to build the new venue at Mill Hill in Medway, opposite the team’s current training facility.

The site has also been identified in the draft proposals of Medway Council’s Local Plan, which sets out strategic planning, building and development policies in the area through to 2035.

Gillingham have been based at their 11,000-capacity Priestfield home, which is also in Medway, since 1893, and chairman Paul Scally is keen to move to a new stadium.

Scally pointed to a rising population, a lack of a local rival and the club’s close proximity to London as the reasons why Gillingham could be a sustainable Premier League outfit in the future.

“Not only would this ensure that Gillingham Football Club have a long-term future at the heart of the community in Medway,” Scally said in a statement on the club’s website.

“Such a move would help raise the profile of Medway, gain national and international recognition of the area, and assist in placing this part of South East England firmly on the map for the good and great of everyone.”

Gillingham, who currently have an average home attendance of 5,000-6,000, are 18th in League One, four points above the relegation zone.