Grimsby Town Football Club has today (Thursday) announced that it is to look at possible alternative sites for a new stadium.
The club, which plays in League Two, is continuing to discuss stadium plans with North East Lincolnshire Council, with the two parties having previously set aside council-owned land at Peaks Parkway as the preferred option for the project. That site was identified in two independent sequential appraisals commissioned separately by the club and the council.
Grimsby is now keeping its options open after it noted that circumstances have changed with developments proposed at Garth Lane, the Fish Docks and Freeman Street, with the council having also secured government support for the ‘Town Deal’.
As a result, the club and the council have agreed to pause on Peaks Parkway to assess the chance to deliver a “truly transformational project”. With this in mind, the two parties have agreed to look at possible alternative sites to the original preferred option.
In a joint statement, the club and council said: “Both the council and the club are fully conscious that this is a huge development for the area, and as such, we need to continue focusing together on the regeneration opportunities that a community stadium can secure.
“We need to measure those opportunities against the Peaks Parkway option, which it’s fair to say has presented us with a number of technical and commercial challenges.
“The ongoing discussions over the last 18 months or so have established a strong and firm relationship between us and we now want to move forward as quickly as possible to hopefully identify the best and most suitable site and move on with the project, both for the community and the club’s fans.
“The key issues for all of us involved remain What, Where, When and How and that’s what we will be working to resolve. The club is delighted to be in the forefront of the council’s ambitions for the town.”
The statement added: “The club and the council cannot and will not stand still in terms of regeneration and all parties involved agree that we owe it to the area to do all we can to see a new community stadium built.
“As such, we are now committed to developing future plans as soon as possible and hopefully, once agreed, we can then push ahead and work with the community and the club’s fans to deliver a stadium we can all be proud of and which will be a catalyst for further regeneration in the town.’’
Grimsby currently plays at the 9,000-seat Blundell Park in Cleethorpes, its home since 1899.
Image: Grimsby Town
