Suzuka Point Getters (Suzuka PG), the Japan Football League (JFL) club, has asked Eikei Suzuki (pictured centre), the governor of Mie Prefecture, to officially support their new stadium plan, according to the Ise Shimbun newspaper.
The paper has reported that Masakazu Yoshida (pictured left), the president of the fourth-tier club, together with the Suzuka city mayor Noriko Suematsu (pictured right), visited the Mie prefecture office and jointly handed their official request document for the governor’s support for the club’s plan for a new football stadium.
Suzuka PG is planning to build a new 5,000-capacity football stadium inside the five-hectare land within the Suzuka Youth Forest Park, owned and run by the prefecture, as the club aims to finally apply for the J3 League (3rd division) Club License which requires adequate stadium facilities.
The project is scheduled to break ground in June next year and to be completed by September 2022. The construction cost is estimated at JPY 400m (£2.94m/€3.27m) which will be covered by the club and its sponsors.
Mayor Suematsu explained the purpose for building a new stadium within a prefecture-owned park by saying: “The new stadium will not only be used as a sport facility but also as a multi-function facility for everyone in Mie to come and interact.”
Yoshida, seeking the prefecture’s support for the project, said: “We’ve discussed this with many stakeholders at all levels including the J-League from February this year, and are now ready to apply for the J-League 100 Year Plan club status. It would be absolutely great if the prefecture office could continue supporting our stadium project.”
Governor Suzuki welcomed the club’s approach by saying: “The club is very serious about building a new stadium on their own and the prefecture will fully support their project. This will provide positive influence on all football teams in Mie, and we expect more teams will aim to get into the J-League pyramid from our prefecture.”
The club, based in Suzuka, will apply in November for their first-ever J-League 100 Year Plan club status which is one of the prerequisites for a football club vying for a spot in the J3 League competition before applying for the actual J3 League Club License which Suzuka PG plan to do in 2022 at earliest.
Apart from Suzuka PG, three other clubs in Mie, namely Veertien Mie (JFL) in Kuwana, FC Ise-Shima (Tokai Regional League Div. 1 = 5th division) in Ise and the Shima peninsula, and TSV1973 Yokkaichi (Mie Prefectural League = 7th division) in the indusrial city of Yokkaichi, are also aiming to join the J-League with Veertien Mie having already obtained the J3 League Club License for the next season and needing only the result on the pitch to gain promotion to the J3 League.
Image: Suzuka Point Getters
Article provided by The Stadium Hub
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