Football club should be a town priority
AS the dust settles on the Cheltenham Borough Council elections, the authority will start considering its priorities for the coming years.
I would like to see one of those priorities being to give a helping hand to a real asset to our town – something that has put our town on the map several times in the past 25 to 30 years – Cheltenham Town Football Club.
On the field, the club is celebrating the 25th anniversary of promotion to the Football League for the first time.
Yes, this season may have ended in relegation – just, after a brave fight by Darrell Clarke and his team – but the club continues to be one of the 92 best in the country, punching above its weight financially to compete against some of the game’s biggest names.
Manchester City, Everton and Newcastle United are some of the big names to have graced Whaddon Road in recent seasons, and all of them left having been in a proper game.
There have been championships, promotions, trips to Wembley (old and new), play-off wins and cup runs to savour, all of which have pitched my town into the spotlight.
But off the field, it needs help.
The facilities at Whaddon Road are ageing, especially the main stand, and badly need replacing.
The club needs new facilities, with the ability to generate more revenue 365 days a year, rather than every other Saturday and the odd Tuesday. They can be community facilities which would be an asset to people of Whaddon, one the town’s most deprived areas, and attract more fans to the club.
We hear of the council giving support to the festivals, the racecourse, and other assets to our town. But what about our football club?
The area around the ground – which the council owns – could be transformed. The eyesore that is Cakebridge Place, empty for many years, could be an entrance to the ground from Prestbury Road. Parklands, the bowls club – it could all be factored in.
Surely the modernisation of the ground would be of benefit to the council, the town and the surrounding area?
I am not asking or expecting the council to stump up and fund a new stand – but they can help give the club a leg up.
I would appeal to the local business community to come forward, too. The club has great backing from the likes of Mira Showers and Completely Motoring but needs more support.
The Robins Trust has produced a fantastic vision for the club’s future (see robinstrust.org) and I urge all fans, councillors and businesses to read it.
I would urge people to lobby their new councillors to do all they can to help this asset to our town.
Meanwhile, to all Robins fans buy a season ticket and let’s get back to League One.
Christopher Noake Cheltenham, Gloucestershire