‘Our biggest ever signing!’ Community can help shape future of Sir Halley Stewart ground after Spalding United secure 25-year lease
Spalding United’s new stadium lease has been described as the club’s ‘biggest ever signing’ - and now you can help shape the future of what is hoped to become a thriving community hub.
The Tulips have agreed a 25-year deal for the Sir Halley Stewart Ground with South Holland District Council, the trustee of the land.
Now the clubs want to see the site grow, not only as a football stadium but as a focal point for groups within the town.
United CEO Leigh Porter has called on businesses, groups and residents in the area to share their visions and hopes for the stadium.
“The Sir Halley Stewart is an amazing facility in the middle of Spalding,” he explained.
“We put our business plan together and said we want to take responsibility and we want to develop it.
“We want to make it a true facility for the community. It can’t survive just being used every other week by the football club.
“It has to be developed, be multi-use and serve a lot more members of the community than Spalding United.”
The Halmer Harriers running club are among a small number of groups who have used the site for meetings, while Mr Porter has previously cited drop-in sessions and coffee mornings for senior citizens and support groups as potential plans.
With this in mind, the Tulips now want to hear from interested parties about what they would like to see taking place at the ground.
“We’re very keen to move things on, but we need help,” he added.
“We need people to come and get involved and support us and help with projects. We can only move this on at certain speed and move it along a lot quicker with more partners and volunteers.
“A lot of people have said we could do this or that, but why not make a suggestion? We need to start creating a hub in the middle of the town and we believe we can bring footfall, attention and revenue into the club and businesses around it.
“We can’t be anymore enthusiastic about our football club, town and community. We’ll put our heart and soul into it.”
While securing the long-term lease is hoped to benefit the town, it is vital for the growth of the football club, which has plans to continue climbing the footballing ladder following last season’s promotion to the Southern League Premier Central, their highest ever place in the pyramid.
Without the lease they would have failed to meet ground grading criteria and would certainly have been demoted at the end of the season, no matter where they finished in the league table.
It also allows them to apply for grants to improve the stadium.
“This is our biggest ever signing since we’ve had the football club, that’s definitely what it is,” Mr Porter said, delighted to finalise the deal after years of talks with SHDC.
“It’s been days, weeks, months, years of knowing this can be a huge part of us taking the club where we want to take it.
“It’s been very restrictive up until this point, but those restrictions have been lifted and we can start planning towards a much more exciting future.
“It’s been very well received by our very enthusiastic fans who understand the importance of it.
“Surprisingly, when you deal with the exciting stuff on the pitch, you think that’s what’s going to get everyone excited. But the question I get asked all the time by fans is ‘when is the lease happening?’.”
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