FC United | Moston Community Stadium | 5,000 Capacity | App

[Irish Blood English Heart]

Would I be right in thinking this is on the junction of Lightbowne Road and Moston Lane, looks plenty of space there.

[TheGrand]

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereven...dium-in-moston

Home win: FC United to build 5,000 capacity stadium in Moston



FC United new home is to be in Moston, the M.E.N. can reveal.

Officials from the club - formed in 2005 in protest at the Glazer family's ownership of Manchester United - have been locked in talks with council bosses since their plans for a 5,000-capacity stadium in Ten Acres Lane, Newton Heath, collapsed last month.

The Ronald Johnson Playing Fields, close to Lightbowne Road, have now been identified as the new site. It too will have a 5,000 capacity, including up to 600 seats.

FC bosses will put a planning application before Manchester council this summer with a view to kicking off the 2012/13 season in Moston.

If all goes according to plan, work could commence before the end of the year.

FC general manager Andy Walsh said the planned stadium would be very similar to that earmarked for Ten Acres Lane.

He described it as a very positive day for the club but warned there was a long way to go.

Residents in the area will be consulted and a feasibility study carried out before the club, which is run on a co-operative basis, can progress.

Mr Walsh paid tribute to the work of council officers. He said: “They have done what they told us they were going to do.”

It will have a club house and an additonal a full-size artificial pitch. There are no plans at this stage for a sports centre but that may change.

Moston Juniors currently play from the site and they would be accommodated in the scheme,..

The plug was pulled on Ten Acres Lane when town hall bosses withdrew £600,000 of funding after carrying out a spending review in the light of government cuts.

Mike Amesbury, from the council, said: "These are exciting plans which will mean further welcome investment in north Manchester.”

Broughton Park, close to Hough End playing fields, and Wythenshawe Park were looked at but neither were considered viable. FC United currently play their matches in the seventh tier of English football at Bury's Gigg Lane. They regularly attract crowds of more than 2,000.

The club has raised £1.3m through a share scheme and £400,000 in donations towards the project. They will offer payment plans to residents close to the ground who wish to buy shares.

[Trafford Bar]

Originally Posted by Irish Blood English Heart

Would I be right in thinking this is on the junction of Lightbowne Road and Moston Lane, looks plenty of space there.

No, its the opposite side of Lightbowne Rd, bordered by Nuthurst Rd and St Marys Road, near to the bowling green and the children's nursery

[TheGrand]

I think....I THINK this is the area

[heatonparkincakes]

Am I the only one underwhelmed by this location? Not aware of any direct public transport to this location and if there is its a "round the estates " bus. Not great for 2000 crowds one thinks.

Confused that £600k is turned down for Newton Heath, but £750k appears for Moston? Or is it really £200k. I presume Ronnie Johnsen fields was already going to happen?

I dont get this one?

http://www.manchester.gov.uk/egov_downl

[TheGrand]

Originally Posted by heatonparkincakes

Am I the only one underwhelmed by this location?

Well the club did say the new site would be larger than Ten Acres and would offer more possibilities for the club in the future, there is not many sites around Manchester that can offer that scope and still keep costs down.

According to Google its a 15 minute walk from Newton Heath tram stop, so transport is a tick, there is also the Victoria - Rochdale train line just over the way so perhaps a future station is not out of the question, Ive not checked buses though.

And its in North Manchester, so we can really bed ourselves in and make a difference with the various communities of Moston, Newton Heath, Crumpsall, Cheetham Hill, Harpurhey, Broughton etc, just giving us enough space from our more esteemed neighbours.

[heatonparkincakes]

Well I suppose beggars can't be choosers in a recession.

[WatcherZero]

I was confused about the funding too, were MCC putting up £1.2m originally and reduced it to £750k or were the funding issues not really on MCC side but the clubs side? Also worth noting MCC is continuing to invest in the facilities at the original site.

Newton Heath Metrolink stops not really great for large crowds either being one platform and having a huge access ramp to get to the platform from street level, but then a 6k capacity ground isnt going to attract huge numbers of Metrolink users.

[TheGrand]

Originally Posted by WatcherZero

I was confused about the funding too, were MCC putting up £1.2m originally and reduced it to £750k or were the funding issues not really on MCC side but the clubs side?

Nope neither

The council were putting in 650k for Ten Acres, this from memory was the value of the subsidy the council put into the sports hall plus cost for renovation. The sports hall I think is actually run by an external company (someone like Serco or Sodexo or of that ilk) but was still subsidised and it was up for tender at some point (or closed), something like that anyway, so with FC running the hall, the council no longer had to fund it plus it was getting a complete overhaul

The 750k mentioned here looks like a similar trade off between council and club, it does mention in the doc that the fields need renovation at a cost of 750k, which has already been approved, so there's your MCC money

[WatcherZero]

So your saying they cancelled a £600k project on cost grounds only to approve a less ambitious £750k project? Doesnt make sense.

[TheGrand]

Originally Posted by WatcherZero

So your saying they cancelled a £600k project on cost grounds only to approve a less ambitious £750k project? Doesnt make sense.

No Im saying the money which was approved to be spent back in July 2009 on improvements to these fields is now being revised and tailored to fit in with a much larger scheme on the same site.

[WatcherZero]

Was actually £1m approved in 2009 along with a £500k football foundation grant for the construction of changing facilities and the construction of a full size artifical turf playing field with floodlights to be used for neighbouring schools.

[andysimo123]

Originally Posted by heatonparkincakes

Am I the only one underwhelmed by this location? Not aware of any direct public transport to this location and if there is its a "round the estates " bus. Not great for 2000 crowds one thinks.

Confused that £600k is turned down for Newton Heath, but £750k appears for Moston? Or is it really £200k. I presume Ronnie Johnsen fields was already going to happen?

I dont get this one?

http://www.manchester.gov.uk/egov_downl

I've just had a little gander at transport, if theres to be an entrance point on St Marys Road, its around a mile from the new Metrolink station but its also around a mile to the train station. Google says both should be around a 15 minute walk but I do a mile walk everyday there and back, doesn't take me 15 minutes. Clearly depends on the walker. If its drunk football fans, it could take a few hours.

I've seen much larger stadiums with poorer transport links. When I went to St Andrews in Birmingham, it seemed easier to walk from the city centre for 20 minutes, than bother messing with the trains. No trams planned near their stadium. The best thing I can compare it to, would be like walking from Putney Bridge Tube Station to Craven Cottage, that's about mile away or walking from Ashburys to Coms. The Metrolink station will likely be either a 6 minute to 12 minute service during operating hours, so if the stadium is a 15 minute walk from both stations, the tram stop seems like the easiest option. Clearly this isn't anywhere near as close as Ten Arces to its new tram stop but its workable.

[TheGrand]

Originally Posted by WatcherZero

Was actually £1m approved in 2009 along with a £500k football foundation grant for the construction of changing facilities and the construction of a full size artifical turf playing field with floodlights to be used for neighbouring schools.

Im going off this by the way
http://www.manchester.gov.uk/egov_do..._FC_United.pdf

Point being anyway, it kind of explains why 650k was cancelled for one site and why 750k is now on the table for another, but who knows.

[heatonparkincakes]

Aside from location, this is still a good move. Investment in north Manchester.

I guess it would be about 20 minutes to the ground from the nearest tram station if St Marys Rd was opened up.

By the way who is was Ronald Johnson ?

[Chorley Boi]

it's not Ronny Johnsen the norweigan centre back at the nou camp in 96'

[TheGrand]

Ground - update 6th April

The Executive Committee of the Council has today passed our application, subject to conditions and a planning application. We also need to consult with local residents and local community groups.

Further details will be given at tomorrow evening’s General Meeting of club members which takes place at the Central Methodist Hall, Oldham street, Manchester with a start time of 7pm.

[Isaac Newell]

It's a good spot, better in my opinion to Ten Acres with a large residential community close by.

[TheGrand]

The site is less than a mile from the new Newton Heath & Moston Tram Stop, roughly same distance as Gigg Lane from Bury Tram Stop, it'll offer services to Oldham/Rochdale, City Centre and South Manchester (Didsbury & Chorlton), this new stop should be open for season 2012/13, 15 minute walk. But there is also the Victoria Rochdale train line near by too (marked with the red square), so perhaps long term the area could have its own train station too.

[Isaac Newell]

It's also within walking distance for a large residential population in the area. A lot of new houses seem to be going up as well.

We're getting too concerned with distances from train stations, there are loads of bus services from all over North Manchester running through the area.

FC may have fallen on their feet here.