Maidenhead United hopeful collaborative approach and two-site solution will gain support

Maidenhead United hope to leave York Road and move to a new ground in Braywick Park.

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Maidenhead United hope a more collaborative approach with the council and key stakeholders will see them realise their dreams of building a new stadium in Braywick Park.

The Magpies have scaled back their proposals for a new ground at the back of the park, with the additional training facilities – such as a futsal hall and astroturf pitches proposed in their original plans – now set to be developed in another location.

Crucially, this two-site solution appears to have more support from the council and other users of the park, such as Maidenhead Rugby Club, Maidenhead Athletic Club.

Speaking last week, CEO Jon Adams said the club had embarked on a more collaborative approach with the council in recent months to resurrect the ground move – seen as crucial for the future of the football club.

They hope to build a new stadium with capacity for 5,000 supporters – including 2,000 seats – with a new hybrid pitch, combining grass and artificial turf that would enable more competitive matches to be played across all sections of the club.

Access to the ground would be from a new entrance from Vicus Way, while there would also be a small car park for staff and players, although the hope would be most supporters would walk from the town centre or use one of the council’s car parks in Stafferton Way and Vicus Way.

The club hopes to be able to persuade the council’s cabinet to release the land to them, with a decision set to be made on the disposal of the site on March 3.

Mr Adams admitted the council had ‘negotiated hard’ on the value of the land, adding that – if agreed – it would be a ‘multi-million-pound deal’. However, much of the additional money the council will receive from the club is set to be put back into projects that should benefit the community – such as newly refurbished athletics track for Maidenhead Athletic Club.

The club also senses key stakeholders in Braywick Park are more on board with their new proposals and a meeting with them was due to take place in the town last night (Thursday).

Maidenhead Rugby Club chairman Steve Bough told the Advertiser this week that ‘in principle, with the information they have, the club doesn’t see any major issues’ with the new plans while Maidenhead Athletic Club chair John Scaife  said the proposals would ‘enhance Braywick’s status as an all-round sports hub’.

The next steps will see a series of focus groups held in the new year, covering issues such as the stadium design and biodiversity. On January 27 the council’s cabinet will decide in principle if they’re in favour of the plan and then, on March 3, they’ll decide whether to publish an open space order to pave the way for the disposal of land. Should the club achieve this they’ll put in a full planning application for the project.

Mr Adams said: “I don’t think we’ve made concessions. We’ve worked together to really understand what the concerns are. And we’re trying to listen to those and address them.

“I think it’s been a more engaged and communicative process in that respect. I think this is a more rounded deal. We’ve been pushed, of course we’ve been pushed, and ultimately it will cost the club more money, but I don’t think that makes it a worse deal because of the way that money is going to be used.

"It will be supporting things that are important to the council but also important to the club because they relate to things that we value. Such as, the existing athletics track will be refurbished because of this project. Within this project there is the opportunity for the council to refurbish the existing track to a much higher level.

"The athletics club’s priorities are in line with our priorities as a club. We want to encourage people to be fit, to be healthy and to be active and this will be another benefit to the town. It’s a different deal, yes, it’s going to cost the club a bit more money, but actually it’s going to deliver something of value to the community and the wider wellbeing and health of the community.”

If the club gets the green light for its scaled back stadium plans, they’ll then turn their attention to finding a suitable location for new training facilities in the borough, needed to increase revenue flows into the club from the hire of futsal hall and astroturf pitches.

“York Road is maybe used once a week during winter,” added Adams. “The benefit of a hybrid pitch (at the new stadium) is that we could play two, three, four or five games a week on the pitch as a minimum. It will provide access for our junior teams, who never get to play here.

“There will be an increased programme of use compared to what we can do at York Road. It will be for match play rather than training. It will be for competitive football, but everyone associated with our club will be provided with access to our pitch and facilities.”

He added: “But we also need additional astroturfs and the council recognise that additional astroturfs are needed for the town. There’s a shortfall of three astroturfs in the town and that capacity isn’t going to be delivered unless there’s a way to do it. We can deliver that in our capacity; it will just be at a different location.

“Of course, we believe the new stadium will impact on the revenue of the football club. A new ground, with new competitive matches, there’s no doubt we believe our revenue will increase.

“I always reflect on my early days at the football club when we built the new stand at York Road, that had an immediate impact in terms of the number of supporters coming to attend games.

"It increased our supporter base by an average of probably 400 a game because we suddenly had better facilities and it made the ground feel more welcoming. I have no doubt that a new modern, sustainable football ground will enable us to grow our supporter base. The fact we can use it for more games will also generate more revenue.”