Plan to turn stadium area into £70m sport campus

The project backers hope to transform the area around Boundary Park into a centre for sport

A £70m plan has been set out to transform the area around a town's football stadium with a new sport campus, 3G pitch and 3,000-seat netball stadium.

The SportsTown development has been proposed for land around Boundary Park in a joint regeneration plan by Oldham Athletic and the town's council.

It includes the creation of new sport facilities and higher and further education opportunities in health and sport to attract students.

Oldham Athletic chairman Frank Rothwell said the plan would "build a legacy, give young people real opportunities, and put Oldham on the map".

Darren Royle said there would be opportunities in football, rugby, netball and cricket

He said: "This funding going to set things in motion for something truly game-changing.

"We're not here to mess about."

The club and the council unveiled the plan after receiving a £5m cash boot from the government's Community Regeneration Fund to get the scheme started.

It is hoped the project will expand with private investment, and those behind the scheme hope to build partnerships with local universities and hospitals to create education opportunities.

'Springboard'

Under the plans, new sports facilities, including a new 3G pitch would be built on land surrounding Boundary Park, which is shared with Oldham Rugby League Football Club.

Oldham Athletic chief executive Darren Royle said the aim was to address a "brain drain" in the town by creating a centre that could keep students in the town.

He told BBC Radio Manchester Oldham had some of the lowest numbers of people in higher and further education in Greater Manchester.

A 3,000-seat netball stadium was also planned in the long-term to meet the need for this size of stadium in the region, he said.

Another aim of the plan was to use the new facilities to boost the number of academy places for local football teams as "Bury, Rochdale and Oldham have all lost their EFL academies", Mr Royle added.

Mike Ford, managing director of Oldham RLFC, said the investment and opportunities SportsTown could bring is "exactly what Oldham needs".

He said the £5m government cash boot would "act as a springboard for further investment to realise the full SportsTown vision".