Club announces fan stones project to mark milestone

The stones will go on display in front of the West Stand at Sixfields Stadium

A League One football club will mark its stadium's 30th birthday by allowing fans to have their names paved outside one of its stands.

Northampton Town moved to Sixfields Stadium in October 1994 and since it opened it has seen promotions, relegations and a long-running redevelopment saga.

The club's fan advisory board (FAB) has devised a project which will allow supporters to have their name, or that of a family member or loved one, engraved outside the front of the West Stand.

Each stone will cost between £65 and £425 with proceeds invested back into the club's academy and supporting projects suggested by the FAB.

Tom Cliffe, the supporters' elected director and chairman of the Northampton Town FAB, said: "I am delighted with this project.

"Many generations of fans have been here, some sadly no longer with us and it will be wonderful to see their names engraved in stone outside the stadium."

The club said the fan stones woud be installed in phases and subject to the level of demand.

The project will allow supporters to have their name, or that of a family member or loved one, engraved in paving

Prior to 1994, the Cobblers - founded in 1897 - shared a ground with Northamptonshire County Cricket Club - the three-sided County Ground - which witnessed Northampton's only season in the top flight in 1965-66.

Other highs and lows include George Best scoring six goals there for Manchester United in 1970 and the club winning the old Fourth Division in 1987 under Graham Carr, the father of comedian Alan Carr.

In 2014 work began to redevelop Sixfields' East Stand, paid for by a £10.25m loan from the now defunct Northampton Borough Council.

But when workers downed tools, it emerged that almost all of the money had gone missing, leading the club to the brink of administration.

After a long hiatus, work resumed on the stand earlier this year and it is expected to finally be completed in "the first quarter" of 2025.