Swindon Town complete County Ground purchase for £2.3m
- Published
The County Ground has been Swindon Town's home for 127 years
Swindon Town have completed the purchase of their County Ground stadium.
Contracts were exchanged last month and the £2.3m acquisition from Swindon Borough Council has gone through.
The deal was funded by the Nigel Eady Trust, with the League Two club and supporters' trust now owning the stadium 50/50.
Eady, who died in 2012, left the Robins millions of pounds and wished for it to benefit the club and local community.
Chairman Clem Morfuni said: "This is a major step forward for the club and lays the foundations for our future success."
Swindon have played at the County Ground since 1896 and say gaining ownership will halve rental costs and allow them to develop the stadium.
"It is a gamechanger for the football club," said Swindon chief executive Rob Angus, who has been involved in the project since 2016 - initially with the club's supporters' trust.
He told BBC Radio Wiltshire: "Owning the ground with the football supporters, forcing that collaboration, unlocking the opportunity for investment in the ground and around the stadium and development that can drive revenue off the pitch, which will sustain the football club in the long term."
"For generations to come, whoever owns the football club, whoever sits on the supporter's trust, they have to work together, they have to collaborate, they have to think about the long-term interests of the football club."
Wider redevelopment plans
There are already plans in place to redevelop the stadium and its Stratton Bank stand as soon as next year, followed by the Town End stand.
Beyond that, the club want to build additional facilities such as a conference centre and hotel in the area around the stadium, all at an estimated cost of £22.5m.
"There's some real opportunity for developing a centre not just for the football club and its supporters but for the whole of the town of Swindon," Angus added.
Our beautiful land as you've never seen it before: Sir David Attenborough celebrates the wonders of British wildlife
Go Hard or Go Home: Eight Britons face brutal workouts and terrifying challenges
