Cambridge 'will look at other sites', says CEO

Cambridge United have been based at the Abbey Stadium since 1932

Cambridge United remain open to staying at their current home despite putting redevelopment plans on hold, chief executive Alex Tunbridge has said.

Majority shareholder Paul Barry announced last week that going ahead with proposals to increase capacity at the Cledara Abbey Stadium from around 8,000 to 12,000 were not feasible at the present time.

If they did press on now, it would take two decades for the club to get a return on investment of the financial scale required.

The ground's former property developer owners wanted to build a new ground in the Trumpington area of the city back in 2013 but the plans were rejected and the club bought the Abbey back in 2022 after 18 years as tenants.

Tunbridge told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire that moving forwards they would look again at relocating, but had strong links to the Abbey area.

"If you look at what's happened since Paul Barry bought the club and Mark Green's come in, they've spent over £20m in that period of time. And we've had a pandemic in there as well," said Tunbridge.

"They've invested into buying back the Abbey, which is really, really important because it gives us options. They've invested in the training ground and they've also invested into the squad in Leagues One and Two, which has become significantly more expensive than it was five years ago.

"So we will look at other sites because I think that's the right thing for us to consider. But I think it's important to say as well that one of those sites is the Abbey."

Alex Tunbridge has been Cambridge United CEO since January 2022

'A complex site'

Cambridge wanted to build a new 3,000-seater Habbin Stand and increase the standing-area capacity at the Newmarket Road end to 4,000.

Tunbridge said: "We've done a lot of the design work, bearing in mind this is a very complex site, we've got the Newmarket Road right in front of us which is a very busy artery into the city. There's plans to change Newmarket Road in the coming months and years.

"We've got the brook on one side and Coldham's Common, which gives you some issues around stand development foundations. We've got the allotments at the other end and we've got housing on the rest of the perimeter.

"It's a funny shape, the site. It's quite long. You'd like it to be slightly wider, so we've tried to get as much of everything we wanted to get into it.

"We've then done all the costing designs, we've done all of the work around sequencing, and ultimately the numbers that have come back to us are completely unfeasible for the owners to take on at the minute.

"The return on investment period is 20 years. And in any business, take away the emotions of football and the fact that we'd all like to be in lovely new shinier stands in a couple of years' time, we would be putting the club at jeopardy if we were to make that decision right here, right now."

'Fantastic' support at home games

Cambridge United are currently just a single point outside the League Two play-off places

Tunbridge said work would continue, with a number of sites under consideration in line with the city's overall development plan.

"The Abbey should be one of those ones that we look at," he continued.

"Let's see where we are in three, six months' time and we'll no doubt update everybody as we normally do.

"A football regulator is on the horizon, so one of the things is about ensuring that clubs protect its history and its heritage and its roots and community, so I would be very, very shocked if it [eventual decision] was anything radical.

"The Abbey Ward is also as an important place as well to the club - Abbey United is really where the club is founded from, so history and heritage will form a part of any decision that does get made in the future, as will financial, but it's too early to say."

Cambridge are currently 10th in League Two and Tunbridge said they had been running at between 80 and 90% capacity for home games this season, adding that the way the city and fan base had got behind the club was "fantastic".

However, the U's have made losses of £20m since the Covid outbreak in 2020 and Barry and co-owner Green, who has a 24.99% stake in the club, are now looking for fresh investment to help with their plans for the future.

"We get lots of people knock on the door quite regularly. To be involved with a professional football club in England at the minute is very attractive, particularly for people overseas," said Tunbridge.

"To be able to buy a piece of one of the well-known cities in the world is something that doesn't come up very often. So I'm sure now we've made it known that we're looking for somebody to come and play a part, we will have lots of interest.

"But ultimately it's about making sure that they align with our values as a football club and they can help enhance the project and enhance what we're doing as a club."

Alex Tunbridge was speaking to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire's Peter Swan