Southwell City Football Club are to move from their long standing home at the Memorial Ground under the shadow of the Minster to the small Village of Brinkley and the Centenary Sports Ground with major plans to renovate the existing club house on site and upgrade the facilities with planning permission already approved along with support from the Football Stadia Improvement Fund.
The Nottinghamshire Senior League side have stated “The reasons for moving are many and varied. The biggest factor is that the Memorial Ground is actually a public park. This means it is impossible for us to maintain the playing surface to the high standard we would want.” Southwell’s first team have played at the Memorial Ground for many years and have even hosted the likes of Nottingham Forest at the venue but the club state that their recent ‘growth’ has left them with little choice but to look for bigger and better premises.
The club will still use the Memorial Ground for some of the Junior teams but with one of the biggest and best youth set ups in the county the hope is that the Centenary Ground and Brinkley will allow further growth moving forward with the first team pitch hoping to fit in line with step six standards of the football pyramid.
The club state ‘the benefits are huge’ saying “We are now in a position to invest some money in improving the Centenary Ground. After recently securing planning permission and with the support of the Football Stadia Improvement Fund, the plan is to renovate the clubhouse and expand/upgrade the facility up to the standards that align to Step 6. This includes new larger changing rooms fitted with toilets and showers, male and female officials rooms, new toilets separated from the changing facilities and of course, a new bar area to ensure hospitality on matchdays.”
“We will also create a main pitch that will be enclosed, with permanent dug outs and eventually a covered main standing area for spectators and floodlights during phases 2. We will create and maintain a high-quality playing surface and will also invest in a drainage system.”
Southwell, known affectionately as the Minster Men are hoping to have initial building works commencing this summer and from August 2021 without delays the club hope that the Centenary Ground will become home to both mens and ladies first teams.
*Main image @southwellcityfc drawings of how the venue will look from August 2021.
