Spennymoor Town have revealed the extent of their plans to develop Brewery Field for the 2019/20 season, including a new pitch, a clubhouse and a new stand having smashed their record for season ticket sales.
The club has been working since the end of last season to finance and arrange a series of works which will further improve the match day experience at the ground.
Work is almost complete on a completely new playing surface, including a sprinkler system and specialist drainage, which is Football League standard.
This will be accompanied by a new metal perimeter fence, replacing the previous wooden structure around the pitch, which was demolished ahead of the new pitch's installation.
A new turnstile will be installed on the Tees Crescent entrance to match the newest ones on Wood Vue.
An upgraded PA system and CCTV system will also be installed ready for the start of the season.
Terracing work is set to begin behind the south goal, all the way along to the dugouts. This will replace the current terracing, which is more than 100 years old, and will be completed by mid-August.
A covered stand has been designed by architects and structural engineers, which will be installed behind the south goal when the terracing is completed. Planning permission has now been granted for this and it is expected to be complete in September.
In order to maintain the new pitch to the highest standards, brand new equipment is being purchased and will be housed in a new equipment container in the North corner of the ground.
A temporary match day clubhouse will be installed on the site of the ground's former clubhouse with a capacity of 130 people. It will be run by the club and be opened mid-August.
Spennymoor have also made strides to alleviate parking issues on a match day by striking a two-year deal with Durham County Council to utilise the old Durham Road school site for match day parking.
The parking will be run by older Spennymoor Town Youth FC academy players and the entirety of the small parking fee will be reinvested into the academy for the purchase of new equipment.
Tony Wilson, managing director, said: “This is the culmination of a significant amount of work for the Chief Executive, myself and the management team at Spennymoor Town. I'm absolutely delighted to finally be able to confirm these improvements and the timescale for their delivery.
“We have worked closely with Durham County Council and the Football Federation to make this possible and I would like to thank everyone for their support as we aim to improve our whole match day experience further.
“We've put an emphasis on affordable football for all with our heavily-discounted season tickets this year and we want to make sure that everyone who has taken the decision to purchase one has a superb day out at every game.
“I'm pleased to announce that we have smashed the club's record for season ticket sales. We have sold 530 with a further 280 given out to our academy players. This marks a huge step forward for us and it's our job to make sure these season ticket holders enjoy this year and want to stay.
“We're confident these developments will achieve that and help the club take the next step in our plan.”
Sections of the ground may be closed in the opening stages of the season in order to complete the works.
The Spennymoor playing squad kick off their season away to Hereford FC on Saturday 3 August and the club is in the process of rearranging the previously scheduled games against Blyth Spartans on Tuesday, August 6 and Boston United on Saturday, August 10 to allow the new pitch to be ready.
