New stadium is Latics only chance to bring back the good times

OLD and the new . . . Latics legend Joe Royle (front) was joined at an Oldham Athletic Trust-organised question and answer evening at Playhouse 2, Shaw, by, from the left: Rob Purdie, Andy Rhodes, Lee Duxbury, David Broadbent (MC), Les Chapman and Lewis Alessandra.

1 More Image(s) In Gallery

PARK LIFE: WHAT was that smell?

As the media hacks tunnelled their way through Boundary Park's main stand to the gym area which doubles as a post-match briefing room at the weekend, noses were sent twitching by what seemed to be an application of fresh paint in some unspecified area.

Either that or Athletic press officer Roy Butterworth had been buying cheap aftershave from the market again.

Top marks to the Athletic staff who battle to try to keep the old place respectable through sweeping, dusting, polishing and painting.

Home is home. It doesn't hurt to take some pride in it.

At the same time, nobody needs the skills of a forensic detective to work out that Boundary Park is very, very tired indeed these days.

It remains rich in memories, but so poor in terms of the basic comforts football folk have come to expect in the modern era.

Former Athletic defender Paul Futcher was back and knocking around the press box before the Colchester match.

"This place has hardly changed in 30 years," he said, pertinently.

Disappointing recent home crowds, including the awful 3,607 figure present last week, indicate that the crumbling state of Boundary Park is a factor in keeping people away.

A ground badly lacking in elementary facilities isn't much of a pull and it can't help the team's fortunes, either.

Two home wins since February show that Athletic don't prosper at their partly-demolished home, while visitors love the place. As one wag pointed out on the Chronicle Comments section of our website: “No successful fortress in history has had only three sides”.

It is abundantly clear that for the club to survive and succeed in the future, Athletic need to cut the current Boundary Park loose as soon as possible . . . which makes it so important that the owners' plans to relocate to Failsworth are backed by the fans.

There are plenty of objectors, just as there are plenty of people who thought that John and Edward were a good turn on the X-Factor.

Wrong bit of Oldham? That's one you hear a lot, particularly from those who live within walking distance of the current ground.

It may be closer to Manchester than Boundary Park, but that should make it easier to attract new fans from different areas of town.

Too small? Let's walk before we run, eh?

A 12,000 capacity is absolutely fine for a club of Athletic's present size. There is little worth in fans rattling around some gigantic sarcophagus and current crowds aren't anywhere near such a mark.

Why not stay and redevelop the current ground? Well, that ship appears to have sailed.

The owners have decided that in the current climate the original plans simply aren't viable.

Some will wish it were another way, just as I wish I were blessed with Leo Messi's ball skills and Brad Pitt's looks.

What about the residents? They are entitled to voice concerns, though in fairness it would probably help the image of FRAG (Failsworth Residents’ Action Group) if they held fire on objections until the plans are revealed, so that they knew exactly what it is they are objecting to.

Nothing is set in stone, but it doesn't hurt to look at the glass being half full rather than half empty over the £20million development.

Oldhamers often seem conditioned to be negative.

Athletic's owners are clearly optimists — otherwise, why invest in a dream by buying a League One club in the first place — and seem to be committed to driving forward a new, exciting stadium project which will hopefully benefit Oldham as a whole.

Similar stadium ideas have borne fruit and worked a treat for both club and, in a wider sense, town, in a host of other places around the country. Why not here?


Surely it can’t be coincidence . . .
NINE professional clubs have moved into new grounds while playing in the Football League this century and all but one — Colchester United — have experienced a consequent immediate rise in attendances.


Average attendances, old and new

Cardiff City — Ninian Park, 2008-09 (Championship): 18,044; Cardiff City Stadium, 2009-10 so far (Championship): 21,056.

Relocation distance: 0.6 miles

Increase: 16.7-per-cent

Colchester United — Layer Road, 2007-08 (Championship): 5,509; Weston Homes Community Stadium, 2008-09 (League One): 5,084.

Relocation distance: 6.7 miles

Fall: 7.7-per-cent



Coventry City — Highfield Road, 2004-05 (Championship): 16,048; Ricoh Arena, 2005-06 (Championship): 21,302.

Relocation distance: 3 miles

Increase: 31.1-per-cent

Darlington — Feethams, 2002-03 (League Two): 3,312; Darlington Arena, 2003-04 (League Two): 5,023.

Relocation distance: 1.1 miles

Increase: 51.7-per-cent



Doncaster Rovers * — Belle Vue, 2005-06 (League One): 6,139; Keepmoat Stadium, 2006-07 (League One): 7,746.

Relocation distance: 2.9 miles

Increase: 26.2-per-cent

Hull City ** — Boothferry Park, 2002-03 (League Two): 12,843; KC Stadium, 2003-04 (League Two): 16,847.

Relocation distance: 2 miles

Increase: 31.2-per-cent



Leicester City *** — Filbert Street, 2001-02 (Premier League): 19,835; Walkers Stadium, 2002-03 (Championship): 29,219.

Relocation distance: 0.1 miles

Increase: 47.3-per-cent



Shrewsbury Town — Gay Meadow, 2006-07 (League Two): 4,730; Prostar Stadium, 2007-08 (League Two): 5,659.

Relocation distance: 1.8 miles

Increase: 19.6-per-cent



Swansea City — Vetch Field, 2004-05 (League Two): 8,458; Liberty Stadium, 2005-06 (League One): 14,112.

Relocation distance: 3.1 miles

Increase: 66.8-per-cent


* Doncaster moved to the Keepmoat in the latter half of the 2006-07 season.

** Hull City moved to the KC Stadium halfway through the 2002-03 season.

*** Leicester played their first game of the 2002-03 season at Filbert Street.


MK DONS are counted as a new club and therefore not included in the comparison.

Current League One club Southampton opened their new St Mary's stadium in the Premier League and are also therefore left out, while Burton Albion did so while in the Conference and are also excluded.