Derbyshire club aims for Football League with £2m investment

How the revamped New Manor Ground could look

The new owners of Derbyshire non-league football club have unveiled plans for a £2m revamp of their ground – saying they want to be on the brink of promotion to League Two within five years.

Mark Clifford, who bought Ilkeston Town FC club from Alan Hardy earlier this month, says he, along with his investors, will aim to bring self sustainability to the club, ensuring the club is “around for our children and our children’s children”.

The business model itself will incorporate a full new rebrand of the club, creating a professional look, while major redevelopments around the stadium will take place along with a new 4g playing surface.

There will also be new energy efficient LED floodlight system, new full-time sports bar, corporate hospitality and function areas and new changing rooms.

The existing clock tower stand will remain and become offices for the staff of Ilkeston Town F.C and a new club shop.

The club says the industrial and office units that will be located around the outside of the New Manor Ground will bring in large rental incomes, which will also go towards the running the club.

Meanwhile, the club appeared to make a u-turn over the weekend after issuing an initial statement on its website that following the sale by Hardy to Clifford, it was investigating “substantial monies” unaccounted for and missing from the Junior section. The statement also said that Hardy had made statements around the club’s finances “which had proven to be false and misleading”.

This statement was quickly deleted, and replaced with the following missive: “Ilkeston Town FC issued a statement yesterday with regard to the sale of the club and Alan Hardy’s role within this situation. We’d like to make it clear that this statement contained several inaccuracies on our part, and we would like to put the record straight.

“To clarify, Mr. Hardy’s delivery of the sale, and the position in which he handed the club over was as agreed in the pre-transactional contractual terms and the handover was effected precisely as was originally agreed.

“Ilkeston Town FC would like to reassure fans and supporters that all investigations are now happily complete and would like to thank Mr Hardy for his help and assistance in resolving the matter. We unreservedly apologise for any distress caused to him and his businesses by the incorrect club statement and we retract it in its entirety.

“All parties are pleased to put this behind us and allow us to concentrate on the league and cementing our place in the playoff positions.”

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