Fans asked to vote on stadium purchase plans
Members of a football supporters trust are being asked to vote on the purchase if the cub’s stadium.
Swindon Town Supporters’ Trust wants to buy The County Ground in a joint venture with the League Two club.
Stadium owner Swindon Borough Council would then lease the ground back to the club and the trust for 250 years.
The trust says the stadium purchase, first discussed in 2015, will cost £2.3m, and the ownership will be split 50:50 between the trust and the club itself.
A joint venture called The County Ground Stadium Custodians Ltd has been set up to facilitate the buying process, which was approved by the borough council in March 2022, it said.
Under the terms of the purchase, Swindon Borough Council would have “first refusal” should the joint venture decide at any point it wanted to sell the stadium, BBC News reported.
Once the sale is completed, the club and supporters’ trust plan to invest millions into upgrading the stadium, starting with a £1m redevelopment of the Stratton Bank stand in 2024.
The stadium purchase is being made possible by donations from trustees of the late Nigel Eady, a lifelong Swindon Town supporter, who left a trust fund to benefit the club.
