The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
‘Building new stadia scares the hell out of me’
One of Peterborough United’s co-owners has described his fear and excitement at the building of a new stadium which he hopes to see open at the Embankment in the next few years.
Posh announced last week that they hope to open a new ground in two years’ time to replace the Weston Homes Stadium which the three owners are set to buy back from the city council in the next few weeks.
Along with Posh matches, it is hoped the new stadium will hold large concerts and events in the city.
In an interview with the club’s media, co-owner Stewart Thompson said that the timeframe is more likely to be three years than two, with the club working with stadium consultants to have it up and running in 36 months’ time.
However, he said fellow co-owner Dr Jason Neale favoured a longer process, and he did not rule out the stadium move taking up to seven years if necessary.
The Embankment remains the club’s preferred choice for a new ground which would fit in with the city’s overall masterplan, which includes large developments at the station and North Westgate, as well as the opening of the new University of Peterborough.
Mr Thompson admitted it had been a “long process” but that “we’re pretty excited by what happens next”.
He said: “I’ve been really looking forward to announcing to the fans where we want to be. Some of the city people had to be brought along, some of the football people had to be brought along, and so the more and more you bring people into the decision-making process, of course it’s going to be longer.”
He praised the club’s chief executive Bob Symns for helping to smooth over difficulties during the negotiating process with the council, with which the club has signed a MemorandumofUnderstanding to look at putting the new stadium on the Embankment.
Mr Thompson said both himself and Dr Neale had flown over regularly from Canada for talks.
Mr Thompson said: “We’re entrenched in the Embankment - that is fantastic. And the city is okay with that. We’ve left the city room that if we find the Peterboroughspotted
newt, or the Cambridgeshire owl, or people just don’t want that green space being used, we’re going to let the people do with the process what they’re going to do.
“But site number two, the other side, which we’ve been calling ‘riverside’, at least we now know we’re down to one of those two places.
“Obviously the Embankment is really exciting.
“I just look at all the synergies with the masterplan and Fletton Quays and the ability to walk from the new train station through the cathedral to really showcase this city. It’s really hard not to get excited by that.
“But it doesn’t mean the other side of the river wouldn’t work. It would be great, but we have parking and access and little other bumps along the way that will make it site number two.”
It was announced that the stadium move could be in two year’s time, but it appears that may be a little ambitious with two of the co-owners - Mr ThompsonandchairmanDarragh MacAnthony - pushing for the re-location to happen soon, while Dr Neale believes the process should take longer.
Mr Thompson said: “Supporters know that two of the partners have been open about the speed they would like to see this accomplished in, and another partner - who is a little bit more conservative - has suggested we should play it safer.
“Ideally, we’re looking at a stadium any time from 36 months to seven years. I’m only saying seven years - I don’t believe it, but I wouldn’t be fair to Dr Neale if I didn’t put it on the table that we should be at least taking as much time as we need to do it properly.”
Mr Thompson said there were no plans to move stadium when both himself and Dr Neale joined as co-owners in March 2018.
But, ambitions to re-develop the London Road ground to a standard they want have hit stumbling blocks.
He said: “Bob had plans already for how we could make London Road work. But as the city owns the land, and as the apartments go up, the housing strips go up, we found asbestos. I started with Bob: ‘What are we going to do to make this work?’ It just became more evident that this wasn’t a good use of the cause.”
The co-owners have been exploring other stadia across Europe for ideas, while Mr Thompson is determined to showcase the club’s history at the new ground. This could include a new museum and museum bar.
He said Arsenal did a “horrible job” of preserving their history when they moved from Highbury to the Emirates.
The club is now working with stadium consultant with a history of going from the planning stage to completion in 36 months.
Mr Thompson also said that there was more than 80 per cent support from the fans for moving stadium, but he revealed: “Building new stadia scares the hell out of me.”
He later added: “The process still scares me every day. We just have to make sure we get the right people around us and make sure we drive at the right pace to a conclusion we can all be happy with.”
‘Ideally, we’re looking at a stadium anytime from 36 months to seven years’ Stewart Thompson