Buying County’s ground a big ‘win-win’ for everyone
A TOP adviser to Stockport County’s board of directors has applauded council chiefs’ commitment to buy the club’s ground and help it stay ‘at its spiritual home’.
Steve Bellis, a senior adviser to club bosses, said the deal with Stockport County to buy Edgeley Park was a ‘win-win’ that would benefit the club and the borough.
It is thought the council will buy the ground for around £2m. It was valued at £1.5m three years ago.
Mr Bellis, who used to be the club’s commercial director, said: “This deal has secured County’s spiritual home and gives us confidence to be able to plan going forward, safe in the knowledge that we will be staying at Edgeley Park.
“The only reason the council is happy to do this is because the club is in good health. We’ve proven that we’re fit and proper tenants.
“People behind the scenes now are working hard to getting things right at the club. This deal is a win-win – it’s a great deal for the club and the council.
“And it won’t cost the tax-payer anything as rent will cover the mortgage. There are no negatives to this, at all – it’s a genuinely commercial partnership.
“Most importantly, it’s great news for our fans, who haven’t had a lot to smile about in recent years. They can be really happy about this now.”
Mr Bellis insisted fears over developers’ plans were real - and that the stadium could have been bulldozed.
“The bottom line is that there was serious interest from developers,” he added.
“But you’ve got to give credit to Cheshire Sports. They could have just sold it to whichever third party and could have been done with it.
“But they offered to allow the council to match the bid and keep us here.”