Crewe to go sunny side up!
CREWE are ready to turn their 600-capacity car park into football’s first solar farm to help secure the League Two club’s future.
It could be sunshine all the way, on and off the pitch, if the Cheshire club are granted planning permission to install 3,000 solar panels over the Gresty Road car park alongside the Mornflake Stadium.
Going green will not only help save the planet but help Crewe save on mounting energy bills, which are making a huge dent in their finances.
Director Tony Davison said: “It would still allow us to use the car park and it would make us ‘energy sustainable’.
“It would not only meet our own demands at the stadium but it would allow us to sell the excess to a third party and generate funds for the club in the long term. It’s an exciting time for the club.
“We will be a leader in the field because I’m not aware of any other football club who are doing anything on this scale.”
With revenue from the adjoining car park dwindling, especially with fewer people using the nearby train station, Crewe were faced with the large expanse of concrete becoming a white elephant.
“We have been thinking what to do with our car park for some time now because pre-Covid every day it was full,” Davison added.
“Everybody was using it to go on the train to London, etc, but during Covid it was empty for large periods of time.
“It was therefore becoming a bit of a financial liability. The plans include installing a number of electric charging points. It would also benefit matchday visitors.”
The plans have already been viewed at the ground in a public consultation meeting and, if approved, Gresty Road will take on a new look by the autumn.