WHITES PLOT AN END TO EXILE
WORCESTER CITY has agreed a deal “in principle” to return home for the start of next season after seven years in exile.
At a general meeting on Thursday, the club announced that it will lease Claines Lane from the Worcestershire FA (WFA) – the county-owned site currently the subject of delayed redevelopment work – having seen past efforts to build a new ground thwarted by opposition from Worcester City Council.
But, there is a twist in the tale with the WFA requiring a loan from the council worth up to £750,000 in order to complete initial work on a 3G pitch separate to the main playing surface, changing rooms and office facilities for the association.
The rubber-stamping of that loan by councillors on Tuesday confirmed City’s move to Claines Lane – a site that had previously been deemed unsuitable when the club played in National League North, in order to end the impasse.
Sustainability
The WFA’s plans will still only get the ground to Step 6 standard with City required to fund improvements to host Step 5 football. Club bosses are confident, however, that the site can achieve grading for Step 3, potentially in time for next season.
That is one tier below the status City surrendered in the summer of 2013 in order to cut costs while groundsharing at, first, Kidderminster and then 15 miles away in Bromsgrove and the proposal has divided fans amid concerns the scale of Claines Lane could limit ambitions.
Chairman Steve Goode described the move as a “stepping stone” and vowed to pursue the dream of City owning its own ground, insisting this was the right move to get the club back on its feet.
“This is the best thing that could happen for the club at the moment,” he said. “We know we will have financial sustainability, it is about making sure we still have a club. We stated before how we would have struggled (to survive outside the city) in two years so it is just trying to rebuild the club.”
False belief
Some supporters preferred the prospect of the club being taken over by Worcester Warriors owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham, enabling a move to Sixways Stadium.
Goldring and Whittingham, who also own League Two backmarkers Morecambe, pulled out of talks. Goode said their reasons were a false belief City wanted to remain fan owned and that “it was not the right time”.
“I understand people will be upset about not going to Warriors but it was through no fault of ours,” Goode added. “We did offer them the full running of the club but unfortunately that couldn’t happen because the Warriors pulled out before this meeting.”
A drag-along motion that means City can be taken over in the future with the blessing of 60 per cent of the shareholding was also sanctioned. The Supporters’ Trust owns around 46 per cent of the club.