In an effort to further improve communication between the football club and you, our supporters, we would like to release a short statement in relation to ground grading.
We understand that there has been some concern and speculation shared surrounding the club and the ground grading requirements at the Daren Persson Stadium. By releasing this statement, we hope to clarify some points.
The majority of you will know that as non-league football clubs progress up the football pyramid, they are tasked with ensuring that their grounds meet a certain standard at each step. Failing to do so can be met with the penalty of demotion.
As a football club, ran by a committee who are all dedicated volunteers with some retired and some working full time, we strive to do our very best for the best interests of North Shields Football Club. All our strategic planning circulates around this being a community club with the town and the residents at the heart of what we do.
During our promotion winning season we held endless hours of meetings with potential investors and sponsors to build finances to help with the step up in football and also the step up in ground requirements. Unfortunately, with these meetings, nothing major came into fruition.
With the step up in the non league pyramid came with requirements needing to be completed.
• Double Turnstile
• Pitch rail infill
• Covered spectator stand for 120 persons
• Covered seating 50 persons
• Hospitality unit
The total project cost came to around £100,000 which needs to be completed by March 31st.
As a committee, every member has worked tirelessly to raise these funds which unfortunately has fallen short. From Crowd funding, letters to existing sponsors, raffles, bucket collections, getting in touch with local stars, personal donations every Avenue has been explored.
On top of this funding we still need to support our management team and financially back our playing squad, which we have done all season. The improvement in the playing squad has been strong and from performances this season, you can see we are a step 4 club who have held our own this season.
Further, we would also like to state that we, as a football club, will not know what the outcome of the Ground Grading process will be until this is released by The Football Association.
We will release another statement in due course once we hear from The FA.
