Avenue remain committed as progress stalls due to financial climate (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Avenue remain committed as progress stalls due to financial climate

1:40pm Friday 22nd January 2010 in

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Chief executive Bob Blackburn insists the Avenue board are still 100 per cent committed to the club’s proposed new stadium at Thornbury.

But while the weather has interrupted this season on the pitch, so the financial climate has stalled the development.

The land is secured and Avenue realise they must own their own stadium in order to match their ambitions of returning to the Football League.

Club owner Blackburn said: “The entire project is on hold at the moment but we are still having planning meetings and pushing ahead by cutting through the red tape.

“We have had some very positive feedback from the council and Gerry Sutcliffe (Bradford South MP and Sports Minister).

“It is a huge undertaking and we hope to get the likes of Frankie & Benny’s, KFC and Pizza Hut involved. As well as the restaurants, there will be retail outlets and office suites built in and around the football stadium.

“We are pursuing avenues and making sure we get the relevant permission but we are not going to go round in circles waiting for the positivity to return to the market.

“Let us try to gain promotion this season – we will have more clout if we are in the Conference League – look to see if the finances are right and then reassess at a later date.”

When Blackburn made the initial announcement, there were detractors and certain aspects of the development were exaggerated. But the club pressed on with their development and have made massive strides already.

“The land is owned by Kelvic (Blackburn’s construction company) and Bradford Park Avenue own the La Liga Soccer Centre we have already built on the site,” said Blackburn.

“This gives the club an income of its own, which is important as we currently rent Horsfall Stadium off Bradford Council.

“The intention has always been for the club to stand on its own; be self-sufficient. That will take time but we are already heading in the right direction.

“Some people ridiculed us at first because a lot was made of a 20,000 all-seat stadium but that was a long way down the line.

“We are looking at a capacity of 8,500 for the stadium at first, with the option of increasing it as and when that becomes necessary. We want the stadium to be for the city of Bradford and hold local cup finals there as well as other non-football events.

“We have to be sensible, though, and not waste our energies or cash. If finances were available at this point in time, then the Westfield development in the city centre would be going ahead.

“The Odsal Sporting Village is in jeopardy now and the Bulls and the council are struggling to keep the idea afloat.

“We did consider going onboard with that but decided we didn’t want to be second-class citizens at someone else’s facility. We might as well stay at Horsfall if that’s the case.

“We want to be kings of our own kingdom and to do that Avenue have to have their own palace.”