Marine Football Club announced the complete plans for a new 8.32-acre stadium to be situated on Edge Lane, L23 1TR, in conjunction with support from Bellway Homes and land-owner Craig Sneddon.
The stadium is one of the biggest community benefit projects in the North West, with a 5,000 capacity. The plans include a Community Hub, classrooms, a gymnasium, a 3G pitch, and a Health & Wellbeing Hub, which includes provision for doctors, dentists, and mental health nurses. A 20-bedroom accommodation will also be incorporated into the main stand. The existing site on College Road will be retained as a Community Hub. Up to 100 jobs will be created from the project.
Since the club played Tottenham Hotspur in 2021 the club has progressed with 2 promotions and an increase in attendances from 350 to an average of 1,400. Marine In The Community, which launched in 2019, has grown exponentially and is now actively supporting the physical and mental wellbeing of thousands of people locally.
Marine FC CEO James Leary said:
“It was our aim to find a site within L23 that could become our new long-term home. I am delighted that we have made it this far in our aim to safeguard the future of Marine Football Club for the next 100+ years and create a project that will become a huge community asset.
Our aim is to retain and improve our support from the Crosby/Waterloo/Thornton triangle whilst growing our supporter base from the surrounding areas of Formby, Maghull, Aintree and Netherton. With that, the expansion of Marine In The Community to these wider areas will also further improve the community impact.
A soccer bus will be launched to support anybody living the opposite end of L23 or who use the railway to come to games departing from Crosby & Blundellsands Station passing through College Road, Crosby Village and onto Edge Lane.
The work to making this a reality though is far from complete and it will need to be a huge effort from everybody to ensure we can raise the funds to make it happen. I would like to thank Bellway Homes for their support and contribution so far. We still have a huge 7-figure sum to raise though and I would like to urge anybody who wants to get involved with the club in any way andhelp with the funding of the stadium to email me confidentially at ceo@marinefc.com. I would also like to thank Sefton Council who have been supportive of the club from the outset”
This is the most ambitious project the club has embarked in its 130-year history and a crowdfunder has been set up to assist in the fundraising efforts. James Leary added “If anyone can donate to support the project it will be a massive boost. If we can’t raise the funds the project will not happen.”
Anybody can donate to the Crowdfunder here.
Marine Football Club will announce further updates regarding the project progress soon.
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