We're inching ever closer to Broadhurst Park - February update

I wanted to begin this month’s update with some good news about the new roles we have appointed at the club as a direct result of the new ground and our imminent move to Broadhurst Park. These roles are all in line with the details previously outlined in the business plan presented to members. Many members will already have met our new community sports development and academy manager, Paul Bright, and our club and business development manager, Amanda Tudor. We have also recently appointed grounds manager, Graham Byrne, bar manager Tony Riley, and finance apprentice Hannah Gorman. Club press and communications officer Andy Walker was successful in applying for the temporary fundraiser post. Add to that the additional stewards and numerous volunteering roles that the move to the new ground will bring and you can start to see the difference that moving to Broadhurst Park will make in terms of creating new employment opportunities.

Our new bar manager, Tony, has been a regular visitor to FC United games and brings a wealth of experience from over 12 years working in the licensing trade. Graham, our grounds manager, is a founder member of the club and Hannah, our most recent arrival, lives not far from the ground in Blackley.

As we inch ever closer to Broadhurst Park opening, we have decided to restart the stadium tours. These will take place before Saturday home games at 11am. The next tour will be on 14 February before the Marine game. Anyone who wants to book on a tour should email the FC office at office@fc-utd.uk stating which home game they wish to attend and we will confirm a place. We expect demand for these tours to be high so please get in touch with us soon. Those who have booked a tour through the ’Crowdfunder’ will still be the first to see the completed build as promised.

In terms of progress on the ground, the stand at the St Mary’s Road end has taken a lot longer to complete than originally anticipated. We had underestimated the difficulty involved in piecing back together the stand after its removal from Northwich. The stand also had to be re-engineered to fit our planning approval. It’s been like putting together a big Meccano set but we’re very much on the last leg of this part of the project. The work to infill the corner of the stand is scheduled to begin in the week beginning 9 February and this work will take approximately two to three weeks. The crush barriers and remediation, repairs and tidying up of the terrace units will follow along with the blockwork to encapsulate the under-stand area, roof and gable ends.

Inside the main building, the flooring is almost complete. The plumbing likewise. FC members have also been assisting with some joinery and decorating tasks in readiness for fit out.

On the artificial pitch, the carpet is now laid and the goals are to be fitted in the next two weeks. The lawned areas and disabled parking to the front of the main clubhouse building, along with cycle racks and our iconic ’boardwalk’, are scheduled for completion during February. The volunteer FC Diggers team are continuing to be involved in work around the site and we are always looking for more help, so if you have any time available then please contact the FC Diggers at thediggers@fc-utd.co.uk

We really are almost there now. It’s been a long time coming but we remain focused on ensuring that we can play the last few games of the season in the new ground. We want to thank everybody for their magnificent effort in raising the funds and offering their time and support to get us to this stage. We still need additional community shares and development funds to complete the build and would ask everyone to consider how they can help.

Back in 2005 our inaugural AGM agreed the following statement as part of our club manifesto:

We have ambitious and long-term plans. Above all we want to be seen as a good example of how a club can be run in the interests of its members and be of benefit to its local communities. However, we are a new club and will require patience in order to reach our goals. With the help of all our members and supporters we are confident we can achieve them.

We have had a series of landmark announcements this last month that have demonstrated the progress we are making towards those lofty ideals: Our progression to the last eight of the FA Trophy, the highest ever FC membership figures on record, the Benfica friendly, raising £275,000 loan stock in record time, over 500 ’Broadhurst Bricks’ sold and the launch of our football academies for youth and women. All are an indication of the strides forward we are taking. FC United continues to advance the cause of supporter ownership we do so by empowering ordinary fans. What we are doing is not only helping to build FC United as a club but that success is also adding to the future strength of the game more generally, both in Manchester and nationally too.