Leaders have agreed to invest £1 million in a new pitch at Boundary Park Stadium that will serve both football and rugby teams and aims to ‘level up’ local sport.
Oldham’s cabinet has voted in favour of a plan to award a grant towards a new high specification pitch at the stadium, the home of Oldham Athletic Football Club. The troubled football club was purchased last year by local businessman Frank Rothwell, who aims to guide Latics back to the Football League.
It’s now been revealed there is an agreement in principle between Oldham Athletic and Oldham Rugby League Football Club for the rugby league’s side first team matches to be played at Boundary Park from the 2024 season onward. The new pitch will also allow the Roughyeds to play larger games within the borough.
Council leader Amanda Chadderton said: “Both Oldham Athletic and the Roughyeds have a really strong history and a vast support throughout the town of Oldham.
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“By investing in a new pitch at Boundary Park the council is helping both clubs to fulfil a shared ambition of playing their home games at Boundary Park from the 2024 season.
“This will allow us to bring the Roughyeds back to closer to the centre of Oldham and back to a lot of their support.”
Currently Oldham Rugby League Football Club is ‘restricted in their ability to host larger games and accommodate all their supporters at the current training facilities within the borough’, officers said.
Consequently some matches have had to be played out of Oldham which ‘dilutes’ attendance and engagement by fans, the cabinet report states.
Additionally concerns have been raised by neighbouring residents about the suitability of the AVRO training facilities in Hollinwood as they are being affected by noise and parking issues. The proposal also aims to ease the ‘larger footfall’ around that site.
Coun Chadderton added she had visited the football ground with members of both clubs. “I think it’s fair to say that everybody was really excited about what it means for both clubs and also about how it can start to unlock greater community investment into Boundary Park and wider,” she said.
“Frank, the Rothwell family and Darren Royle have huge ambitions and huge plans for the future of the club and I hope that this can kickstart some of those plans and create jobs and opportunities for Oldhamers in the process.
“Securing the future of Oldham rugby is absolutely huge but also allowing and hopefully unlocking some of that ambition for Boundary Park that the Rothwell’s have is really a significant step forward in that.”
Once upgraded, the new better quality pitch could be used more than a hundred times a year, for a range of sports including rugby league, women’s football, as well as by schools, colleges and other local leagues.
Councillor Elaine Taylor, cabinet member for leisure and culture said: “I think from a grassroots perspective this has landed extremely well and I think in terms of our ambition for the town and our pride for the town this is really positive.”
And there is potential to create a ‘sport campus’ at the Oldham ground which would offer a wider range of higher skills courses and community facilities for youth clubs and teams.
Up to 150 higher education students are already learning on the site every week at facilities on the first floor of the Joe Royle Stand, and a sports education provider has now also approached the club with the aim of attracting ‘new cohorts of students for sports science and analytics, sports media, and specialist health courses such as physiotherapy’.
Work on the new pitch would take place over the summer months during the off-season for the football club.
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