'If St Albans wants a football club then this needs to happen' (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

St Albans City owner Lawrence Levy insists moving to a new stadium is crucial to club's future

11:11am Tuesday 12th March 2013 in Local Sport By Simon Mail

St Albans City joint owner Lawrence Levy believes it is crucial for the club’s future to move to a new stadium.

The Saints want to relocate to a 5,000 capacity stadium off Colney Heath Lane. The club’s owners believe the difficulty in developing facilities at Clarence Park means moving to a new ground is their best long-term option.

Ambitious plans for the 2,500 seater stadium include an all weather training pitch, community gym, futsal facilities, a club shop and a community restaurant and bar.

Levy said: “It is crucial this goes through. If St Albans wants a football club then this needs to happen.

“If people want a sustainable football club with high level football in a nice environment then this has to happen.”

Saints City Trust have announced the results from their survey carried out in the last two months by 180 supporters regarding the possible move.

Three quarters of the fans in the survey want a redeveloped Clarence Park. There were 41 per cent who would be happy to go to Colney Heath Lane while 24 per cent were against this. Half of the supporters felt that Clarence Park is not viable without improvements.

There were 22 per cent who said they would attend fewer games if the club moved to a new home. 63 per cent said they would go to the same amount of games while 11 per cent claimed they would attend more if the club moved from Clarence Park.

Most (79 per cent) people wanted more information on a possible move while 83 per cent were reluctant to move but would accept it if it was necessary for survival.

More than half felt Clarence Park is the ideal home and 86 per cent considered good football as the most important factor in attracting more fans.

Levy said: “The survey was done prior to seeing our presentation. I think the survey was good but I answered a lot of the questions.

“I think there is an incredibly positive feeling about this and it’s going to be great for St Albans.

“There are some concerns from people but the majority were very positive and some have said it’s the best thing to happen to the club.

“Without a doubt, the supporters are very important to us. They invest their time, effort and money into the football club so their opinions will help formulate our plans for the future.”

Levy insists Clarence Park cannot offer the facilities for both the team and commercially to offer a viable long-term future.

He said: “We don’t have facilities to create non match day revenue which is required in today’s world.

“A lot of people have said it would be sad to leave Clarence Park but if it is for the benefit of the club then the overiding feeling is it will be a positive move.”