Town’s stadium set to rise like a Phoenix
Shifnal Town's football stadium is on its way to becoming a central hub for community sport.
The club has started the redevelopment of its ground, with plans to spend a seven-figure sum.
It comes after the stadium was renamed from Phoenix Park to the Acoustafoam stadium following a sponsorship deal.
The club is currently in talks with eight undisclosed businessmen who have pledged to invest funds which can then be matched by the Football Foundation.
It is estimated the total redevelopment will cost from £1-2 million.
The redevelopment of the ground will include new seating, new stands, two new all-weather pitches and a new lick of paint for the whole stadium.
Plans are also currently being drawn up to build a two-storey clubhouse, with changing rooms and social function rooms.
The club hopes to be a community hub that facilitates a range of both male and female, junior and senior sports, as well as disabled teams.
Mike Tranter, managing director at the club and former manager of the men's first team, said: "We've got everyone on board with this, and that's exactly what we wanted.
"The Shropshire FA and Football Foundation are doing everything they can to help us along with this - it's going to be a community club for the whole area.
"We're not just stopping at football, we want a centre hub that accommodates all types of sport and brings young people together that haven't got an interest in football but want to play other sport and be involved.
"Last year we had three people on the board and they were struggling financially, but now we've started this project there's such a buzz around the town."
The club aims to create a steady income with two new 4G pitches, and also ensure as many junior teams can continue to train and run from the ground.
Currently they have a men's first team, playing in the West Midlands Premier League, a ladies' youth team and a boys' youth team that play competitive games.
"We've got a good manager in Mark Simpson who's focusing on putting some discipline into the lads and encouraging local players to get involved with the club.
"We're not aiming for promotion this year, we're looking to build as an academy and community club, and go from there."
The revamp comes alongside the planned 1,600 houses being built between now and 2026.
Councillor Robert Harrop, mayor of Shifnal, said: "We're very pleased with the community approach that the committee and the members of the club are taking and we applaud their efforts highly.
"It enhances our town from a family point of view and it gives another entry into our community.
"Instead of purely a football team, it is now an amenity that will benefit the town for years to come.
"They're also working a lot with youth teams and with the planned disabled teams, it will welcome as many people as possible.
"This is unique because it's in Shifnal, for the people of Shifnal, young, old, boys and girls - the USP is that it's about the town and town involvement and I'm sure that's they key to a good future."
