Ashton: No Specific Plans for Land Behind Sir Alf Ramsey Stand Tuesday, 29th Mar 2022 20:56 Blues CEO Mark Ashton says Town have no hard and fast plans for the land behind the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand which was purchased earlier this month. The news that the club had bought the land on which the former Office Outlet and Better Gym retail units stand was revealed a fortnight ago with supporters intrigued how the club would be utilising it. “There are no specific plans,” Ashton said when asked about it at this evening’s Fans’ Forum. “What happened was that it was very clear that the land had become available so myself and Mike O’Leary talked about that. “It was probably the one piece of land surrounding the stadium that we could acquire and the only piece of land that we would be able to acquire for the next 10, 15, 20 years. “So we spoke to the ownership group and they were fantastic and they said, ‘Yes, let’s get it under the club’s control’. “I think in the short term we’ll look at how best we can use it to drive revenue and maybe support matchday activities etc and then in the medium to the long term, we’ve already developed really good relationships with both the Borough and the County Council and we’ll enter into almost a masterplanning exercise where we can look at all of the land around the stadium and how best we take it forward to enhance all stakeholders. “At this moment in time, we have the keys and and there’s amazing space in there, the units are huge. “We’ve got car-parking front and rear, it protects the back of the stadium so when we’ve got games that are on broadcast we need somewhere to park the broadcast trucks. Had we not acquired that land we would have had nowhere to park the broadcast trucks. “It protects us, it increases the value of the football club because it’s land that we can use to develop and support it. “Short term, I think we’ll find some sensible uses while we develop big medium and long-term plans for it.” Asked about other potential developments over the next few months including Ed Sheeran’s shirt sponsorship and the adidas kit deal, Ashton said he couldn’t say anything on those fronts but revealed the club has ended its deal with their concourse catering supplier and will be looking to bring some of its media activities in-house as well. “There’s so much to tell, there’s such a good story to tell,” he added. “There are so many good people working really hard behind the scenes at the football club and over the coming weeks and months we will start to drip that information out when we legally can. “We’ve said that we’re going to invest in the infrastructure of the football club, I can tell you tonight that we have served notice on Sodexo and we will be bringing the concourse catering in-house this summer. That’s an investment for the football club. “Nothing to do with the external company, we want to take control of our own destiny and the owners, investors, the board will spend time in putting that in place. “I think it’s highly likely that in the next 12 months we will exit the iFollow deal with the EFL and will build our own platform, I think it’s highly likely you’ll see Town TV. “You will see from next season Ipswich Town offer its own matchday commentary. You will see the digital world brought to Portman Road. We will take this football club forward in all areas. “It’s frustrating for me at times, and for my team and some of my colleagues, because they want to tell the fans everything. But we are bound by some commercial and confidentiality agreements but I’m telling you, there’s some really exciting announcements to come for this football club over the next couple of months, so please, please, please watch this space.” Some of the work which has been promised over the season is already under way, he continued: “The Tannoy system, they’ve actually started work. They’ve been working on the South Stand, North Stand is next and by probably the end of April, all the stands will be completed and then be balanced. We’ve made that investment, that work is happening. “We’re investing in water heaters etc all around the stadium. Just a handful of what needs to be done has been pointed out. “It’s like painting the Forth Bridge, we’re just going to have to keep going and going and going. We will do it all but it’s just going to take a bit of time.” Ashton revealed that the club has sold 2,000 season tickets since they went on sale, 41 per cent of those to people who didn't have them this season.
Photo: ITFC Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Blogs 295 bloggersIpswich Town Polls[ Vote here ] |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
