CEO Mark Ashton says the club is yet to decide what to do with the land behind the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand which it bought last season.

The land, to the right of the pictue above, is currently occupied by retail units which formerly housed Office Outlet and the Better Gym as well as their car parks and is next to the site where a Travelodge has been under construction.

“The short answer is no there isn’t,” McKenna said when asked if there was a hard and fast plan for the land at last night’s Fans’ Forum. “We acquired the land back in October, November time because there was a once in a lifetime opportunity to get hold of it.

“We’re working with the local council at the moment, [chairman] Mike [O’Leary] and I are actually in London tomorrow in regards to property meetings.

“We’re just looking at all our options at the moment, there’s no rush. We’ve acquired it, we’ve land-banked it, it’s ours but I think there’s a wider discussion with the local authority, be it how we masterplan the area around Portman Road and around the stadium.

“We want to make sure we get the long-term plans right. What’s really important is we have a master plan for the stadium, so the whole stadium works in its entirety.

“There’s no short-term plans. For us to do some of the things short term that you could use it for, it would be an extraordinary cost and it just wouldn’t be worth the value in doing that.

“We’ve banked it, we’re holding it and we’re steadily stepping through the plans.”

O’Leary continued: “It’s worth adding that it was really important that we bought that piece of land behind the south stand [Sir Alf Ramsey Stand] because we use it for lots of very important things.

“I’m sure many of you know that visiting coaches park there and at the same time, to maintain the south stand we need access to it and if we didn’t own that land, we wouldn’t be able to maintain that stand. That was crucial.

“As Mark says, there are lots and lots of different things we might chose to do with it and we’re just thinking about that right now, no rush.”

Photo: Blair Ferguson

dirtyboy added 12:44 - Sep 6 I suspect with the new sports/pool complex being planned on the car park too, the whole area will be carefully considered, could be a cracking bit of regeneration going on there in a few years (if we get promoted).
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IPSWICHMOUSE added 12:57 - Sep 6 Moving up the leagues is our aim.....& in tune with the iconic quote from Jaws ' GONNA NEED A BIGGER GROUND & CAR PARK ' .........COYB...ITID....
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Saxonblue74 added 13:24 - Sep 6 Wonder if we're moving towards owning PR?
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ElephantintheRoom added 15:15 - Sep 6 ‘We' already own Portman Road. It belongs to Ipswich.
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Suffolk_n_Proud added 16:07 - Sep 6 Yes, probably best the land the stadium is on remains in the ownership of Ipswich Borough Council, would stop any owners of ITFC selling it all up to build flats or something to recoup a massive loss or administration costs
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Bazza8564 added 16:39 - Sep 6 The Bc are desperate for us to buy the land, that's what the meeting is about today. As soon as we bought the first bit they knew we didn't want to move and the discussions have continued since. Mark actually said last night, for the first time, they were actively talking about the whole area around PR. It's the first time he's dropped that in like that, it's just a matter of time before the transaction happens, otherwise he wouldn't have mentioned it so openly. I'm surprised no one picked up on it from the audience…. Expect a new or extended Cobbold stand over or across that road and for the whole of the car park to be turned into a facility with bars etc so they can move the fanzone there. I'd bet my backside on it 😂😂

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BobbyPetta11 added 22:57 - Sep 6 Who actually cares ? They could turn it into a knocking shop. All im conerended about is being back in the championship pushing for Prem promotion. I traveled to Accrington Saturday and the Buzz amongst the supporters is something i haven't felt since our play off final win season. Trust in KM even though K Jackson is a would struggle to get in my local Sunday side. He obviously Knows then me

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Saxonblue74 added 06:48 - Sep 7 Bobby, fair to say you can feel a sense if pride whilst being part of the incredible travelling support. How proud would you have felt if that were a home game? ITFC are making strides off the pitch as well as on it, and are planning long term for a big future, so to answer your question of "who cares"? I do, and I'm sure I'm not alone!
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EssexBloo added 11:21 - Sep 7 Bazza - that's really interesting (and exciting). Any idea when we are likely to hear more about this?
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Redlock added 15:17 - Sep 7 Selling the property to the club would give the Borough a big chunk of cash to waste. Sadly it would also make the club susceptible to an asset stripping take over. Whilst we have faith in the present ownership, things change and money talks louder than loyalty.
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Bazza8564 added 07:21 - Sep 8 Essexbloo, not a clue, but the fact that meetings with land planners and the BC being made so public makes me think we will secure the purchase this season. I think the cobbold stand will wait until we are up a level and or attendances hit that 28k mark the MA has previously talked about. Having met Mark a couple of times, he is meticulous with his vision and planning and i believe his roadmap is 5-7 years already. He is beginning to drop hints about those plans in a way that i suspect he is desperate to share his vision, but can't Mike O'Leary is a bit more forthcoming but i wouldn't want the discourtesy of quoting a couple of things he shared over a drink at the end of last season, let me just say i am very excited by the way they think. My own guess would be that eventually the ground and call it Stadium plaza (my words not theirs) will start from the new land as you approach from the station and continue all the way round the ground to include the car parks behind Cobbold and north so we have a huge gathering area circling the stadium. I was at PR tuesday seeing Scott Paul about something different but the Constantine road murals have now reached the West Stand turnstiles and those are being renovated, it's the beginning of a massive uplift and it looks really great. Like you, i'm anxious to know more 😂😂

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Runner added 10:51 - Sep 8 That Cobbold Stand is crying out for another tier. Take off old roof. (Approx 200 seats x 30 rows = 6000 = away support = 15%)(new cap = 36k) 3 meter wide stairway system (like SBR) where the railings are to take fans up one level, wide area at level one spanning Portman Road, then turn stiles & refreshments etc from there.
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Bazza8564 added 11:14 - Sep 8 Love that Runner, but I'd want to do more eventually. If they went round the corner (top tier only) between Cobbold and SRA above the screen, add another 1500 that gets you to around 37500. The Cobbold roof can then match the SRA so it looks continuous. Eventually (and in my perfect world), do the same over the control room with another 1500 and join up the west, put translucent roof on all of it and you have a huge U shaped Structure East South and West with our glorious North Stand sat with its corner blocks to top it all off.... Yeah I know Im dreaming but wouldnt almost 40000 and a proper Arena be great rather than 4 disjointed stands with no flow..... Time for my medications..... :)

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