Elliot Furniss

Northampton Town FC’s Supporters Trust withdraw bid for east stand after being
‘pressured’ by club owners.

The east stand of Northampton Town Football Club’s stadium looks set to finally be
completed after the clubs’ supporters trust withdrew their development plan for the land,
after saying they were ‘pressured’ into doing so.
Elliot Furniss

The PTS Academy Stadium, or ‘Sixfields’, has had one quarter of their stadium unfinished for
over 8 years now. The infamous East Stand has been at the centre of a huge saga plaguing
the club ever since 2014, when a £10.25m loan to the club to develop the stand from the
Northampton Borough Council went missing. Because of this, the contractors went unpaid,
meaning the construction stalled.

The construction has been stagnant ever since, leaving a massive hole in the team’s home.
However, progress was finally made in March, when the West Northamptonshire Council
agreed to an offer from the club's owners which would see two portions of the land behind
the east stand being sold for £2.05m.

However, the supporters trust didn’t have confidence in the deal, believing it showed no
intent to actually complete the stand, despite the clubs promises. The trust opted to invoke
the Asset of Community Value on the land, delaying the completion of the deal and giving
the trust four and a half months to make their own bid for the land.

Despite having a plan they described as ‘viable and imaginative’, last week the supporters
trust withdrew their offer, saying in a statement that they had been put under ‘intense pressure
from several quarters', including Northampton Town chairman Kelvin Thomas.

Despite the trust’s concerns, the football club have insisted that the East Stand will be
completed should their deal with the Council be signed off, and with the trust now out of the
equation, the deal should be completed soon.