Swinton set for new stadium

Swinton could be playing in a brand new stadium as early as next season after details were revealed at a meeting last night.

The meeting for fans and officials took place at the Pendlebury Legion, not far from Swinton’s old Station Road ground.

The Lions currently play at Park Lane, home of Sedgley Park RUFC, and haven’t played in Swinton since 1992, when Station Road was sold for property development.

But fans have been hopeful of a return to a new ground since 2006, when chairman John Kidd announced that the club had acquired a site to build a new stadium in Agecroft, Pendlebury.

At the meeting, the club said that they hope to be in a position by the end of August to apply for planning permission, but they need to raise £50,000 to do so. They are aiming for 200 donations of £250 each to help raise the funds.

The plan is for a community stadium involving local amateur clubs at a cost of approximately £3m, with an initial capacity of 5,000-7,000 which could be expanded in future.

The builders have given an estimated completion time of 12-14 weeks, and if everything goes to plan, the Lions will be playing at their new ground in time for the 2010 season.