PREPARING FOR THE PREMIER
Courtesy of www.icberkshire.co.uk.
WINDSOR and Eton Football Club have no intention of being April fools when it comes to having their ground up to Premier Division standard.
Royalists have until April 1 to raise the standard of Stag Meadow from a B grading to an A grading as they battle for promotion this season.
Groundwork Has Started
At Stag Meadow
Although promotion is by no means a certainty, the club wants to be eligible to play in the Premier Division next season should they finish in the top two this term.
"It is no good the players battling all season for promotion, only to be denied at the end of it because we don't have the ground grading," said Windsor & Eton Chairman Peter Simpson. "We paid our fee to the Ryman League and had a preliminary assessment and they gave us a schedule of works. This has to be completed by April 1.
"What needs to be done is well underway and I am confident that we will meet the League deadline. Ryman League secretary Nick Robinson has been very helpful."
Royalists have had to undertake work on two sides of the ground, install 12 more seats in the stand and put in two more turnstiles for away supporters to enter and enable them to be segregated.
In a bid to meet the deadline, contractors are busily pouring more than 100 cubic metres of concrete to make hardstanding behind one goal and along the far side of the pitch.
The ground must have need a capacity of 3,000 and for a safety certificate to be issued, the terracing will need crush barriers to be installed.
In addition, the grassed area behind the Soldiers area of the ground will no longer be a part of the ground as the boundary fence is moved and an extra benefit is that it will provide an additional 50 car parking spaces, one of the major problems at Stag Meadow.
The other work on the ground is of a minor nature, enlarging the press box to and providing lighting and a telephone point and minor improvements in the dressing room area.
All these moves could be good news for Slough Town, who like Windsor, are well in the promotion race in their Division.
With the prospect of being forced into a groundshare next season, they are to open talks with Royalists next week. "We will do all we can to accommodate Slough Town if they are sincere," added Simpson. "I hope that both teams are playing in the Premier Division next season and if it is at Stag Meadow, the derby days will be excellent."
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