The club recently had its ground grading inspection and was advised that the League Grading Committee would be notified that the Club has met full compliance for Grade 2, National League North & South.

The key work that was required following an initial visit last summer was: to increase the capacity, from the level as assessed by the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) of 2,223 to 3,000; to provide a designated room for the treatment of spectators; improve signage and the designation of access routes and no-standing areas.

Other requirements had already been met such as increasing our turnstiles from four to six and achieving a floodlighting level of 180 lux. Additionally, the club needed to demonstrate that an uplift on capacity to 4,000 could be achieved. The deadline for the work to be completed was March 31st.

Working with the SGSA the Club was able to demonstrate that the holding capacity of the Sutton End could be increased from 639 to 1,306 if the front barrier could be designated a crush barrier and a dedicated gangway added at the back of the terrace. The barrier test was passed and a yellow hatched gangway painted. This took our capacity up to 2,890 leaving an additional 110 to be found. The Board decided to install a 226-seater grandstand to achieve this, taking our capacity to 3,116.

There were many reasons for this decision.

The option of increasing the capacity of the Town End or side were complicated, requiring, for example, crush barriers to be fitted along with a new base in addition to the pitch side barrier. Also, a flat 1.2 metre walkway in between the two would need to be put in place. Any installation would not be dismountable.

Within three years of playing at Step 2 a club must have a minimum of 500 covered seats in no more than two permanent stands. This requirement applies to any team eligible to and wishing to participate in play-offs. While our position in the league has of course slipped since the beginning of 2023, the decision to build the stand had to be made a few months in advance of the March 31st deadline at a time when we were potentially within reach of the play-off zone. It’s a position we hope to be in again, in our second and third seasons and beyond!

The new stand is an asset. It means we are not worrying about installation in the future to meet the ground grading requirements and is fully dismountable and could be taken with us as part of any ground move.

The stand is of course now in situ and adds greatly to the ground. Fundraising is being undertaken to cover the cost, including grants, although we are not eligible for Football Foundation funding due to us not owning the ground.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has donated to this cause so far through our named seat initiative and our Crowdfunder, both of which remain open to donations. We hope that fans will support the initiatives to cover the cost of this investment, which naturally impacts the Club’s finances and its ability to fund all other activities.

A medical room was created by converting one of the outside toilets. The Club has sufficient other permanent toilet facilities elsewhere in the ground to meet the ground grading requirements. In addition, relevant signage was added and relevant parts of the ground painted to highlight access routes and no-standing areas.

The Club could also demonstrate that with relevant works to the Town End and side and meeting the other requirements for Grade 1, a capacity of 4,000+ could be achieved.

The Club would like to sincerely thank the many volunteers whose work helped ensure that the requirements were met.

The Board of Directors, Banbury United Football Club