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FC United members set to vote on name of new football ground

FC United members are set to make history tonight (Thursday 10 April) when they vote to choose what their new home should be called.

The fan-owned cooperative, which is currently building a new 5,000 capacity football ground and community facility in Moston, north Manchester which is due for completion in September this year, is bucking the trend of clubs selling naming rights to their stadiums by asking its members, all of whom are co-owners of the club, to choose the name of the new ground from a shortlist of names which were also chosen by the club’s members.

Supporters have come up with a shortlist, which typically, includes one tongue-in-cheek suggestion. The shortlisted names are Broadhurst, Broadhurst Park, FCUM Hall, Lightbowne Road, Ronald Johnson Ground, The Boardwalk and United of Manchester Stadium. The new facility will also be home to Moston Juniors FC. The list was whittled down from a long list of over 100 names following a special members’ meeting in February.

Many of the names that have made the shortlist are traditional references to the geographical area. They include Lightbowne Road, Broadhurst Park and Ronald Johnson Ground - after the army veteran whose family donated the land to the community. Another suggestion is The Boardwalk - which relates to the adaptation of The Drifters’ 60s classic, first sung under a railway bridge in Cardiff before the 2005 FA Cup Final against Arsenal. One suggestion that may inevitably cause a few sniggers is FCUM Hall.

At a general meeting to be held in central Manchester on Thursday 10 April 2014, the club’s 3,000 members will use an alternative voting system in which each name is ranked to decide which name will adorn the ground from its opening next season. Club and company secretary Lindsey Howard said: “Naming the ground is something that is important not just to our football club and our partners Moston Juniors, but also to the people in the surrounding community who will use the facilities. The sheer number of names originally put forward shows how engaged our membership is in democratically shaping the direction of the club they own.???

The club expects to announce the name of the new ground on Friday 11 April 2014 after all the votes are counted and verified and members have been notified first.



First Posted ~ 06:59 Thu 10 Apr 2014
News ID ~ 5467
Last Updated ~ 00:47 Tue 16 Feb 2021