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Stadium sale is 'opportunity' for football club

BBC The Camrose. There is a large red and blue grandstand in front of a grass pitch.BBC
The Camrose has been unused since 2019

The proposed sale of a non-league football club's former stadium will create an "opportunity" for the team, its chairman has said.

The Camrose had been home to Basingstoke Town FC for more than 70 years, before the club was forced to relocate in 2019.

Basingstoke Town Community Football Club, as the club is now known, has rented a temporary home in the town since October 2020.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's cabinet approved the sale of the final un-sold part of land at The Camrose at a meeting on Tuesday.

Jack Miller, the club's chairman, said the "inevitable" sale created "an opportunity to reinvest in the future of Basingstoke Town Community FC, allowing the club to continue to grow and be in control of its own destiny".

"The key focus now is maintaining productive discussions with the council to ensure that the proceeds from this sale contribute to the long-term sustainability of our club," he said.

A large green pitch surrounded by green fencing. There is a small grandstand next to a large silver building overlooking the pitch
Since October 2020, it has rented the Hampshire FA ground at Winklebury Football Complex

The council said proceeds from the land sale would be used to invest in improvements to the town's football facilities.

Talking at Tuesday's cabinet meeting, Mr Miller called it a "rare and pivotal moment" that could make sure the club would "no longer be at the mercy of circumstances beyond our control".

He implored councillors to "recognise what has been taken and seize this opportunity to put it right".

"This is the moment where the morals of this unfortunate saga must be not just heard, but acted upon," he added.

The Basingstoke Town logo is yellow and blue, and is printed on a white sign. The sign is on a blue wall
Mr Razzak still owns the club's original name

Basingstoke Town's former owner Rafi Razzak put the Camrose site up for sale in 2019, evicting the football club in the process.

Since October 2020, it has rented the Hampshire FA ground at Winklebury Football Complex in Basingstoke - which it shares with other teams.

The Camrose has remained unused and abandoned since then.

Developers SNG purchased most of the site in December 2024, but a small section of the land is still owned by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

A final decision on the sale of the authority-owned land to SNG will be made by the full council later this month.

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