Ambitious plans for Chelmsford City's new £2.65m football stadium at Springfield, Chelmsford, are being finalised between club officials and developers.

It has been confirmed that it will initially have the 6,000 crowd capacity needed to meet Nationwide League ground grading approval.

Club Chairman, Peter Stroud, said: "We have amended our initial plan so that it will immediately meet Nationwide League grading, which is for a 6,000 capacity with 3,000 under cover, including 1,000 seats.

"We hope today to have all the agreements finalised between the parties involved so that formal outline planning application can be made to the borough council before Christmas," he said. "We have the finances in place and we are ready and keen to bring the club back into the borough.

"It is the beginning of an exciting new era, not only for the club, but also for the community of Chelmsford", he said.

The club, which has approved a detailed business plan for the new complex on a 10.4 acre site near to the A12 Boreham Interchange, hope to have detailed plans approved by March at the latest so that building work could then start.

Initially an artificial all-weather sports pitch with portable changing rooms would be ready for use by next September with the aim of seeing the club kick off their 2001/02 season at the ground.

Two sides of the ground will be developed first with a main grandstand incorporating dressing rooms and other support amenities, including a 40-person seminar room to be used as a boardroom on match days, sports injury clinic and public bar with light food being served

At the north end of the stadium there will be a glass front hospitality area with portable partitions suitable for use as corporate entertaining with a covered area beneath for 1,000 spectators.

There will also be a separate entrance and parking area for a banqueting and function suite capable of accommodating 250 people so that it can also be used independently and without interference on match days.

Once up and running the club will also be developing a Football Centre of Excellence alongside their existing Football in the Community scheme.

There will be three separate parking areas and also easy access to the proposed new railway station, should that go ahead.

"This is a superb opportunity for the club to move back into the borough," Mr Stroud added. "We feel that both the people of the county town the size of Chelmsford deserve this new facility which will be a benefit for community use too."

The club, currently ground sharing at Billericay Town, still attracts higher than average gates for their league.

Picture, top: City Chairman Peter Stroud, who is leading the club's ambitious drive for a new £2.65m stadium.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.