Football club planning move 'for economic reasons'

A non-league football club said it needed to move from its city centre location for "economic and environmental reasons".

St Albans City FC announced it intended to relocate from Clarence Park to a new stadium at Noke Lane in Chiswell Green, between the A405 and the M25, in Hertfordshire.

Plans will be on display at the Isthmian League Premier Division side's next home game against Wingate & Finchley on Saturday.

Chairman Lawrence Levy said he wanted to "bring the whole community with us" by engaging with fans and getting them involved in the plans.

The club, which was formed in 1908, said a "new, purpose-built and modern stadium" would be a new chapter.

Mr Levy told Ollie Bayliss on the BBC Three Counties Radio Non-League Show he had been working on the move for a while and it was the "worst-kept secret in St Albans".

"There's been a need to move away for all sorts of economic and environmental reasons," he said.

"We've got a growing fanbase and it's important that everyone is involved in what we're trying to do."

He admitted it could still take about five years to come to fruition but hoped to have planning in place within the next 12 months.

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