Gillingham have played at Priestfield for their entire history

Gillingham chairman Paul Scally says plans for a new ground are on hold due to the economic downturn.

Scally had previously hoped to move the Medway club from their Priestfield Stadium to a new home by 2010.

"It's not even near the top of my agenda at the minute because we've got too may day to day things that need attending to," he told BBC Radio Kent.

"I don't think I or anyone else saw a world recession coming, and that's put pay to any building at the moment."

But Scally remained confident the Gills will eventually move from their 11,400 capacity stadium.

There's no rush, we're quite comfortable as we are. We're very happy with the way things are going Paul Scally

"It will happen ultimately," he said. "But the economic climate needs to improve first and developers need to start building first.

"It's nothing I can influence, it's a far bigger issue than I can deal with."

Scally, who now spends part of the year in Dubai, also confirmed he is still looking for a Middle East investor the club, but he is yet to find the right backer.

"I've got a lots of contacts I now work with and I've got a lot of people who look out for Gillingham's results and take a deep interest in what's going on," added Scally.

"But it's important we get the right people in for the right reasons and under the right conditions. Those things haven't yet happened.

"There's no rush, we're quite comfortable as we are. We're very happy with the way things are going, we're building very strongly on and off the field so that's a very positive sign."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version