Council-owned sports ground in such a state of disrepair that the main stand has been declared unsafe

‘Scruffy’: Croydon Arena’s main stand and changing rooms have been declared unsafe

Croydon FC’s run of good form that has carried them into two end-of-season cup finals and on the brink of the play-off places in the league has come to a grinding halt after they were forced to postpone this afternoon’s game because the stand at their council-owned ground has been declared unsafe.

The club was only informed of the emergency closure of the facilities yesterday – giving them less than 24 hours to announce the postponement.

In a statement from the football club, they referred to Croydon Arena as having the “potential to be a transformative community facility for… thousands”, and expressed their continuing commitment “to help make this a reality”.

Croydon Arena, next to South Norwood Country Park, is home to Croydon Harriers athletics club as well as the borough’s oldest non-league football club. The ground was built in 1953. It is owned by Croydon Council and operated by their leisure contractors, Greenwich Leisure.

There have been long-standing concerns about the disrepair of the main stand and the changing facilities it contains, but there has been no significant spending on the sports facility for decades. The athletics track is so badly worn and in need of re-laying that Croydon Harriers were unable to stage any of their athletics home fixtures at the Arena last summer.

The decision to close the stand has been taken by GLL and the council after a detailed surveyors’ report. Croydon FC were advised of the decision yesterday, and immediately made arrangements to postpone this afternoon’s Southern Counties East Football League Division 1 fixture with Larkfield and New Hythe.

While it would be possible to play football matches on the in-field as usual, the football club has responsibilities under their league rules to have a ground up to certain standards, which includes the provision of at least basic changing facilities.

A source at the club told Inside Croydon, “We’ve been aware for a while of the scruffy nature of the stand and the broken seating there. But this is a structural issue in respect of the concrete in the stand, and it has been ruled as unsafe.”

Club officials are hopeful that GLL will be able to deliver temporary replacement changing rooms, possibly as soon as their next scheduled home game on March 27.

Gutted: today’s fixture was cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice

But the frustration felt by the players and coaching staff at Croydon was evident last night when the Trams’ team manager Liam Giles responded to the news with a tweet: “Gutted”.

Gavin English, the club’s chair, issued a statement last night, “We respect the decision by Croydon Council and GLL to close the stand at Croydon Arena which was clearly not taken lightly.

“Although a frustrating and potentially challenging outcome for the club at such a critical stage of the season, health and safety is a top priority for all of us at the club and we hope a quick resolution can be found in the coming days. We understand that alternative arrangements are already being worked upon with some urgency.

“We’d also like to thank the SCEFL league and our scheduled opposition for their forbearance.

“For some time, there has been a need for a more strategic approach to investment in, and use of this important community facility. It is a shame that we have arrived at this point.

“Our recent efforts to bring Croydon Women’s FC back to the Arena and expansion to include under-23s has seen greater use of the facility than ever before and has enabled us to serve our local community in a number of ways.

“What is also a concern for us is the potential impact on our shared users particularly our friends at Croydon Harriers, who see over 250 athletes of all ages and abilities use the track every week. It is a vital space in the borough which we must ensure remains safe and accessible for all.

“We strongly believe in the Arena’s potential to be a transformative community facility for the thousands of people that use it every year. We will continue to work with Croydon Council and GLL to help make this a reality.”

Croydon FC are eighth in SCEFL Division 1 this morning, with nine games of the league season remaining and matches in hand over some of the clubs in the play-off positions above them. After winning at third-placed Rochester in midweek, today’s scheduled game against Larkfield was seen as an opportunity to make up ground on their promotion rivals.

Keeping that momentum in the league is seen as key before their two big showpiece finals next month: the Kent Senior Trophy final on April 14 (to be played at Maidstone United’s ground) and the London Senior Trophy final on April 17 (at Carshalton).

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