Croydon FC has announced that it has signed a 25-year lease with the council for their clubhouse and surrounding area at their home ground at Croydon Arena in South Norwood. “The Trams are here to stay!” they said this afternoon.
Stand alone: the main stand at Croydon Arena, which cannot be used on match days
The borough’s longest-established non-league football club has been hamstrung in recent times by uncertainty over their use of the clubhouse, as their landlords at the cash-strapped council have grappled with other issues.
The club still has to contend with the lack of investment in maintenance and upkeep of Croydon Arena, where the main stand remains unsafe and out-of-bounds to spectators – despite Mayor Jason Perry having falsely claimed it had re-opened.
Obtaining the security of a longer term lease has been a target of the club’s chairman, Gavin English, since he took up the role.
Making the announcement this afternoon, the club referred to the lease deal with the council as being “two years in the making”.
Bright view: the Croydon FC Twitter announcement today
“Croydon FC has secured the offer of a 25-year lease for their clubhouse and surrounds at the Arena, they wrote.
“This brings stability and the ability to access levels of funding that’ll play a crucial role in our strategic aims and the club’s next steps.
“It will also cement our place in the community and enable us in our work in SE25.
“There is more to come in this area as the club pursues ambitious development aims with the council and other key partners but for now – The Trams are here to stay!”
The club, which went into today’s round of games in the South East Counties Football League first division in second place, recently put up a £100 bar tab towards a Christmas party for the volunteers at the South Norwood Community Kitchen.
English said, “If you’re a football club and you’re not doing all you can to get behind, lift up and support your local and wider community, you’re doing it wrong.
“At Croydon FC, we know what really matters.”
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
