South Coast Leisure – owners of Newport IW FC’s former St George’s Park ground – have claimed progress in creating a new ‘state-of-the-art’ facility for the County Town club at Whippingham.
The new stadium will apparently be hosting football games from the start of the 2024/25 season. However, it was previously claimed that work would begin last September and then, in December last year, it was claimed work would begin in March of this year – but it didn’t.
Numerous announcements of a similar nature had been made in previous years – ever since Newport vacated their St George’s Park home some 4 years ago. It was some 5-and-a-half years ago in November 2017 that Island Echo first reported that Newport IW FC would be relocating to Whippingham.
In March of last year, the hedges around the proposed site of the new ground were removed – presumably in preparation for building work – but construction work has yet to begin.
It’s understood that work on St George’s’ new retail park – which will bring the likes of Aldi and Costa to Newport – cannot begin until the new football ground is complete.
The grass has recently been cut, but it is believed this is in preparation for its use as a car park during the Isle of Wight Festival.
A spokesperson for South Coast Leisure has said:
“We continue to make progress with the new football ground and it remains our intention to have this state-of-the art new facility completed and ready for use for the 24/25 season.”
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This season (2023/24), the County Town club have announced their intention – ‘in principle’ – to ground share with East Cowes Vics at Beatrice Avenue.
10 of the 1st team regulars left Newport at the end of this season. However, the club intend to carry on playing in Wessex League 1 under manager Steve Brougham.
Steve said:
“Yes, we have lost players but good things come from adversity. We have a core of experienced players who have committed to next season, plus some younger ones.
“Myself, Andy North and Gary Streeter will be running the first team while Stewart Shepherd will manage the Island League side.
“We are all football people, and we were not going to see this wonderful club decline on our watch.
“We are looking forward to going to our new home in 2024/25, but, in the meantime, we are aiming to have a strong season in 23/24.”
What’s the matter with the St Georges Park ground. Why do we need to destroy more farmland for a new ground. Hardly green.
At least it’s in Newport.
You really can’t make this stuff up.
Building an out-of-town retail park with free parking while so many of the shops in the town centre remain empty, partly due to extortionate parking charges.
Makes perfect sense.
Meanwhile a perfectly decent football ground in the home town of the club is shuttered and the club is forced to, basically, play all of its matches away and rapidly declines.
Still, Newport will have the best ground on the Island by the time it’s built. They’ll be a Sunday league club by then, of course.
I have managed to take some cuttings from the fast growing hedge at the new ground site and will donate to the Bonsai Society.Still got some blue and yellow carpet off cuts that could be useful for a dressing room only 6 years old.
Well, I did notice they’ed cut the glass, and I don’t think it was haymaking.
More BS to go with all the other BS this company keeps putting out, even a fool could see that there is no way this is going to be built in a year.
Put this project alongside the Hotel Complex beside the medina at the folly, the Sound Stage project at kingston, the Penny Feathers project and it seems like the island has become “The Isle Of Fairytales”.
When it loses minions yet another abandoned football ground. I know we will get the money back by building houses on the site….. old trick.
We used to call this the Isle of Wonder when I was a child. Then latterly The Dinosaur Isle.
So what are we now? Still Wondering, still treating new stuff like Dinosaurs?
It seems to me that the only Wonder here is that so much Betty Swallox is being allowed to be used to fool the public. The real Dinosaurs are those that cling onto old ideals on paper but in reality are hell bent on making money.
The real Wonder is how they get away with their lack of honesty?
House building and out of town retail are the ideals…Town centres and looking after the public is for Dinosaurs.
A case of Biggusrex Lies, to go with TitanDickus Headus council.
That’ll be the Whippingham Retail Park before a ball is kicked
String it out another year and Newport FC will go under through lack of players or a viable setup then magically there’ll be no need for a new ground – job done and the council get to lower another speed limit into the bargain !
If the new St Georges Retail Park cannot be built until the football stadium is complete, why was the Club evicted 4 years ago? Lodging at Beatrice Avenue and Smallbrook has already incurred a great deal of expense for Newport and there is obviously more to come when the ‘in principle’ deal with East Cowes is finalised for the forthcoming season – if it ever is!
Mr Wake has a lot to answer for!
I feel very sorry for the players who are in the middle of all this and it is no surprise many have left. Best of luck to those who have stayed on.
Mr Wake is all for killing off Newport while making a load of money for himself
Bore off South Coast Leisure