Stadium leader

THE news that Rotherham United fans have been longing for has finally hit the doormat and the whole town can now look forward to a bright new dawn.There is already a burgeoning feelgood factor after the torch was lit underneath what will become a beacon fo

THE news that Rotherham United fans have been longing for has finally hit the doormat and the whole town can now look forward to a bright new dawn.

There is already a burgeoning feelgood factor after the torch was lit underneath what will become a beacon for the future.

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Rotherham has been crying out for a new stadium for years and its erection on the plum Guest and Chrimes site should be a catalyst to aid the whole town centre regeneration project.

After all the empty rhetoric regarding development over many years, the talking has finally stopped and the work is about to start. It’s the news everyone wanted to hear.

For years, Rotherham has been way down the list of poor relations when it comes to sports facilities—a fact made more acute after the unveiling of an array of new venues across the way in Sheffield.

At times, our facilities have been an embarrassment. Many recall the day West Ham United refused to get changed at Millmoor.

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And remember when Rotherham Titans were refused entry to the Premiership because their ground wasn’t up to scratch?

It was all bad news for the town, with the nationwide negative column inches that followed.

But with new swimming pools opening across the borough and this week’s news of the projected £7 million development of Herringthorpe Stadium, those days could be consigned to the dustbin of history.

The Millers have been through a torrid few years, their problems stemming from a failure to keep pace off the pitch with their progress on it.

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Ever since the days of the prudent club chairman Lewis Purshouse, whose death this week is chronicled on our sports pages, the club has struggled to make ends meet.

They hit rock bottom two years ago, both financially and on the field, and were within hours of going to the wall.

Rotherham came very close to losing its football team but under the prudent stewardship of Tony Stewart and with a helping hand from Rotherham Borough Council, it is astonishing to chart the progress made in such a short period.

Stewart’s vision and drive has to be applauded. He took the controversial decision to break the link with Millmoor—and the land-owning Booth family—and relocate to the far-from-ideal Don Valley Stadium.

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It was a move which was met with hostility by many Millers traditionalists but Stewart knew that moving out of a dilapidated Millmoor was the means to an end.

Stewart is a man who makes things happen, as we have seen this week. Despite his sponsorship links with other clubs, he admits that he fallen in love with Rotherham United and he desperately wants to take them onwards and upwards.

Of course, it is not all about football and the corporate facilities the stadium will include. If the project follows the model of several new ground builds around the country, then there will be other positives.

Light commerce and leisure spin-offs often barnacle to such projects which could bring additional benefits in jobs. New stadiums in such as Reading and Scunthorpe have seen whole areas developed around them.

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With this venture bolted on to the town centre, it gives Rotherham a massive advantage if it wants to encourage much-needed new business interests. There is clearly an opportunity to grab the best chance in years to accelerate the regeneration of a whole swathe of our town centre.

The new stadium will sit side by side with new civic buildings to house the borough council on the unique Guest and Chrimes site, a hugely important gateway to Rotherham and a visual catalyst for the ambitious regeneration of Rotherham.