1874 Northwich and Winsford United are pleased to announce that they have concluded an agreement that will see England’s newest football club play at the Barton Stadium for up to the next three seasons.
Commenting on the news, 1874 Northwich Chairman Paul Stockton said;
“We are very pleased to have concluded a deal with Winsford for a ground-share arrangement for two seasons with a possible one season extension. We have been talking to the Winsford chairman Mark Loveless for a while now and I am personally delighted with the result.
When we decided to form our new club, we knew that the first major objective would be to secure a home venue as close as possible to Northwich. In reaching an agreement to play at Barton Stadium, for the next few years, we have achieved this aim. This will enable us to progress and establish our club as a key part of the Mid-Cheshire community.
I’d like to publicly thank Mark for his kind offer and I am quite sure that the arrangement will be of mutual benefit to both clubs.”
The 1874 Chairman also revealed that he and his Board had also discussed a possible ground-share with other clubs in the area including Witton Albion.
“We’ve had a number of meetings with Witton chairman Mark Harris over the past few months but we were unable to come to any agreement that was satisfactory to both parties. However, I want to make it known that the discussions we had with Witton were extremely positive, open and amicable. Indeed I would personally like to thank Mark for the professional and business-like manner that he dealt with our request to consider hosting 1874 Northwich at Wincham Park.”
Turning to the possibility of a future permanent home for 1874 Northwich, Stockton said,
“Finding a home for the club in Northwich is one of our principal objectives and we are currently working with a number of organisations in order to make this a reality and we look forward to making some positive announcements in the future.”