Marine FC has unveiled plans for a new stadium with a capacity of 5,000. The National League North team, which has played at its current Rossett Park ground (known as the Marine Travel Arena) on College Road in Crosby for over a century, has now presented plans to construct a new stadium on an 8.32 acre site on Edge Lane in Thornton.
The stadium, designed by Crosby-based architects Diaz Associates, would be developed in collaboration with property company Bellway Homes as part of a broader 30-acre development on the Edge Lane land. Marine has acquired 8.32 acres for £1 to facilitate the stadium's construction.
Bellway intends to build 250 homes on the remaining 22 acres and will contribute £2.5m towards the total £8m required for the stadium build. The project hinges on Marine securing funding and Sefton Council approving a planning application for the homes and the stadium.
Marine aims to maintain the College Road site as a community hub and sports centre. However, the Marine Travel Arena only has stands on three sides and limited run-off areas (a safety boundary around the football pitch perimeter), which led the club to seek a new home ground.
The Thornton complex will include the 5,000-seat stadium, along with car parking, a 20-bed hotel integrated into the main stand, a gym, a bar, and a hospitality area. There will also be a community health hub.
Construction on the project is expected to commence in 2027, with a comprehensive planning application due to be submitted later this year. Marine's Chief Executive, James Leary, told "I'm really excited - it's been something that we've been working on for a long, long time as a football club. It's something that, I'll be honest, at one stage I wasn't sure we would be able to get to this point and get land secured because we tried for so many different locations.
"You get so many knockbacks and at times it feels like it's not going to happen. We've got a really good relationship with the landowner that we secured the land with, a really good relationship with Bellway Homes and it's just an exciting and unique opportunity for Marine Football Club that we need to try and make a reality."
The club's financial fortunes were boosted following a remarkable FA Cup third-round match against Tottenham Hotspur in January 2021. While the game was played behind closed doors due to lockdown restrictions, it generated substantial revenue through the sale of 32,202 virtual tickets.
Since that game, the club has enjoyed two promotions and have seen average attendances rise from 350 to 1,400. Marine have also invested heavily at the Marine Travel Arena, installing a 4G pitch and opening the 1894 Bar and Bistro.
Reflecting on the club's transformation over the last four years, Mr Leary said: "Generally, as a football club, you get a lot more lows than highs. But over the last five years we've been promoted twice, we had the FA Cup run when we got to the third round against Spurs.
"We've had two more FA Cup runs - once we got to the first round proper and played Harrogate, we've had probably half a dozen sell outs in the last two or three years.
"It's been an incredible journey on the pitch and off the pitch, with the expansion of Marine In The Community. We started that in 2019, we're not Everton, we're not Liverpool, but even though we're a smaller club, why can't we look to benefit and to help local people in the same way they do?
"Everything at the moment has hit us at the same time and built this wave, which carries on growing. If we can make this ground a reality, then that wave will continue. We've got big challenges, we've got to get through planning and then we need to raise the rest of the funds to build a ground.
"They're both going to be tough asks and that's why we're relying on the community and different people to get involved and get behind the project."
Marine FC are actively seeking funding options for their ambitious £8m stadium project, with Bellway contributing £2.5m towards the goal. Mr Leary highlighted that the club is exploring various grants and engaging in conversations with Sefton Council while also running a crowdfunding campaign.
He added, "I am delighted that we have made it this far in our aim to safeguard the future of Marine Football Club for the next 100 plus years and create a project that will become a huge community asset."
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