Town CEO and chairman Mark Ashton has revealed the club has agreed to buy the land behind the Cobbold Stand ahead of the rebuild of Portman Road’s oldest stand.
Ashton has previously stated that a new Cobbold Stand is a medium to long-term aim with the club careful to get the timing right, while building part of the new structure around the existing stand has also been considered.
Speaking in a lengthy piece about Town in The Athletic, Ashton reiterated that the next big project is the renovation of the Playford Road training ground, which will cost up to £30 million, but with the Cobbold Stand rebuild also very much in the current thinking.
“We’ve got big plans for the stadium, including a potential expansion when the time is right,” he said.
“We’ve agreed to buy the land behind the Cobbold Stand to do it but, like everything, it’s about timing. We would lose 4,000 fans for 18 months during the rebuild.”
In March, Ipswich Borough Council, who currently own the land, the main Portman Road car park, announced plans for a new aquatics centre with planning permission applied for in June.
We understand the land in question stretches some way over the road behind the current Cobbold Stand into the car park but will not impact IBC’s plans for the aquatics centre.
Ashton also says the relationship with sponsor and minority shareholder Ed Sheeran is something which will be developed further, although the Framlingham-based pop star will no longer have his logo on shirts from next season.
“Another big expansion will be our relationship with Ed Sheeran,” he said. “You’ll also see us in the U.S. at some point, probably in some sort of collaboration with him.
“He’s a local boy who wants to do the best by his club and community. Our relationship started because he didn’t like that we had a gaming company on our shirt [Magical Vegas], he didn’t think that fitted well with the club’s ethos. So he sponsored our shirts in League One, the Championship and this season.
“He has decided to come off the shirt next season to allow us to get a bigger sponsor but what he’s done to replace that support is buy equity.
“He’s invested millions as a formal shareholder. You’ll see further development of the relationship with merchandise and concerts. He’s part of the family.”
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