National League club forced to leave stadium and find new home after council decision

National League club Solihull Moors will be forced to leave their current stadium and find a new home after a decision made by the council.

Birmingham Live confirmed the news two days ago, stating that the ground is set for development, meaning the high-fliers are now looking for a new site.

Solihull Council made their 10-acre home the subject of a land grab meaning the local authority can kick the club out of the stadium as they need extra space for the Jaguar Land Rover factory which sits next to the 5,000-capacity Armco Arena (aka Damson Park).

The area has seen a huge transformation, however left remaining is this small parcel of land upon which the stadium sits, the report adds.

The plant has 5,000 workers and there are plans to bring that number up to 25 per cent during the next few years.

Solihull Council described the future financial well-being of Jaguar Land Rover as “critical” in its local plan.

A six-figure sum has already been ploughed into the facilities at the site, but the council do have an obligation to find Solihull Moors another home to the same standard as they one they currently use.

The plan suggests the club could need to quit its base within the next three years, and that means the council don’t have too much time to find a replacement, raising questions of potential groundsharing if needs be.

Should they have to do the latter, we take a look and list some of the nearest grounds to them that they could realistically temporarily stay in should it come to it.

De Montfort Park – Leicester Road FC
Capacity – 6,125
Miles from Damson Park – 19

Keys Park – Hednesford Town
Capacity – 6,039
Miles from Damson Park – 20

Aggborough – Kidderminster Harriers
Capacity – 6,238
Miles from Damson Park – 21

Butlin Road – Rugby Town
Capacity – 6,000
Miles from Damson Park – 23

Sixways Stadium – Worcester Raiders
Capacity – 12,000
Miles from Damson Park – 23

The Pirelli Stadium – Burton Albion
Capacity – 6,912
Miles from Damson Park – 27

Spencer Stadium – Banbury United
Capacity – 6,500
Miles from Damson Park – 32

MORE ABOUT DAMSON PARK:

With the club’s success on the field and rising attendances since formation, the ground has seen some quite a lot of development in the last couple of seasons and this transformation see the building of a new Main Stand. Called the Damson Homes Stand, it is two-storey and runs the full length of the pitch. With a capacity of 1,219 seats, it is effectively a ‘double-decker’ stand with a seating area below and up above areas for corporate hospitality boxes, press etc. Disappointingly for a new stand, it does have a number of supporting pillars running along the front of the lower tier, says the Football Ground Guide.

Opposite is the Gas Centre Stand, or also known as the Car Park or Airport side. In fact, you can see one of the nearby Birmingham Airport Conning Towers in the distance behind it. This is comprised of three blocks of temporary seating, comprising around 1,300 seats. Although covered, two of the blocks have more flimsy material meaning they flap up and down a little if it is a bit windy.

At the Draintech End of the ground, is a small covered terrace. Although it is only seven steps high, it does run for the full width of the pitch and has a capacity of just under 1,000. If segregation is in place then, most if not all of this end is given to visiting supporters. At the opposite end is the Jerroms Stand, which is also known as the Damson Lane End. This small covered terrace is known to the local fans as the ‘Shed End’. The ground has a set of seven tall floodlight pylons, three of which are located on the Main Stand side and four running down the opposite side.

Solihull Moors were formed after the amalgamation of Solihull Borough and Moor Green Football Clubs in 2007. Moor Green were forced to leave their Moorlands Ground after their Main Stand was destroyed by fire. The ground was known as Damson Park for many years but had been renamed in 2019 as the SportNation.bet Stadium in a corporate sponsorship deal, and then again in 2021 as ARMCO Arena. The 5,500 capacity stadium has been the home to Birmingham City Ladies FC and occasionally it is also used for Birmingham City development squad matches.

Twitter users reacted with National League club set be to forced to leave their stadium and find a new home after the council decision…

@DanWestwell: This is terrible news for Solihull Moors

@josh168scfc: Thank fuck

@WillB_2003: We don’t have to go to that awful ground again, absolute limbs

@tjd01_: Awful, awful ground (shed), this is amazing news.

@ItsLennnn: Now we’re off to Jaguar, Jaguar awayyyyyyyyyyyy

@capaled: They only recently renovated the main stand 👀

@mattdarbyy2: Dump of a ground

Andy Carruthers: Go to Birmingham City, they love a groundshare lol

Pete Barker: Will be a shame to leave Damson after all the work put into it

Louie Harris: Can’t wait to leave it tbh, we can do much better than Damson

James Fletcher: If possible, let’s build a ground closer to the town centre, nothing around the current one

Will Bailey: Can’t say I’ll miss the current ground when it disappears

Ryan Lee: Lets move into Hinckley’s old one whilst we build a new one, decent ground, not too far, it makes sense

Tim Wilson: Imagine putting in that cash to build new stands then wave goodbye to it within a matter of years eeeeek

The most used image in my phone https://t.co/ROm1naNVVi pic.twitter.com/zN6xMjvLXb

— Will (@wiltufc) January 23, 2022