Construction Starts At Little Wembley

The first steps in the next development of SportsTown took place today with the breaking of ground at Little Wembley.

Members of the Oldham Athletic Board of Directors were joined by Leader of Oldham Council, Cllr Arooj Shah, for the official ceremonial start of construction work on the former training ground.

As part of the initial £5 million investment from the Government’s Community Regeneration Fund, Little Wembley’s turf will be transformed into a 3G playing surface.

The site will become a permanent home to the Oldham Athletic Academy, in addition to providing an important community sporting centre within the Boundary Park footprint.

It will also become home to a range of education development courses and programmes as SportsTown develops.

Club Chairman, Frank Rothwell OBE, was present to dig the first piece of land with an historic shovel which was previously presented to Oldham County in 1896 to commemorate the building works of Boundary Park, just under 130 years ago.

Speaking after the ceremony, Frank said: “Today marks a very significant development for Oldham Athletic and the wider SportsTown project. 

“Little Wembley is an area which is steeped in history, so it is very fitting that this work should be the first to take place in the next phase of our developments.

“Once complete, Little Wembley will provide state-of-the-art 3G facilities which will become home to our academy as it develops following our return to the EFL. It will also become a hub for the young people in our community to engage in sport and allow multi-sport use which is central to education and wellbeing pathways at SportsTown. 

“We’d again like to thank Oldham Council for their collaborative work which will allow us to provide a wonderful facility and game-changing opportunities for the young people of our town and within the club’s academy.”

The wider ambitious SportsTown Oldham project as initially announced in March this year, with the full press release can be read by clicking here.