Knowsley Council Cannot Fund £2m Stand for Prescot Cables

Knowsley Council wants to secure the future of Prescot Cables but cannot afford a new stand at the ground it has owned since 2018, council leader Graham Morgan has said. He estimated that replacing the main stand at Valerie Park would cost about £2m, and told the broadcaster "unfortunately at the moment the council hasn't got that kind of money".

The non-league side is not the best known on Merseyside, but it can claim to be older than neighbouring Liverpool FC. Fans fear the club may have to leave Valerie Park because the main stand is "nearing the end of its life".

A call from a supporter

Cables fan Mike Kostrzewski raised his concerns directly with Morgan on a phone-in on BBC Radio Merseyside. He said the uncertainty was "unsettling" for supporters. "I know it's not Everton or Liverpool, but it's important to the local community," he said. He added that other facilities built around the stadium might help keep the club there, and that "we'd lose a little bit of the soul of the club if we moved".

Morgan said the council would work "closely" with the club's board. A recent assessment had concluded that the stand would cost about £2m to replace. The council had earlier provided a £63,000 loan, which allowed the club to secure funding for £200,000 of ground improvements.

"Prescot Cables fans are the lifeblood of the Prescot town centre regeneration, and I want to see Cables stay at Valerie Park, not just for the short term but for generations to come," Morgan said.

The council stepped in to secure the club's future in 2018. It bought Valerie Park for £300,000 from private owners and gave the club a 99-year lease. The fan-owned club's board has said it is "exploring all options" and is in talks with the council and its landlord about a move to a new home.

The club takes its name from the largest local employer in Prescot, British Insulated Cables, founded in 1890 as the British Insulated Wire Company. The football club, which has also been called Prescot Town, was formed six years earlier.

Source: BBC News