Swindon Town's Clem Morfuni hails progress of County Ground purchase

Morfuni jetted back to Australia this week after his latest visit to Wiltshire in which he again sat down with supporters groups and chairman Lee Power to discuss progress over the move to buy the stadium freehold from Swindon Borough Council.

Plans for the purchase of the club's home of more than a century in a 50-50 partnership venture with both Trust STFC and the Swindon Town Supporters’ Club were revealed last month, with Morfuni hoping enough progress can be made for the deal to be done early next year.

The managing director of worldwide building services firm Axis Services Group, who joined the club hierarchy last summer, has also unveiled ideas including taking the County Ground to a capacity of around 20,000, putting a roof on the stadium’s Stratton Bank, adding corporate boxes into the Don Rogers Stand, expanding the Town End and adding hotel and conference facilities.

Should the purchase proceed as planned, Morfuni hopes supporters will see the first signs of those developments taking shape next summer.

"There are still things we have got to jump over hurdles for (but) if we could do it (the purchase) by January, it would be really good,'' he told the Swindon Advertiser.

"I'm trying to push for that and that's what we've got to try and get to. The council are supportive of what we're doing so there are no problems with that.

"We're going through that process (the purchase of the freehold) now, with the Trust, Supporters Club, GW Reds and the disabled supporters. They don't want to lose identity and they've got a vehicle in a joint venture to buy the ground (freehold).

"That's our first step and then looking at the development with the (Stratton Bank) roof, the corporate boxes, the hotel and convention centre.

"That's going to be in stages so we need to go through that process.''

While personally unburdened by past tensions between the likes of the Trust and the club hierarchy and previous ill-fated plans for Town, Morfuni is well aware that only tangible results will be enough to convince some that another false dawn for the club isn't looming.

"I'm trying to make sure everyone pulls together and if everyone pulls together, we can get to where we need to get to,'' he added.

"That's the important thing. It's about transparency. It won't happen overnight but it's going to happen.

"I come here (Swindon) every month and have been sitting down with the supporters explaining what we're doing.

"Are 100 per cent of people going to be happy? No, but if we can get 90-95 per cent, that's good.

"Whilst we're talking, it's good. Communication is key, if we don't communicate with people they will take their own view on what is going on.

"We're working really hard to get this result and trying to make Swindon a better club and better facility for everybody in the town.

"We need to go through a few hurdles before we get there.''

Post-purchase, a roof on the Stratton Bank would likely be the first modernisation project to take place at the County Ground.

Morfuni added: "By May, hopefully if everything was heading right, we'd want to be putting the roof on in the off-season because we need to get planning permission and start putting the (roof) trusses up. Hopefully we could work between May and August to have the roof.

"It (the stadium) should be purchased by then, hopefully, but we've just got to make sure everybody is happy - the club, the council and the supporters - and that we're all in the same direction.

"The council are really keen on it but obviously they have got to protect their own asset and they need to get the best value for the people of Swindon so they have to tick all their boxes.

"They are keen on doing it but they want to do it right. They've heard a lot of stories over the last 20-odd years so everyone is probably sceptical of a few things.

"We've gone through all these items, just making sure we're on the same page and ticking all the boxes.''