Conoco Stadium
Encyclopedia
The Conoco Stadium was the project name for the proposed new football stadium for Grimsby Town Football Club
Grimsby Town F.C.
Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town...

, with no current dates scheduled for work beginning or being completed. Following Grimsby Town's relegation from the Football League in 2010, the idea now appears to be dead in the water.

Proposed plans

Located on the outskirts of Great Coates
Great Coates
Great Coates is a village and civil parish in North East Lincolnshire, England. It is to the north-west of the Grimsby urban area, and is served by Great Coates railway station...

 to the west of Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...

, close to the A180 dual carriageway
Dual carriageway
A dual carriageway is a class of highway with two carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation...

, the all-seater stadium will be fully enclosed (no open corners) and will hold a capacity of 21,100, but with 12,000 seats as an initial phase. In addition to the stadium the plans include a 150000 square feet (13,935.5 m²) retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

 park to help finance the project. Surrounding the stadium will be a 1,300-space car park, 700-space park and ride
Park and ride
Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...

 facility and new training pitches for both GTFC and community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...

 use.

Sponsor

On 12 April 2002, Grimsby Town Football Club issued a joint statement revealing the then Conoco-owned Humber Refinery
Humber Refinery
The Humber Refinery is a British oil refinery in South Killingholme, North Lincolnshire. It is situated south of the railway line next to the A160; Total's Lindsey Oil Refinery is north of the railway line....

 at South Killingholme
South Killingholme
South Killingholme is a village in North Lincolnshire, England. It is divided by the A160 dual carriageway. Considerably larger than its neighbour, North Killingholme, together they make up the area of Killingholme...

 as the sponsor of the new stadium with the main stand becoming the Jet Family Stand.

There has been no comment or re-enforcement of the previously agreed sponsorship deal by the company, which since a merger in 2002, is now known as ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational energy corporation with its headquarters located in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas in the United States...

.

UEFA-sanctioned

Should the final planning permission be granted the new stadium will be eligible to host UEFA-sanctioned matches including the England Under 21s fixtures. Part of the design specification is that the stadium meets UEFA standards and hence qualifies the facility to be used as a venue for international matches.

Outline planning permission granted

Following a lengthy consultation period, North East Lincolnshire Council
North East Lincolnshire
North East Lincolnshire is a unitary authority in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, bordering the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire and the administrative county of Lincolnshire...

 voted, on 25 January 2007, in favour of outline planning permission
Planning permission
Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...

 for the stadium.

All conditions approved

The final condition of GTFC's planning permission for a new stadium at Great Coates has now been approved by North East Lincolnshire Council. The results of extensive survey work means there must be an agreed management policy for nearly 100 acre (0.404686 km²) of extra land if the stadium is to be realised.

On 19 September 2007, at Grimsby Town Hall, a vote of eight-to-two saw the planning committee agree with the council officers' suggestion for co-operation between Natural England
Natural England
Natural England is the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved...

, the local authority and GTFC. There is no insistence that Grimsby Town actually buys the land - a step which could make the scheme financially prohibitive. There is, however, the option for the authority to investigate making a compulsory purchase order should there be complications.

On 31 October 2007, the Grimsby Telegraph reported that the stadium project was not to be called in for scrutiny by the Government. The club and developers could now enter into serious commercial negotiations with potential retailers.http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=3098814

Setback

On 30 September 2010, after many months without any news about the stadium plan, GTFC Chairman John Fenty announced at the club's annual general meeting that the planning permission at the clubs planned location in Great Coates expires on 14 November and that the club will not renew this. The club are still planning to relocate, however new locations for the ground are now to be looked at.

External links

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