Town chairman's £3m boost

Shrewsbury Town Football Club's chairman Roland Wycherley loaned the club nearly £3 million out of his own pocket to ensure that work started at the New Meadow on time. Shrewsbury Town Football Club's chairman Roland Wycherley loaned the club nearly £3 million out of his own pocket to ensure that work started at the New Meadow on time, it emerged today. The club today said new building regulations and the potential loss of Football Foundation funding would have sent the cost of the £15 million stadium rocketing by £4 million if construction work had failed to get under way last March. But Mr Wycherley instructed the bulldozers to move in, personally underwriting the final land purchase, initial site construction costs and the crucial commissioning of the stadium's steel framework. Read the full story in the Shropshire Star

The club today said new building regulations and the potential loss of Football Foundation funding would have sent the cost of the £15 million stadium rocketing by £4 million if construction work had failed to get under way last March.

At that time the full amount of finance was not yet in place for the redevelopment of Gay Meadow, which in turn would have stopped work commencing at the new 10,000-seater ground in Oteley Road, club bosses said in a statement today.

They claim the additional £4 million - combined with several million pounds of extra costs caused by delays - would have killed off any realistic prospect of the stadium being built.

But Mr Wycherley instructed the bulldozers to move in, personally underwriting the final land purchase, initial site construction costs and the crucial commissioning of the stadium's steel framework.

He loaned and underwrote a total of £2.68 million to the club, charging no interest. About £500,000 of this loan remained outstanding in the club's end of year accounts, revealed to shareholders at the club's 71st AGM.

Details of the chairman's financial support were released by the club today after its auditor advised the annual accounts must show the source of all funds used by the club.

The 2005/06 annual accounts showed the club made a profit for the year of £307,000, mainly due to player sales of £692,000 - including the transfer of goalkeeper Joe Hart to Manchester City.

Underlying trading performance was a £385,000 loss, following a long-established pattern of around £6,000 to £7,000 losses week on week.