PLANS are already on the drawing board to create a ‘stadium for the future’ at Tamworth following the club’s American takeover.
With new owner Abdullah Ashraf at the helm, a structure has been put in place to take the club forwards.
Nathan Walter, who has close connections to West Bromwich Albion chairman Shilen Patel and has previously worked at The Hawthorns, is The Lambs’ executive director.
Former Tamworth player Scott Rickards has been named as the club’s new Chief Executive.
That means it is all systems go for the club to be reinvented on and off the field – including a long-term project to redevelop the stadium.
Walter explained to M6Sport how that will work over the next few years.
He said: “To say The Lamb lives in the past is probably an understatement, but we’ve been working hard, along with Scott, to look at the infrastructure, to understand what can we get in there in the short term.
“The acquisition delayed it a little bit, which didn’t help us get things in place before the season.
“But we’ve got a complete sporting facility infrastructure that needs to be redone.
“We’ve got ceilings falling out in the medical room and dressing rooms that need to change. So that’s an immediate focus.
“The second focus is the front of house. So when you’re walking to the reception area, directors’ box, offices, it’s not a place for our staff to actually operate and do things.
“That’s going to be a major primary focus. And then we’ll start looking at other pieces. The immediate stuff is to lay foundation for the bigger picture. And the bigger picture is, we’ve got an opportunity here to redevelop and redesign the whole stadium.
“It’s something we’re working on, where I’m from in Jacksonville, is something we’re going to be looking at here.”
Walter told an audience of Tamworth fans and officials at the town’s Assembly Rooms that architects have already been approached.
The local council are already sympathetic to selling the ground to the new owners.
Walter added: “We’ve started looking at renderings and what we can fit on the site, how it can operate, how we can activate.
“There’s been some really interesting and exciting conversations about what that whole development could be for a long term opportunity. And can we be EFL ready? Respectfully, The Lamb is not even at EFL requirement right now. So there’s lots to do.
“We have a clear focus. But we can only move as quickly as people say. These things take time. So, you know, we’re realistic.
“If it takes three to five years, it’s three to five years. If it’s above five years, then we’ll take the time it needs to get it done. And that’s what drives us.
“We’ve looked at relocating the field on the site. How can you adjust the field slightly? How can we be creative to completely build a stadium for the future?
“As for the pitch, we feel there’s a timeline actually in front of us where we really have to look at what that field looks like over the next 12 months and what that transition looks like.
“We’ve got to bob and weave as you go through all of these situations.”
