England: Bury FC fans buy their club and stadium

source: StadiumDB.com; author: Tomasz Sobura

England: Bury FC fans buy their club and stadium It's been almost two and a half years since the last match at Gigg Lane. The club went bankrupt and dropped out of the football pyramid system. Fortunately, there are chances that it will be back soon thanks to the support of loyal fans.

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Bury FC was excluded from the EFL on August 27, 2019 due to significant financial problems that culminated when the owner at the time failed to sell the club to another party. As a consequence, the team could not participate in the 2019/2020 League One season, despite securing promotion to this division in the previous campaign. From that moment on, the fight of supporters began to bring the club back to the professional league.

A consortium called Est. 1885 was formed, led by Bury FC fans. Their goal is to return the team to the EFL next season. The entity intends to buy not only the club, but also Gigg Lane, which is the home of the Shakers. Talks on this matter are underway and there is a good chance that they will be finalised in a positive way. Perhaps in the summer of next year, fans will be able to cheer on their favourite players. For now, they need to be patient and wait for events to unfold, although in the meantime they can experience comparable excitement while playing at Casinonana.

Gigg Lane, Bury© Trevor Pipe

In late October, the administrators of the expelled club announced that the terms had been agreed to purchase the stadium along with right, title and other assets including the Bury FC name. Est. 1885 holds the exclusive right to finalise the transaction. In addition, the group indicated that it is hoping to resurrect the club and plans to work with the EFL authorities and other bodies to achieve this goal. There are chances that the conclusion of talks will take place before this year's Christmas.

In May, the Bury FC stadium was put up for sale. Initially, there were fears that the future buyer would demolish the facility and transform the site into non-sports related buildings. At that time, consideration was given to selling a 6.4-acre plot of land that houses the stadium, ticket office and club shop.

As we have already mentioned, the consortium of fans is very interested in the purchase of the ground. It hopes to obtain funds for the finalisation of the transaction from grants, donations and volunteers. After the successful completion of the deal, the facility is to serve not only the football team, but also the local community.

Gigg Lane, Bury© footballgroundz.co.uk

In over a hundred years of history, Bury FC celebrated winning the FA Cup twice (1900, 1903). The club played at Gigg Lane continuously from its founding until its fall. The ground itself is one of the oldest football arenas in the world. Bury FC started playing there after leasing a plot from the estate of the Earl of Derby shortly after founding the club.

The first league game at the facility was played back in the 19th century, when the Shakers defeated Manchester City 4-2 on September 8, 1894. In the 90s of the last century, the venue underwent a major renovation that was the result of the so-called Taylor Report.

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