The Yorkshire Evening Press of 25 January 1996 gave details of the club's plans to develop the ground's facilities, including building a large new stand at the away supporters' end of the ground.

City unveil stand plans

YORK City have issued a statement to support their plan to improve the away end of the Bootham Crescent Ground.

The club statement in full reads: "It has always been the policy of successive boards of York City FC to carry out not only essential but desirable improvements to the ground at Bootham Crescent.

"In recent years however as a result of the Taylor Report and the subsequent advent of The Football Licensing Authority it has also become mandatory (and rightly so) for all football clubs to achieve and maintain very rigorous standards of safety and amenity.

"In addition the Football League has in the last year laid down divisional criteria for all League Grounds with time limits for compliance.

"Currently York City FC is in the second division and only has to carry out some minor improvements to meet the criteria for that Division. The Board however has always made it clear that its ambition along with that of its supporters is to achieve a place in the first division.

"The requirements of the Football Licensing Authority and the current and future criteria of the Football League are such that to achieve this ambition we must in the final analysis have an all seater stadium with a capacity of 10,000.

"The Board initially had two options namely to re-develop and improve the existing stadium or move out of York to a green field site. Several years ago the Board decided that a new stadium on a green field site was not financially viable.

"The subsequent experiences of the York Rugby League Club in moving from Clarence Street to a green field site at Huntington have confirmed that the Board's decision to re-develop and improve the ground at Bootham Crescent was the right one.

"Since the decision not to move was taken the Board has spent with the help of grants from the Football Trust well over £500,000 in improvement works. The old enclosures are now incorporated into the main stand and made all seated giving a much appreciated family area.

"A family room, a classroom for football in the community activities and hospitality rooms have also been constructed. In addition the David Longhurst Stand was built and in due course its conversion to seated accommodation will be a simple process.

"The visitors end of the ground is clearly not of an acceptable standard and indeed a large section of the terrace at that end has been closed off for some 20 years for safety reasons. The Board has decided therefore that the time is now opportune to move on with the next stage of its planned development of the ground leading towards an all seater stadium of 10,000 capacity thus enabling the Club to satisfy the criteria for first division status.

"The plans for this next stage which have been submitted for Planning Approval have been prepared by Ron Sims a doyen of York's Architects. In his design he has given particular attention to the aesthetic treatment and scale of the elevation facing Grosvenor Road. This was considered essential by the Board as the present elevation is to say the least an eyesore.

"The design of the Stand is based on current standards for safety and amenities. It incorporates disabled facilities, toilets, refreshment facilities, indoor training rooms and seated accommodation for 3,020 spectators.

"This latter figure is of course crucial because it will enable the Club to meet the standards and future criteria for membership of the first division. If we do not do this development and the capacity of 3,000 at this end of the ground is not achieved the club will in effect be resigning itself or be forced to resign itself to a future of only ever having Second or Third Division status. "

(Yorkshire Evening Press, 25 January 1996)