Tony Evans ponders new Stockport County stadium
Last updated on .From the section Football
Stockport County director Tony Evans has revealed that he is considering building a new stadium.
County currently pay rent to a company owned by Sale Sharks owner Brian Kennedy to play at Edgeley Park, their home for 109 years.
"This club needs its own stadium and over the next 10 years I'm sure we'll achieve that," said Evans.
"That is the future of this club and something that I am very passionate about," he told BBC Radio Manchester.
It has been a turbulent couple of years for the Hatters, who have spent a season in administration, as well as suffering successive relegations.
They have been at Edgeley Park since 1902, but have been groundsharing with Sale since 2003.
Asked if he would want to keep the club at Edgeley Park, Evans responded: "Ideally, no.
"The football club needs its own stadium. We don't want to be a nuisance cousin in the upstairs bedroom.
"We want to own our own ground. We want to be able to walk around that ground as the owners, and that is something we are working towards.
"There is no good speculating upon it. We'll just keep taking every day as it comes and go from there."
In June, Sale owner Brian Kennedy revealed that he was open to the possibility over ground-sharing at Salford City Reds' new stadium in Barton.
He did however not rule out staying at Edgeley Park and re-developing the ground in conjunction with the local council.
Quizzed on whether he would consider moving Stockport into a new facility, Evans added: "Absolutely. It's been well publicised that the local authority are prepared to assist us in that.
"If the figures stack up, in other words if the fans get behind us and support us, we will find ourselves in a position to do it."
Evans is part of a Liverpool-based consortium looking to take full control of the Blue Square Bet Premier club, who have already appointed Dietmar Hamann as manager.
One of the reasons he believes the club must look to move is the amount of revenue to they miss out on from matchdays.
"Last season we never made a penny off a sausage roll or a pint of lager," he stated.
"This season I'm pleased to say that will change and we will have some revenue stream from the conferencing and banqueting facilities at Edgeley Park.
"Long term we dont want to be the poor relation. We want to own our own house, we don't want to rent."
You can hear more from Tony Evans and inside Stockport County in Beswick at Breakfast on Monday 25 July (0600 BST) on BBC Radio Manchester at 95.1FM, DAB and online at bbc.co.uk/manchester
