ACCRINGTON Stanley chairman Eric Whalley has revealed ambitious plans to move the club to a brand new stadium in the near future.

Plans for what would be the club's third ground after moving from Peel Park to the Crown Ground, now sponsored by Fraser Eagle, were unveiled as the Reds launched an appeal to the people of Hyndburn to back the club.

Whalley is hoping that with help from the people of Accrington and surrounding towns, and support from Hyndburn Borough Council, the club could progress to a point where they could develop a multi-purpose stadium.

But he re-iterated his plea to the local community and council to get behind the club to make that dream come true.

He said: "We are really ambitious and we're not going to spend money on the ground if in three or four years' team we'll have to knock it down.

"We really want to move on. One more promotion and we should be okay at the site we're at but we're looking to push on.

"To do that we need another ground. It's only in it's infancy stages at the moment but we are looking to do that.

"It might be further down the road than people think and I don't want to throw fans' money down the drain because, at the end of the day, you don't want to spend say £100,000 on new facilities and then they're no use to you.

"In two or three years' time, a press room, a scout room etc would all be incorporated into the plans before it's built.

"I would hope in the near future, we could have a modern stadium that can support more than just soccer.

"But to get to that stage, we need the support of one or two people and help from the local council.

"People used to say I was a dreamer. I dreamt that one day we could take Stanley into the Football League and we've proved that every dream is possible."

And Stanley chief executive Rob Heys said a new stadium could become a focal point for the town.

He added: "We're proud to be Accrington's town team and we'd like to put something back into the town and be good for Accrington.

"And why not think big? Why not think about a development that included a nightclub, hotel etc?

"You're not necessarily running these things yourself.

"You find partners that will run them for you and that provides a residual income, which all comes back to the football club."

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