‘No Football In Town For Years’ Fear: Blast From The Past

By BoroGuide

Well, it looks like it was all happening four decades ago! A week since we found out how the fledgling Stevenage Borough came to wear Stripes, we return to the battle for control over the Broadhall Way stadium. The most recent chapter in this tale saw football left “in the balance” as then-chairman Javier Revuelta was given 28 days to pay rent arrears due to the Development Corporation. Now, the latest article in our #Boro40 Blast From The Past series tells us what happened next. It didn’t sound promising – ‘No Football In Town For Years’ Fear

 

Article: ‘No Football In Town For Years’ Fear

'No Football In Town For Years' Fear: Blast From The Past

Revuelta pays rent to put future in balance again

CRUNCH day over the future of Broadhall Way football ground will be in the next month, says Stevenage Athletic director Jim Burton.

He thinks soccer will either return to the troubled ground or it may [not be] played there for the next 20 years.

Everything depends, he says, on permission being given for commercial development at the ground.

In the past, it has been proposed that it be turned into a sports centre and the car park used for a Sunday market – but these ideas have been given the official thumbs-down.

Faced with mounting debts, chairman Javia (sic) Revuelta announced in August there would be no football this season and withdrew his club from the Southern League.

Since then a rival group with plans to take over the ground organised a youth match. But Mr Revuelta thwarted them by having a trench dug the length of the pitch.

In January the town’s development corporation successfully asked in the High Court to have the lease returned to them because of unpaid ground rent.

But Mr Revuelta told the judge in March that he knew nothing of the writ. He was given 28 days to pay.

Last Thursday – 24 hours before the deadline – the Bournemouth businessman turned up in Stevenage and paid the £3,816 owing.

Mr Revuelta has asked the council and the corporation for meeting, said Mr Burton.

He suggested that if the […]

Unattributed, The Comet – 21 April 1977


How You Can Help…

Our best efforts from the British Library have got us so far. Our quest is to provide you with the complete history of Stevenage FC. We now have results dating back to pre-United Counties League. There are still, however, some gaps in our knowledge between 1980 and 1992. That’s where you might be able to help. We’ve exhausted the newspaper route at the British Library, so now our attention is on programmes. If you have some old programmes and think you can help, check out our missing match data page. Until next time…