Darts come home to stadium

2:12pm Monday 13th November 2006

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FOOTBALL came home to Dartford on Saturday. After 14 years spent sharing grounds with other clubs, the new stadium at Princes Park played host to a sell-out match.

A STADIUM designed for the whole community was officially opened in style.

More than 4,000 spectators packed into the new £6.5m Princes Park Stadium to watch Dartford FC come back to the town after 14 years of sharing grounds with other clubs.

Crowds gathered at the sell-out match hours before the game kicked off on Saturday, to watch the entertainment and take a look around the ground.

The Darts, who beat Horsham YMCA 4-2, arrived by coach to the ground in Grassbanks, Dartford, cheered on by fans.

Supporters old and young watched the entertainment on the pitch and surrounding the ground including a steel band, fireworks and stilt walkers.

Council leader Councillor Jeremy Kite says the stadium is not just for fans but for the whole community.

He added: "We wanted to bring the Darts home in style.

"We camped it up a bit but I think everyone enjoyed themselves."

Sixty-nine-year-old Dartford FC patron member Tom Brown, of Weardale Avenue, Northfleet, said: "When I came in I was so gobsmaked I couldn't say anything. It is a dream come true for the supporters and team."

Maintenance operative John Spaul, 53, of Curby Road, Stone, said: "I have been supporting the club for years and it's fabulous to see the ground. It looks like a mini-Wembley, it is unbelievable."

Retired bread salesman Reg Ives, 71, of Colliers Lane, Erith, said: "I'm so pleased football has come home to Dartford and it makes it nice for everyone who wants to see them not to have to travel. We have got a great ground on our own front doorstep."

Princes Park architect Mei-yun Valdivia a L'Onions, from Australia, said: "This project was my baby. I had a vision of what I wanted and I am so pleased that the design has stayed the same all the way through."

The 34-year-old added: "Most of the time you have to change bits around but that hasn't happened on this project. It's an environmentally friendly, sustainable building and I hope everyone likes it."

Dartford FC mascot nine-year-old Gabrielle D'Mello, from Greenhithe, pictured with her three-year old sister Eloise D'Mello, said: "I can't wait for the match. It is the second time I have seen them play and now I want to come all the time with my dad."

Retired district nurse 76-year-old Joyce Hall, of Fleet Avenue, Fleet Estate, said: "When I was working I used to come to a game as a way of unwinding from a day at work. I have been supporting the Darts for 20 years and now I'll be able to get here so quickly compared to having to travel long distances to every match."

Forty-eight-year-old Dartford FC manager Tony Burman, from Crayford, said: "It's fantastic, we have spent 14 years using other grounds and now we have got our own ground to call home. Everyone is so excited, this is like a new beginning for us."

Dartford mayor Councillor Davis Hammock said: "Going from sharing grounds to this amazing stadium is great. This will not only be a place for the Darts to enjoy but a centre point for the whole community."

Thirty-year-old Michael Arney, of Steel Avenue, Greenhithe, said: "I am having a great day - it's lovely to see the Darts at home and everyone having a good time enjoying themselves."

Four-year-old Ellie Sawyer, daughter of Dartford FC's assistant manager Paul Sawyer, said: "I had a good time and I am very proud of my daddy."

Dartford Council leader Councillor Jeremy Kite said: "It has been terrific, it's important the community have a place to come and enjoy the football. We have a good team and the new ground has boosted their morale as the score shows."

• To see more pictures from the historic day click here