Darts come home to stadium (From News Shopper)

Darts come home to stadium

2:12pm Monday 13th November 2006 in Sport By Corinne McPartland

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