Pirates' plans put on hold
03 Jun 2008 - 14:38:36
Bristol Rovers will continue to play their home matches at the Memorial Stadium next season.
Opal Property group, the company earmarked to build student accommodation as part of a redevelopment of the ground, has pulled out of the scheme due to the poor current economic climate.
The chairman of Opal, Stuart Wall, said: "We're extremely sorry we've had to withdraw from this project at such a late stage.
"We've worked with Bristol Rovers for over a year and everything was in place to proceed, but the credit crunch is seriously affecting our sector and we've had to take this into account."
Rovers' vice-chairman Nick Higgs said: "We're extremely disappointed to be placed in this situation so late in the day.
"After all the hard work put in by our team it's difficult to accept. We didn't expect this and there was no sign of it happening.
"However, we acted swiftly and opened discussions with another student accommodation provider, but unfortunately agreement could not be reached over the weekend.
"The club has decided therefore to go back to the open market, which will result in a delay of 12 months."
