Cherries: Mitchell reveals plans for Dean Court

CHAIRMAN Eddie Mitchell has revealed Cherries' bold long-term plans for Dean Court with a £6million stand and hotel at the centre of his vision. The club has unveiled ambitious proposals for a new 5,000-seat enclosure at the South End, which could also house a hotel, spa complex and offices. Mitchell confirmed work was also set to begin next season on training pitches alongside the stadium. The Cherries chief admitted funding the project would not be straightforward but revealed there had already been interest from a leading hotel group, which would help make the scheme viable. He reported that planning permission was close to being finalised for the training pitches, although an application for the stand and hotel had yet to be submitted. This latest proposal, which follows the initial unveiling of plans in October, includes a larger stand. Speaking exclusively to the Echo, Mitchell said: The training pitches alone will cost somewhere in the region of £350,000 to £450,000. We are pricing the stand and the hotel at the moment. We have got permission in our lease to build a hotel but it is about £100,000 to get the planning permission. What we have decided to do is do the training pitches as soon as possible and start the other work as and when we have got the funds. I would have thought the hotel and stand would cost somewhere in the region of £6million. We have now got to find a way of getting the funds to do it. It won't be easy but we have got this far and are still pushing forwards. My job here won't be complete until it is built. We are two-thirds through sorting out the main stadium and are spending a considerable amount of time and money on that because it had not had any maintenance since it was built. As soon as we have finished that, I am going to be out there pushing to get this hotel and final stand, which would take our capacity up to a Championship level. Mitchell confirmed there had been interest in the hotel from a leading chain and that the hotel would yield rent for the club. But he said removing the lorry park from its current location in Kings Park was crucial to the plans. Mitchell added: I don't want people to think we have forgotten about the actual reason we are here to play football because we haven't. But to build a club, in my view, you have to not just build a team but a stable base for everybody to enjoy, look after it and draw in people from outside the area. That is what we are trying to do.

Source: Bournemouth_Echo