New Darlington stand to be unveiled this weekend
Darlington FC have completed the final steps in making them eligible to compete in the National League North playoffs.
The new covered stand will be in use for the first time this weekend when the Qaukers host Curzon Ashton.
Not having enough covered seats had dashed Darlo’s hopes of competing in the playoffs last season despite finishing 5th and quashing the clubs chance at a fourth promotion in five years.
The extension which cost £150,000 was funded completely by Darlington fans and takes the capacity of the stand up to 600 which is 100 above the target of 500 required to compete in the playoffs.
John Tempest the director at Darlington FC was understandably pleased to have resolved the issue.
"I have been a director for two years and the target has always been the fan base." Said Tempest.
"We have a lot of fans over the age of 40, so getting more families back is key.
"Under elevens can now attend the matches for free, and we have an extra 300 seats because of the new stand.
"It is starting to look a lot more like a football ground,
"There is a fair bit of work still to do, but there will definitely be more atmosphere in the ground."
Credit to Darlington FC for the imagery used in this article.