As many fans will be aware Grosvenor Developments recently completed the purchase of the R Costings Abbey Stadium.

The first thing that all fans and supporters need to be aware of is that our existing lease and occupancy of the ground remains unaltered by the change in ownership. Our tenure remains unaffected as does our security and rights of occupancy.

During the period since we became aware of the interest we have worked toward establishing a proper working relationship with Grosvenor. We believe this effort has borne fruit and Grosvenor have shown a similar interest in developing a working relationship with the club and also our community. We are optimistic that this relationship can develop to all our benefit.

You may have recently seen reports that the club and Grosvenor have documented our mutual understanding of the steps to be taken in the immediate future. This memorandum includes provisions that Grosvenor and the club will actively assess and consider the future location of the club with a view to the development of a new community stadium.

At this time there is no fixed plan in place nor is there a set timeframe for any move. However the process of investigation, identification and development of a suitable site should be expected to take a considerable period of time and will require an enormous amount of co-operation across the authorities, sporting organisations and the community.

Even recognising the poor state of certain parts of the stadium there is still much to love about it and we understand for some supporters the prospect of relocation is an emotional issue. The Abbey has been our home for many years and our history and traditions cannot be easily dismissed. In saying that however we must all be mindful that we now work to establish the foundations for our next 100 years.

We must be practical and accept that to remain at the Abbey will require a significant financial commitment to development, repairs and maintenance which may not be economic and could easily be beyond our funding capacity. If this were the case the long term success of the club may be compromised and so it is proper that we do this investigation and evaluation with an open mind.

Working with Grosvenor and our community we will carefully evaluate the options available to us to deliver an affordable and certain future. The needs of the club and our community will be paramount in any development either at the Abbey or some other location.

Any future decision will be made after consideration of proximity to Cambridge and accessibility for supporters.

Cambridge United: YOUR CITY - YOUR CLUB

WJ270210 web@cambridge-united.co.uk