Wheatsheaf Park reopen for Brentford B team

Article posted by Coliseum, November 7^th, 2023

Image: Brentford FC

The Premier League team Brentford Football Club has said that the Wheatsheaf Park Stadium in Staines, England (UK) reopened on October 31^st, 2023. The stadium is for the top-flight’s reserve team.

‘Brentford FC’ stated that the above facility will play host to Brentford F.C.’s B team and Under-18s fixtures.

The Brentford Football Club is a professional football club in Brentford, West London, England (UK) which competes in the Premier League, the highest tier of English football.

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The 17,250-capacity Brentford Community Stadium, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Gtech Community Stadium, is a football stadium in Brentford, West London (UK) that is the home of the Premier League football club Brentford F.C.

The 3,002-capacity Wheatsheaf Park is a football stadium in Staines-upon-Thames, England. It was the home ground of Staines Town FC between its opening in 1951 and the club’s disbandment in 2022. The stadium was renovated in March 2000, with Staines Town moving back in upon its completion in February 2003.

The Staines Town Football Club was a football club based in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex (UK). Founded in 1892, it last competed in the Isthmian League, until it was dissolved in 2022.

The Isthmian League is a regional football league covering Greater London, East and South East England (UK), featuring mostly semi-professional clubs.

The Brentford F.C. Reserves was the reserve team of Brentford. The reserve team played at varying times from 1900 until 2011. During the 2012 off-season, the English reserve football pyramid and youth system was overhauled under the Elite Player Performance Plan and replaced with a new Academy system and development leagues. Brentford’s reserve team was relaunched as the Brentford Development Squad in 2011 and in 2012 it began competing in the Professional Development League 2 South. After closing the Academy in May 2016, the club withdrew from the Elite Player Performance Plan and Professional Development League and launched a new Brentford B team. Following the first team’s promotion to the Premier League in 2021, the club reopened its academy in time for the start of the 2022-2023 seasons under the Elite Player Performance Plan while retaining the B team.

‘Brentford FC’ further stated that there is also potential for Brentford’s women’s teams to play at the Wheatsheaf Park in the future.

After productive discussions with the owners of the site, the Thames Club, Brentford has the support of all stakeholders to play fixtures at the Wheatsheaf Park with immediate effect.

Brentford also holds an agreement with representatives from Staines Town FC to offer support with local community football initiatives with the help of Brentford FC Community Sports Trust.

The club has also engaged with the community around Wheatsheaf Park and has offered the opportunity for the local residents to visit the stadium and ask questions about work on site and future fixtures.

The Premier League club stated that in understands the implications of matchdays in and around the local area, particularly around parking, and will be actively encouraging those attending fixtures to use public car parks nearby rather than park on Wheatsheaf Lane or use public transport to arrive at the stadium.

The Brentford F.C. is also seeking new opportunities with the local organizations to assist with the provision of parking in the future.

Recent months have seen the site upgraded with a brand-new playing surface, as well as enhancements to the changing and supporter facilities.

There will also be opportunities for the supporters to purchase official Brentford merchandise on matchdays in what will now become a regular home for the supporters and the local community to watch the young players develop.

Said Jon Varney, Brentford F.C. Chief Executive, “This represents a great opportunity to have a new home and build the fan base for our younger teams. This will also allow us to further integrate with the local community and bring affordable football to Wheatsheaf Park. We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the Thames Club and we thank them, as well as those linked with Staines Town FC, for their support in bringing this project to life. We now look forward to watching our young players continue their development on the pitch in what is a brilliant facility embedded within a community which values its football, as we hope to become a real asset to the local area.”

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