Man with the mission of moving U’s to new home

9:36am Friday 4th April 2008

On July 11, Keith Turner will be given the keys to Colchester's new community stadium... all 300 of them.

"It is just one of the logistical things you don't think about," said the new stadium operations manager.

"I thought it would be a small bunch of about three," he joked.

For many Colchester United fans this has been a very long time coming.

More than 30 years, to be exact.

Such has been the saga surrounding the club's new home - it once looked like it would never happen - that many fans will not actually believe it has happened until they step through the turnstiles of the new ground for the new season in August.

Hopefully, the U's will still be in the Championship; if not, it won't diminish the new stadium's potential.

With all this controversy and expectation about the new stadium, many would argue Mr Turner's job is just a tad daunting.

"It is to a certain extent," he said.

Then again, he is confident about how the new stadium will be received by the fans.

Albeit still a building site, the previous day Mr Turner had been to the new ground at Cuckoo Farm, in between High Woods and the A12, and stood at the side of the pitch looking out across the stadium.

"It was an amazing feeling that I can be part of that. I feel so enthusiastic about it," he said.

That pitch view was very different from the one he was looking at during the interview.

The sun may have been shining, but it couldn't add sparkle to the U's current Layer Road ground. The pitch may have been a vision of lush green, despite it being nearly the end of the season, but the stands were definitely looking on their last legs. Hardly a ground suitable for a 21st century crowd.

After working at several major football grounds in London as a steward, principally at West Ham United's Upton Park, he admitted Layer Road was a bit of a "culture shock".

"But it does have a character all of its own," he said.

He knows it will be a wrench for many fans. Layer Road is so much part of the U's heritage and has hosted so many memorable matches it will seem impossible for some die-hard fans to see a home game anywhere else. It is a true end of an era.

Layer Road, though, is way past its sell-by date and Mr Turner is confident fans will be wooed by the community stadium's better facilities, seating and, most important, view of the pitch.

"I walked around the stadium and from every stand the view is great."

There is much for Mr Turner, safety officer Gary Tuckwell and deputy safety officer Clive Butler to do before then.

Once the keys are in the club's hands it then has to get everything ready - from signage to catering facilities - in time for the new season.

Time is tight, and Mr Turner admitted they were "really down to the wire".

"We are all really up for it to get everything in place."

Maybe his past experience at West Ham is fuelling his confidence. The U's may only have a couple of weeks from getting certification for the ground and their first match of the season, but when he was part of the Hammers' safety management team, certification for one of its stands only came hours before kick-off.

"Now that was cutting it a bit fine," he said, smiling at the memory.

The club are staging a couple of "ramp-up" dates at the new ground to test everything from turnstiles and public address systems to CCTV cameras and crowd control.

Like any major project, a few teething problems are expected.

One problem still to be resolved is how fans will get to the new ground.

If fans can't easily get there, it could be the difference between them turning up or not, and this is a risk the club can't afford to take.

With limited car parking spaces at the ground due to Government legislation, the club has to ensure there is an efficient bus service to ferry fans to and from matches.

It is, admitted Mr Turner, a "headache" which has to be resolved.

Another issue needing sorting is the name of the new stadium. With "community" very much what the new stadium is all about, Mr Turner would like it to form part of the title.

For the 300-plus days when football is not played there, he would like it to be used for everything from a base for a farmers' market to a wedding function venue.

It is something which will be developed once the stadium is complete.

With his 13-year experience at West Ham, plus an equal time as safety manager at Essex County Cricket Club behind him, Mr Turner feels he is ready for the challenge of what the new stadium will bring.

The first one, though, will probably be to find out where all those keys go.

STADIUM FACTFILE

• The new 10,000-seater community stadium in Colchester will be ready for the start of the U's season in August
• The £14.5 million stadium has capacity to increase to 17,000
• The old floodlights will be moved from Layer Road to the new stadium but extra lights will be fitted
• Other facilities include a 400-seater restaurant and five-a-side pitches

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