Preparations at The Oval for UEFA Championship
Significant work is underway at The Oval in Caernarfon as the pitch prepares to host a UEFA championship this summer.
Caernarfon Town Football Club is racing to raise £50,000 by July to enable them to compete in Europe next season.
In April, the Cofis won the Welsh Cup for the first time in the club’s history, securing a place in the Europa League next season.
However, to meet UEFA requirements for the competition, the club must raise funds over the coming weeks to complete work on a new stand that will double the stadium capacity at The Oval.
Work valued at £1 million has been ongoing since November last year to upgrade the site, including a new pitch.
"Parts of the stand have arrived but we need the £50,000 to finish things off. Without that, we won’t be able to play in Europe," said club chairman Paul Evans.
Paul Evans hopes they will succeed in installing the stand as "we will need double" the current number of seats.
Speaking on the Post Prynhawn programme, Mr Evans explained the club "cannot play in Europe as things stand because we don’t have enough seats."
"We have about 600 seats but to play in Europe this year, hopefully, we will need double that, so the plan is to put the stand in place," he said.
New Stand to be Named After Wyn Davies
The new stand is intended to be named after former player Wyn Davies – originally from Caernarfon – who played for some of the biggest clubs in the English Premier League, including Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle United, and Bolton Wanderers, as well as Wrexham.
Davies, known as 'Wyn the Leap,' passed away last year at the age of 83.
Temporary Relocation and Pitch Improvements
Due to the extensive refurbishment work at The Oval, the team has had to play all their home games this season 30 miles away in Llandudno.
"The biggest issue was the pitch itself. There was a nine-foot slope from one side of the pitch to the other, so we would never have been able to play in Europe with a pitch that sloped so much," Mr Evans said.
"So the Football Association of Wales asked if we would like them to invest to sort out the slope but also to upgrade the facilities to a standard that would allow an under-19 European tournament to be held at The Oval this year.
"The FAW has invested over £1 million and we are grateful to them and, of course, to Noel Mooney who runs that show."
He added that more games will be able to be played on the new pitch and more people will have the experience of playing at The Oval as a result.
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