Kelvin Thomas discusses what could be built on the land at Sixfields and why it must make 'business sense'

Cobblers chairman Kelvin Thomas is open to all suggestions for development on the land at Sixfields - as long as they make 'business sense'.

The club have agreed a deal with West Northamptonshire Council to purchase the 22 acres of land behind Sixfields and are holding a consultation evening with fans later this month to discuss ideas.

Some suggestions include a swimming pool, a new training pitch and even a rooftop bar, but with £2million set to be spent on buying the land, and another £3million required for completion of the East Stand, the numbers must add up if any development is going to financially viable in the long-term.

"We may disagree with some people over what is and what isn't beneficial to the club but we have a responsibility to ensure the decisions we make do benefit the club," said Thomas.

"Throughout the process we have had possibly every Olympic event suggested to us in terms of what should go on that land - we've had a swimming pool, we've had a boxing ring, we've had a velodrome, we've had an athletics track, we've had a training ground.

"You have to look at the piece of land and think 'OK, how do those things benefit the club? Who pays for it and who develops it? How are they funded?' We are having a consultation evening (Carr's Bar at 7pm on March 30th) and what we want to do is actually ask fans what should go on that land.

"Tom (Cliffe) got a question from the previous chairman of the Trust and it was a very legitimate question - why can't we put a five-a-side complex on there? His argument was that all the non-league teams are doing it, but whilst I understand what he's saying, a lot of clubs are actually ripping up their pitches and putting 3G pitches down which is completely different.

"We are a partner of Goals (who provide five-a-side football) and they are just down the road so do really want to compete with them? That's the first thing to consider and then we did the numbers and we just don't see it as a viable option.

"It wouldn't be a small investment. There's a five-a-side, all-weathered pitch going in at Moulton and it was almost £1million. We just don't see the business case for that and there's nothing wrong with that.

"That's not us shunning ideas. We just don't think it makes business sense. A rooftop bar has even been mentioned but again, we don't see the business case for it and it's not wrong to say that.

"As you can imagine, we have looked at everything. You think about something of the more outlandish ideas - a swimming pool. That's great, a fantastic community benefit, but if the community really needed a swimming pool, do we not think that they would have found land somewhere else or would they have not come to us and said 'we want to put a swimming pool here'?

"Swimming pools are very, very expensive. Velodromes are very, very expensive. Who pays for them? Who develops them? And the maintenance costs are also quite high.

"What will we do with that land? It's a good question and it's a question we will ask the fan base. But it has to be realistic because we live in the real world.

"At the moment, with the East Stand and then to buy the land, we still need to invest another £5-6million and yet people still say to us that we're not doing anything because we're not putting in a swimming pool or a velodrome!

"We need to look at what makes sense. Is it an entertainment complex? Is it a retail complex? Is it warehousing? We don't know. Let's talk to the fans in a realistic way.

"There are not unlimited funds. We are not in a position where we can just build whatever we want. That's not where we are as a football club - it's about making sensible decisions."

The consultation evening will also allow fans to provide feedback of their experiences at Sixfields and express what they would like to see improved.

Thomas added: "The consultation evening is not so much about the East Stand, it's about what we can offer and where can we invest because there will be money to invest.

"This is why we are inviting everyone to the club - to tell us about their experience and what can be done better. We consult our fans and that's what it is really about. We can't deliver everything but we want to find out how to make things better.

"We invest in the club every day because the club doesn't make money, which is fine, but we can't just spend, spend, spend so we need to get to a point where the club can get some funds out of the development on the land."