9 Sep 2009Preston North End fans unhappy with museum move

Football Clubs News | Football Supporters News

Supporters of Preston North End have voiced their displeasure at the announcement that the National Football Museum may be moved to Manchester.

The attraction has been housed at the Championship club's Deepdale stadium since it opened in 2001, but funding concerns have prompted its trustees to consider a new location.

Manchester's Urbis exhibition centre now looks likely to become the museum's new home, but Preston North End fans told the Lancashire Evening Post that the move will be a major loss for the club.

"It came at the start of the ground redevelopment and has given Preston a lot of publicity. Fans have been attracted to Preston because of the museum. To lose it would be devastating," said Steve Cowell, manager of the North End supporters' team.

Meanwhile Geoff Ollerton, a member of the Preston Supporters' Group, told the newspaper that the relocation was "terrible news".

Local councillors are planning to hold a meeting with representatives of the museum next week in a last-ditch attempt to keep the attraction in Preston.

Deepdale was chosen as the original museum site because it is the world's oldest stadium that has been in continuous use for league football. The 23,400-capacity arena hosted its first Preston North End fixture in 1878.

Written by Paul Roberts

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