From left to right; John Hatton (HBC Leisure & Community Services Manager),
Alan Jones (Honorary Club President), David Hopley (Managing Director of
Millbank Group the new club sponsor), Derek Greenwood (Chairman), and
Cllr Rob Polhill ( Halton Borough Council's Deputy-Leader)

Constructions of the 1,600-capacity Millbank Linnets Stadium, at Halton Sports in Murdishaw, Runcorn, was officially launched with with a sod-cutting ceremony on Friday 5 February.

The new Ground was named "The Linnets Stadium" as an overwhelming winner from the poll of Trust members, receiving 47 of the 100 votes and twice as many as the second choice on the shortlist of five suggested names.

The new £230,000 facility, funded jointly by Runcorn Linnets FC, Halton Borough Council, and the Football Foundation will provide a home for the Linnets, who haven't had a base in the town since the previous club's ground at Canal Street was sold in 2001. The sale of the old Ground saw Runcorn AFC become somewhat nomadic until its demise in 2006, whereupon the fans formed the new Runcorn Linnets FC.

Halton Borough Council's Executive Board Member for Sport, Cllr Phil Harris, said: "Now the club has a home ground back in Runcorn they can start the hard work of increasing thier supporters base and moving back up the leagues.

"They will also add a much needed boost to the development of open age football in the borough."

The new 1,600 capacity facility will take a couple of months to construct, and will be the club's full-time home from the start of the 2010/2011 season.

Club Chairman, Derek Greenwood said "This is a momentous day for the club. To be able to start work on our new ground is something we've been dreaming of for a number of years now, and it's great to see it finally coming to fruition.

"We'd like to express our gratitude to both Halton Borough Council, and the Football Foundation, for grants that have made this project possible, and to our fans and supporters who have enabled us to contribute a considerable sum to the project via our own fundraising efforts.

"I'd also like to thank Millbank Group for becoming the club's main sponsor today, which incorporates both our new ground, and the shirts for at least the next three years.

"We are now looking forward to opening the ground once complete, and can't wait to play our first match here."

Work to transform an existing brick building into a clubhouse has already begun thanks to volunteer electrician and Linnets supporter Ste Bignall.

The club will need other volunteers to come forward to work on the renovation of the clubhouse - financially supported by Halton council, the Football Foundation, Linnets fans and two area forums.

Runcorn Linnets FC and The Millbank Group, a UK market leading resource management solution provider who operate from headquarters in Runcorn, are pleased to announce a multi-year club sponsorship arrangement. The three year deal, with in-built options to extend to five years, will see the Resource Management specialist provided with branding opportunities at the club for an undisclosed, but substantial annual investment. The Millbank name and logo will feature in the name and signage associated with the club's new stadium; The Millbank Linnets Stadium, whose construction started this week at Halton Sports near Murdishaw, and Millbank will take on the mantle as the club's shirt sponsor in the 2010/2011 season which will see the club playing in Runcorn for the first time since its inception in 2006.

Linnets' Chairman, Derek Greenwood said "This is a fantastic opportunity for the club. This multi-year sponsorship deal with the Millbank Group allows the club to make financial plans with a level of certainty that isn't possible without arrangements like this in place. However, it's not just money that Millbank bring to the relationship. Their organisation has a turnover of over fifty million pounds per year, and with that they have a whole host of expertise and experience that we can call upon. Now that the club is moving back to the Town, we hope that this will be just the first of many local companies that will take an interest in supporting the club, which will help us to further develop our plans for local football in the community. I'd like to thank the Millbank Group for joining us at this exciting time. The construction of our own ground, and the opportunity to move the club to a base in Runcorn, is something that we've been working hard to achieve over the last few years, and now that it's all happening, it's great to be able to announce a local business of the calibre of Millbank as a partner."

Millbank Managing Director David Hopley said "We at the Millbank Group are delighted to be able to sponsor Runcorn Linnets in this way. Ever since their initial approach to us last year, we have been impressed by their professionalism, even though they are a volunteer organisation, and we want to help them flourish and develop their plans for local football. The Millbank Group are keen to support the local community, and this sponsorship deal is a fantastic way to deliver this. We hope to do more with the club over the coming months and years, as Derek says, this is just the start of the relationship, and we have experience, resources, and expertise that we can make available to the club. For instance, we are considering sponsoring a Runcorn Linnets Soccer School for local kids in the summer."

Runcorn Linnets FC were formed in 2006 off-season by the fans of the defunct Runcorn AFC, playing at that time as Runcorn FC Halton. In their first year they gained promotion from, what at the time was called the North West Counties Second Division into what's now known as the Vodkat Premier Division. The previous club spent time playing in Widnes and Prescot after leaving its Runcorn home of Canal Street in 2001, and the new club's return to the Town next season represents a significant milestone.

The Millbank Group is a UK market leader in the provision of resource management solutions and since it's inception in the mid 1970's has grown to become a leading supplier to clients operating within the nuclear, energy, process and transportation sectors throughout the UK and also on an international level. In recent years, Millbank have entered high profile business partnerships with a number of world leading businesses which sees Millbank managing their end to end resourcing activities and the recruitment supply chain. For more details regarding the Millbank Group, please visit the company's website at www.millbank.com.