Romford Football Club are relocating to a new ground, the former East Thurrock Stadium at Rookery Hill in Essex.
Romford played their first game at their new stadium on November 4th against Ilford, and the club states that the ground is a high-standard facility that will enable them to elevate the club’s experience to a whole new level.
Romford previously played their home matches at Barking’s Lawtech Stadium, where they have been tenants since 2020.
However, the move to Rookery Hill was questioned by fans who were unsure about the club moving to a new home ground over half an hour away from Romford and without easy transport links.
A fan under the club’s statement on their website said: “Great news for my football club – but not so great for me.
“It will mean a three-hour round trip for each home game.”
Romford FC Chairman and Treasurer Steve Gardner hoped supporters would embrace the move and believed it to be the start of an exciting chapter.
He said: “For the first time since the club’s reformation, we will have a ground that we can call our own for the foreseeable future.”
“With the support of the fans and the local community, we look to grow the support and continue supporting the local community.
“We have been very happy at Barking FC, but the opportunity to have a facility the supporters can make their own and feel it belongs to Romford FC was an opportunity we couldn’t miss.”
Romford FC have bounced around many different stadiums since the club was reformed in 1992.
After playing home games at several different stadiums, in 2009, it was announced that Romford was granted permission to build a new stadium on the Westlands Playing Fields on London Road however, the building work was never started.
Romford first moved to Rookery Hill in 2018 after East Thurrock United folded and was forced to close the ground, but the arrangement only lasted a year, so Romford moved on to share with Brentwood Town.
From 2020 till now, the club were ground sharing at Lawtech Stadium, previously known as Mayesbrook Park, the home of Barking.
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