Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium undergoing changes over the summer including the addition of a jumbotron, LED advertising boards, new club shop and ticket office
Published: 05:00, 29 May 2023
Updated: 11:33, 29 May 2023
Gillingham fans will notice some big changes when they head back to Priestfield next season.
Owners Brad and Shannon Galinson are back in the country overseeing some exciting new changes to the stadium including the addition of a jumbotron - a large-screen scoreboard.
Fans will also have the Gills Megastore back open as part of a newly-designed front reception inside the Medway Stand that will include a new ticket office.
The GFC School offices and classrooms are also being moved in a major redesign to the lower level of the main stand.
Electronic advertising around the pitch and on the upper Medway Stand will also help transform a tired Priestfield into something a bit more modern.
“The off-season is quite busy,” said Mr Galinson, taking a quick break between meetings.
“We're bringing back a store, we're re-doing the GFC school, we're bringing in LEDs, a scoreboard, a bunch of upgrades, tills, infrastructure, all the above as much as we can.
“The new scoreboard will be big, like a big jumbotron kind of thing which will either be behind the Brian Moore Stand, or diagonal. We're still trying to figure it out, depending on what happens with the Brian Moore Stand.
“You’re going be able to watch Tom Nichols score again with a replay on a giant screen!
“There'll be a second layer of LEDs on the upper Medway Stand, like in the Premier League.
“Hopefully we'll have a successful season and we'll have a bit more entertainment that will go along with that.”
The shop, ticket office and reception have been gutted, with a few more walls to knock through, allowing the club to once again have a designated reception area.
The GFC School remains and Mr Galinson is keen for it to stay.
“It's a really nice thing that we do,” he said. “It serves the community and serves people that probably need it the most and our facilities are unique because we have culinary, we have sport, we have a lot of things that can help those kids. The idea is to commit and keep doing that.”
But what of the infamous Town End? That’s staying for now and the club are working on re-opening the top section so they can return the stand to a full capacity.
Mr Galinson said: “We don't have enough time (to rebuild it this summer) so the idea’s that we want to hopefully get it so that the whole thing is open.
“It's still our infamous Brian Moore Stand which is funny. You see a lot of social media which is embarrassing but part of me is a bit nostalgic. It's the most permanent temporary staff in the history of all football. Do we want to change that?!
“We just want to get it open and safe, make sure we have that capacity.
“We actually have structural engineers and experts coming in to make sure it's fully safe.”
There are many who would love to see the back of it.
“Wouldn’t that be so sad?” said Mr Galinson. “There was a recent article about Wrexham not going to believe what they see when they come to our stadium but I'm sure there'll be more shocking things!
“I guess if they're writing about it at least we’re famous for something!”
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Luke Cawdell