Newcastle United have donated £15,000 to AFC Wimbledon to help with the major repair work required at Plough Lane.
Eddie Howe’s men were scheduled to face The Dons in the Carabao Cup third round tonight but the tie was postponed due to significant flooding which created a number of sink hole in one corner of the pitch. With the League Two side needing to postpone their upcoming home fixture at home to Accrington Stanley and Crewe Alexandra, the cup match will now take place at St James’ Park next Tuesday (October 1) following an agreement between the clubs and the competition’s management committee.
It is a move that will benefit Wimbledon, who will be entitled to 45% of the proceeds. Plough Lane holds just over 9,000 whereas St James’ Park has a 52,000 capacity.
But in addition to the gate receipts, Newcastle have donated to a fundraiser set up to help Wimbledon “deal with any costs associated with the floods and could range from repairs to pump hire to rental of an alternative venue”. The target set was £50,000, which has already been met in less than 24 hours. “It has been an immensely difficult day for club staff given the extent of the flooding, with related damage to our pitch and stadium. No doubt it’s been a difficult day for our supporters and volunteers, seeing the scenes online too,” a Wimbledon statement read.
“Staff encountered significant flooding of the ground level of the stadium, affecting our offices, the shop and museum, reception areas, lifts, and tunnel area, as well as all concourse areas at ground level.
“This afternoon, several independent contractors have visited the site and conducted surface level investigations. More investigations are required in the coming days in order to plan for repair works to the pitch as a priority, and we are in regular contact with our insurers.
“Earlier, we postponed the Newcastle United game, and thanks to them and the for their swift action and agreement to reverse the fixture. As a result, our match against Crewe Alexandra also needed to be postponed.
“We are still trying to find a solution for this Saturday’s match, although there is no possibility that this can be at our stadium. We are also doing everything we can to ensure that the Blue & Yellow Club’s fundraising event on Thursday, as well as Geoff Northcott’s comedy fundraiser on Friday night, proceed as planned.
“We have overcome many setbacks by working together and this one will be no different. We genuinely appreciate all the messages of support and offers from volunteers and members to help us fix the damage. We ask for some patience whilst we complete our investigations and formulate our plans before getting to work. We will advise further what supporters can do to help us soon; thank you.”
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