ACV Petition

ACV Petition

We, the undersigned, support the application made by the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust for Asset of Community Value (ACV) status for Hillsborough Stadium. 

Hillsborough stadium delivers a significant amount of social wellbeing to the local community of Hillsborough, in the city more widely, and from people with a Sheffield connection from across the country. Much of this is driven by the history of the football club and the fact that Hillsborough has been the club’s home since 1899. Many generations of Sheffield people have built an emotional connection with the stadium where they have cheered, laughed, moaned and cried together over the years. It is a place where memories and friends are made. 

As we all know the city of Sheffield is the Home of Football where the rules were codified, where the oldest football club in the world was founded and where the oldest football ground in the world is located. Hillsborough is part of that important football legacy in the city.

Indeed, much of the development of the stadium has been funded by money raised through by the local community. Those stadium investments led to the Hillsborough being a World Cup venue in 1966, being a venue for the Euro ’96 tournament and being a potential venue for the 2018 World Cup, had the UK bid been successful with FIFA. Hillsborough also hosts the memorial to the 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives at the FA Cup semi-final in April 1989, as well as the memorial garden for the Wednesday fans who are no longer with us.

In short, the stadium contributes to the social well-being of the Sheffield community through:

• People meeting family, friends and those people they know from sitting in the same seats for years - all giving people a sense of belonging that connects to place.
• Through charity events that take place at the stadium, through regular charity collections that take place before matches and by the relationship with the local S6 foodbank.
• The celebration of community heroes and champions such as John Burkill – the famous ‘Man with the Pram’ who greets supporters and collects financial contributions and thank yous in the same place on Penistone Rd every game.
• By being the base for the extensive community programme delivered by the Sheffield Wednesday Community Foundation that is delivered from the stadium.
• Visitors to games at events at Hillsborough spend money in local businesses that helps to support their business and financial viability, so that those amenities are there for the community to use on non-match days.

We believe that it is important that whatever can be done to protect the stadium as an asset to the community should be done. We earnestly hope that the council will see the evidence for this from the submission from the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust and will support the application.

Yours sincerely,