Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher sent a clear message to Sefton council over the future of Bootle Stadium which is due to be demolished - "Re-open it."
Bootle-born Carragher last night joined more than 200 angry Bootle residents at a mass protest on the Maguire Avenue site and said he would be "devastated" if the campaign to re-open it failed.
He told the Bootle Times: "We need to make sure that the council reverses the decision and re-open the stadium for the people of Bootle. You can clearly see the strength of feeling at this turnout and it's only a Wednesday night.
"I would be devastated if it wasn't re-opened because I know how important it is to the community and especially the children in the area. I know because I'm from Bootle and I used to use it.
"I played football here and I was always down here using the facilities when I was a kid. My dad had football teams down here.
"I know a lot of people are now in need of the facilities and they have to look elsewhere: My wife's uncle (Peter Hart) has been affected by the closure and he can't use it. There is nothing here now and this was the only sports centre in this area for the kids.
"My boxing trainer (Tommy Ferrigan) from when I was growing up wanted to start a boxing club here and he can't do that either. These are the reasons why it needs to be re-opened."
He added: "If it was re-opened it would be giving the kids around here something good to do and get involved in because it offered so much - there were so many activities you could do like use the gym and play badminton. It was fantastic.
"Its closure means there is less chance that today’s kids to go on and do what I did.
"And at a time when every council is talking about child obesity being an issue and we're making sure that they eat healthily then that is all the more reason to re-open it.
"The stadium should be saved. It would be a waste if it goes. We need to keep it open. It's very important for the people of Bootle."
The site, off Southport Road, offered a variety of activities such as squash, basketball and trampolining and also provided facilities for sports teams using the playing fields opposite the building.
Last week, the Bootle Stadium Community Group Ltd had a £1.9m lottery bid for funding rejected.
The group’s chiefs think the bid failed because their plans were too detailed.
Calling on the council for help will be a tricky task in light of last week's revelations that Sefton plans to cut back its budget by £10m by April next year as the recession bites.
The council decided the stadium should be bulldozed in April this year following safety concerns, but the decision to close it was taken in 2006 by the Lib Dems and the Tories.
Leader of Sefton Council cllr Tony Robertson (Lib Dem) said the closure was prompted by budget cuts and because they could only fund five leisure facilities across the borough. They were: Bootle Leisure Centre, Maghull, Crosby, Formby, and Southport.
But Labour leader Peter Dowd said the site should not have closed: "We opposed this from the start and the Lib Dems and Tories decided to close it along with five other facilities in Bootle, including a youth club. But the council only needed £70,000 to keep the stadium running over the course of a year. It was only a small amount of money and they decide to close it."
Despite money being a council drawback cllr Lord Ronnie Fearn admitted yesterday the demolition will cost £200,000.
But treasurer of the Bootle Stadium Community Group, Charlie Dagnall, 63, is still hopeful the mass gathering can sway the minds of the borough's cabinet chiefs. He said: "All the people here show the level of support we have and many couldn't make it down here. We hope they get the money because we all need it.
"Having Jamie here increases the profile of the cause."
Carragher’s sentiments were echoed by many people who once ran sports clubs at the stadium.
Caroline Armstrong, an organiser of a trampoline group, said: "The kids came from everywhere for the trampolining and now they can't. I would love for it to be open again."
Colette Nielsen of Crosby Stuart girls, said: "If this building is demolished then there are no facilities for our girls."
Bernard Delorenzo of the Trojans baseball team said: "We played here for 20 years because it has a diamond for us to use. American baseball is not a regular sport in England and this was the only place we could play at. We played teams from all over the country and now we can't because it's closed. It needs re-opening."
Cab driver John Seddon, 34, said: "The cab drivers used to play badminton here but we now can't. Everywhere is fully booked up and we can't get in anywhere."
Joan Kielty, 68, of the over 50s club said: "The facilities here were great but now we go elsewhere and it's just not the same."
Nikki Brady, secretary of Bootle Stadium Community Group Ltd, said: "The police have told us that crime in the area has increased since the closure of the stadium. That's a great reason to re-open it."
Frankie Meadow, 50, has spent 25 years in youth football and explained the facilities elsewhere are poor: "What we have now is not very good for the 24 teams we have. We need changing rooms and a toilet for the girls. The stadium is ideal and it should re-open."
Would-be stadium boxing trainer Tommy Ferrigan, 56, said: "There is nothing wrong with the building. The brickwork is great. Why knock such a good building down when it had everything? It had youth clubs and a function room. It should be kept open."
Bootle-born Carragher last night joined more than 200 angry Bootle residents at a mass protest on the Maguire Avenue site and said he would be "devastated" if the campaign to re-open it failed.
He told the Bootle Times: "We need to make sure that the council reverses the decision and re-open the stadium for the people of Bootle. You can clearly see the strength of feeling at this turnout and it's only a Wednesday night.
"I would be devastated if it wasn't re-opened because I know how important it is to the community and especially the children in the area. I know because I'm from Bootle and I used to use it.
"I played football here and I was always down here using the facilities when I was a kid. My dad had football teams down here.
"I know a lot of people are now in need of the facilities and they have to look elsewhere: My wife's uncle (Peter Hart) has been affected by the closure and he can't use it. There is nothing here now and this was the only sports centre in this area for the kids.
"My boxing trainer (Tommy Ferrigan) from when I was growing up wanted to start a boxing club here and he can't do that either. These are the reasons why it needs to be re-opened."
He added: "If it was re-opened it would be giving the kids around here something good to do and get involved in because it offered so much - there were so many activities you could do like use the gym and play badminton. It was fantastic.
"Its closure means there is less chance that today’s kids to go on and do what I did.
"And at a time when every council is talking about child obesity being an issue and we're making sure that they eat healthily then that is all the more reason to re-open it.
"The stadium should be saved. It would be a waste if it goes. We need to keep it open. It's very important for the people of Bootle."
The site, off Southport Road, offered a variety of activities such as squash, basketball and trampolining and also provided facilities for sports teams using the playing fields opposite the building.
Last week, the Bootle Stadium Community Group Ltd had a £1.9m lottery bid for funding rejected.
The group’s chiefs think the bid failed because their plans were too detailed.
Calling on the council for help will be a tricky task in light of last week's revelations that Sefton plans to cut back its budget by £10m by April next year as the recession bites.
The council decided the stadium should be bulldozed in April this year following safety concerns, but the decision to close it was taken in 2006 by the Lib Dems and the Tories.
Leader of Sefton Council cllr Tony Robertson (Lib Dem) said the closure was prompted by budget cuts and because they could only fund five leisure facilities across the borough. They were: Bootle Leisure Centre, Maghull, Crosby, Formby, and Southport.
But Labour leader Peter Dowd said the site should not have closed: "We opposed this from the start and the Lib Dems and Tories decided to close it along with five other facilities in Bootle, including a youth club. But the council only needed £70,000 to keep the stadium running over the course of a year. It was only a small amount of money and they decide to close it."
Despite money being a council drawback cllr Lord Ronnie Fearn admitted yesterday the demolition will cost £200,000.
But treasurer of the Bootle Stadium Community Group, Charlie Dagnall, 63, is still hopeful the mass gathering can sway the minds of the borough's cabinet chiefs. He said: "All the people here show the level of support we have and many couldn't make it down here. We hope they get the money because we all need it.
"Having Jamie here increases the profile of the cause."
Carragher’s sentiments were echoed by many people who once ran sports clubs at the stadium.
Caroline Armstrong, an organiser of a trampoline group, said: "The kids came from everywhere for the trampolining and now they can't. I would love for it to be open again."
Colette Nielsen of Crosby Stuart girls, said: "If this building is demolished then there are no facilities for our girls."
Bernard Delorenzo of the Trojans baseball team said: "We played here for 20 years because it has a diamond for us to use. American baseball is not a regular sport in England and this was the only place we could play at. We played teams from all over the country and now we can't because it's closed. It needs re-opening."
Cab driver John Seddon, 34, said: "The cab drivers used to play badminton here but we now can't. Everywhere is fully booked up and we can't get in anywhere."
Joan Kielty, 68, of the over 50s club said: "The facilities here were great but now we go elsewhere and it's just not the same."
Nikki Brady, secretary of Bootle Stadium Community Group Ltd, said: "The police have told us that crime in the area has increased since the closure of the stadium. That's a great reason to re-open it."
Frankie Meadow, 50, has spent 25 years in youth football and explained the facilities elsewhere are poor: "What we have now is not very good for the 24 teams we have. We need changing rooms and a toilet for the girls. The stadium is ideal and it should re-open."
Would-be stadium boxing trainer Tommy Ferrigan, 56, said: "There is nothing wrong with the building. The brickwork is great. Why knock such a good building down when it had everything? It had youth clubs and a function room. It should be kept open."
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