Aiming High
the Bath Lane ground, which even in the days before formal ground grading, was clearly
not up to the task of staging football at that level.
The saga of the promised new ground at Cams Alders dragged on throughout the 1960s
until on 6 September 1975, the time finally came for Fareham to play the first match at
their new home, a Hampshire League game against Newport (IOW). In fact, building work
had largely been finished a couple of years earlier, but the discovery of stones in the pitch
led to a lengthy delay. The principle structure at Cams Alders was the grandstand, a monolithic
slab of concrete, brick and steel, set back from the pitch in anticipation of the installation
of a running track. Seating 450 on twelve rows of wooden planks, entry was
gained via two metal staircases at either end of the stand. Also incorporating dressing
rooms and a clubhouse, the stand’s great height helped mitigate the wide distance between
it and the playing area. A picture of starkness in its early days, the introduction of
boxes for the press and officials helped fill out the blankness of the stand a little, but what
really cheered up its appearance was the installation of a set of shiny red tip-up seats in
1997/98.
Photos: Bob Lilliman
Above: The Cams Alders grandstand in 1976 showing its original
wooden plank seating and here, a different view in 1980, after the
addition of press and directors' boxes. Both photos are before
extensions were added at the front and to the side
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