100-year old cricket club face being homeless within days as Premier League giants prepare to bulldoze site

CRYSTAL Palace’s gargantuan off-field renovations are threatening to close one of South London’s oldest cricket clubs. The cricket club – founded in the wake of WWI – have been told that they must “vacate the ground and remove ALL equipment” by October 13. Crystal Palace’s off-field renovations are threatening to close a South London cricket club Credit: Shutterstock The HSBC Group Sports Club will be added to the portfolio with the training ground and academy Credit: Shutterstock The HSBC Group Sports Club is likely to be added to the Eagles’ portfolio along with the neighbouring training ground and academy on Copers Cope Road. Reports indicate that signatures have met the contracts and both parties have shaken on a 27-acre land sale in Beckenham. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! And it is expected to cost the Premier League side between £20million and £40m. Speaking to The i, Alpen Patel, the NBCC’s Junior Chairman said: “If the sale completes and the site is no longer available to us. “We face the possibility of being without a home ground for four Saturday league teams, two Sunday senior sides, junior training and matches, ECB All Stars and Dynamos programmes and winter training and community cricket activity. “This affects hundreds of players across all age groups and raises significant concerns about continuity, player development, and access to cricket in the local area. “Across both senior and junior sections, the response has been one of concern and uncertainty.” The club is held up in the local community with its reasonable fees and their love for girls’ cricket – as well as their accessibility for all abilities at youth level. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Palace are said to complete the sale in mid-2027, while a HSBC spokesperson confirmed that they will “continuously review” their estate. But fears are rising for New Beckenham Cricket Club (NBCC) members who fear they will NOT find a new home with a surface of similar quality to the current pitch. Their current ground has hosted the Women’s World Cup. HSBC are thought to be helping the NBCC locate a new venue, with experience in relocation, having sold off Limb Lane in Yorkshire to Sheffield United in 2024. This sale is one cog in a Palace machine as the owners look to drag their Conference-winning side to the next level. Co-owner David Blitzer is part of a consortium investing nearly £740m in a new arena for his Philadelphia 76ers basketball franchise. They splashed £20m on the current training ground that opened in 2021 and even gave it a revamp this summer. The players’ gym is now TWO stories, new media facilities have been given a second life, and the groundsmen have more equipment space. And there are huge plans to increase capacity from 25,486 to 34,000 with six houses already meeting the bulldozer in nearby Wooderson Close. Star players who have climbed the ranks through the Palace youth system include Wilfried Zaha, Victor Moses and Aaron Wan-Bissaka as well as current left-back Tyrick Mitchell. Comment now