A purpose-built accessibility stand, a new social heart for supporters, and a major step towards making Keys Park a regional sporting, social and community destination.
Hednesford Town Football Club has entered a defining new phase in the transformation of Keys Park, as Keys Corner moves from vision into serious construction.
The development forms part of the club’s wider ambition to raise the matchday experience at Keys Park – improving accessibility, atmosphere, food and drink, supporter comfort, arrival, dwell time and the overall sense of occasion – while also helping Keys Park become a true regional sporting, social and community destination for street food, events, hospitality, entertainment, community activity and shared experiences throughout the year.
At the heart of the project is a clear commitment: Keys Corner must be built for every supporter.
A central feature of the development will be a new purpose-built accessibility stand, designed to improve the matchday experience for disabled supporters, supporters with accessibility needs and their families.
The club also recognises that, during the current season, the matchday experience for some disabled supporters and supporters with accessibility needs has not always been at the standard it wants it to be. In many cases, those challenges have reflected the existing limitations of the stadium infrastructure – limitations which have been further exposed and exacerbated by the significant growth in attendances at Keys Park.
Hednesford Town has listened carefully to concerns raised by supporters and families, and that feedback has reinforced an important principle: accessibility cannot be treated as an add-on or an afterthought. It has to be designed into the stadium, built into the matchday operation, and reflected in the culture of the football club.
The club’s ambition is not simply to meet basic standards, but to create an accessible, dignified and welcoming environment that can become a recognised example of best practice at non-league level and beyond.
The new accessibility provision will focus on improved viewing, safer access, better weather protection, appropriate facilities and a stronger overall supporter experience. As the project progresses, the club will continue to engage with disabled supporters, accessibility specialists and respected organisations such as Level Playing Field, while also drawing on recognised guidance from organisations including RNIB and British Blind Sport.
Importantly, the club sees Keys Corner as part of a wider commitment to improving the full matchday journey for disabled supporters – from arrival and access, to information, stewarding, viewing, comfort and the overall sense of inclusion at Keys Park.
Marvin Robinson, Chief Executive of Hednesford Town Football Club, said: “Keys Corner is not just about building a new bar, a new fan zone or a new corner of the stadium. It is about raising the matchday experience at Keys Park and showing the type of football club we are becoming.
“One of the most important parts of this development is the accessibility stand. Disabled supporters should never be an afterthought in football, and we also have to be honest that this season the experience for some disabled supporters has not always been where we want it to be.
“In many cases, that has reflected the existing limitations of Keys Park, and those limitations have become more obvious as our crowds have grown significantly. That is why this project matters. It is about listening, learning and building something better.”
Alongside the accessibility stand, Keys Corner will create a major new interior social space within the stadium.
This space is being designed to become one of the new beating hearts of Keys Park – a flexible, multi-purpose environment capable of supporting matchdays, live entertainment, street food, hospitality, private hire, business events, community activity, club functions and year-round use.
On matchdays, it will give supporters more reason to arrive earlier, stay longer, meet friends and family, enjoy food and drink, and feel part of a stronger matchday occasion. Beyond matchdays, it gives the club a platform to host events, bring new audiences into Keys Park, support local partners, increase commercial revenue and develop the stadium into a genuine destination for the wider region.
Marvin continued: “Football will always be the heartbeat of this club, but modern football clubs have to create life beyond the 90 minutes.
“The best regional destinations give people multiple reasons to visit. They combine food, leisure, events, atmosphere, family time and a sense of place. That is the direction we want Keys Park to move in.”
The club has released new artist impressions showing the vision for Keys Corner, including the wider stadium view, the supporter experience and the proposed interior space.
The project reflects Hednesford Town’s wider strategic philosophy: Best in Class, Local First.
It is about improving the experience for existing supporters, creating new reasons for people to visit Keys Park, supporting local businesses and partners, and continuing the club’s transformation on and off the pitch.
Marvin added: “We want to grow from being a local football team into a respected football club with a matchday experience that matches our ambition.
“Keys Corner is a major step in that journey. It will raise the matchday experience at Keys Park, improve accessibility, create more energy around the stadium and help us develop Keys Park into a true regional sporting, social and community destination.
“The vision is becoming real.”
The club will continue to provide construction updates as the project progresses.
Best in Class. Local First.
