‘If Bournemouth can be Premier League, so can Oldham’

Hopes are high Oldham is on the brink of ‘getting on the sporting map’ — with sights set on the town’s return to the Premier League.

Oldham Athletic were founding members of the Premier League in 1992, staying in the top-flight for two seasons. However, the club has tumbled down the tables since then, eventually entering non-league in 2022.

But there is now real optimism around Boundary Park after Frank Rothwell’s takeover in the same year. The eccentric has brought crowds back and even commemorated the town’s part in developing IVF treatment with a huge embryo sculpture.

After extra-time Wembley heroics last season, the Latics are back in the Football League — and a huge plan to develop the area around the stadium into ‘SportsTown’ has been agreed. There’s even talk of an eventual return to the Premier League.

“I did challenge Frank Rothwell about Oldham regaining Premier League status. If Bournemouth can get up there, so can Oldham,” Andy Burnham said on Friday (January 30).

While it might sound fanciful to suggest Oldham can compete with a club that’s spent eight of the last 10 seasons in football’s richest competition, it’s worth noting Oldham has a much larger population than the south coast town, and can benefit from the pulling power of other Premier League sides nearby.

For the moment, the focus is off-the-pitch, with the SportsTown plan hoping to build a £70m ‘multi-sport centre of excellence integrating education, health, wellness, and community regeneration’ alongside 2,000 homes.

It’s been modelled on the Leigh Sports Village (LSV), the home of rugby league’s Leigh Leopards, according to council leader Arooj Shah.
“We are creating a campus that will put Oldham on the sporting map,” she told a Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) meeting on Friday.

“The Leigh Sports Village was the blueprint.  It’s a place where we know local talent will grow.  We can develop and train careers.”

Like LSV, other sports could come to Oldham, the mayor added: “I’m excited for having a permanent home for the Manchester Thunder netball team.

“Manchester Knights [basketball team] might play in the European NBA. That will be a unique facility here.”

Development will be carried out with a mayoral development corporation (MDC), the GMCA agreed. 

An MDC is a special body that can be called for by a Metro Mayor, which has special powers to develop land and buildings, create new transport infrastructure, and attract funding for the project.

At the same meeting, the GMCA also rubber-stamped setting-up MDCs in Bolton town centre and along railway tracks from Ashton to Stalybridge to build ‘at least 3,000 homes’.

But the benefits could be felt wider, Tameside council leader Eleanor Wills said: “[The model of transport-led regeneration means]  towns like Denton will benefit.  

“It’s now being considered to have a tram-train which will link Denton to Ashton and Manchester Airport. That would be a game changer for local growth.”