ALTON Town will play their last match at the Bass Sports Ground this Saturday before taking up residence at Anstey Park, the club’s former home.

The Brewers will host East Cowes Victoria and it would be nice if Michael Charles’ team can follow up last weekend’s success with a victory in this historic fixture.

The Bass Ground is owned by Molson Coors who inherited it with their takeover of the local brewery. Over many years, the old Courage ground has been home to a variety of sports, including bowls, tennis, cricket, football, tug-of-war and annual sports days for brewery employees and their families.

Coors had taken the decision to sell the site for housing development, but needed to relocate both the bowls and football clubs from the sports ground. A new bowls facility is nearing completion in Chawton Park Road, while the solution for the football club was for Coors to finance the upgrade of the stadium in Anstey Park known as the Enclosure.

This upgrade would be to the standard required for Alton Town to continue competing in the Sydenhams League (Wessex), including the installation of floodlights and replacing the grass pitch with an artificial 3G surface.

The Anstey Park Enclosure is owned by Alton Town Council and currently leased to Alton United Youth FC.

With this move, Alton Town and Alton United will come together as one club of 30 teams – from minis through the age groups to the Wessex League senior team.

Saturday’s game will kick off at 3pm and Alton hope there will be a good turn-out of spectators for this landmark game.

The following Saturday will be another significant day for Alton Town as the new stadium opens in Anstey Park with mini games for various ages from 10am, the official opening at 11.45am, an U14 girls’ game at 12 noon and Alton Town versus AFC Stoneham in the Wessex League at 3pm.

The present Alton club was formed in 1990 when the town’s two senior clubs, Alton Town and Bass Alton, amalgamated.

Previously, Alton Town had enjoyed huge success, winning everything in Hampshire in the period from 1948 to 1956, including Hampshire League Divisions Three, Two and One titles (1948, 1949, 1958), the Hampshire Intermediate Cup in 1949, the Russell Cotes Cup in 1949 and the Hampshire Senior Cup in 1958.

The Brewers made headlines in the 1972-73 season when they reached the first round proper of the FA Cup before losing 5-1 to Newport County of the old Football League Division Four.