Sutton United to decide not to move massive FA Cup tie against Arsenal to Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park
Conference side play at the tiny Gander Green Lane but rule out moving to nearby 26,000 ground
SUTTON UNITED plan to keep their FA Cup tie against Arsenal to Crystal Palace's at their tiny home ground and not move it to nearby Selhurst Park to try and make as much money from the biggest game in their history.
Paul Doswell's National League side, fresh from conquering Leeds 1-0 on home soil, have the option of switching venues eight miles up the road.
Keep up to date with ALL the Premier League news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary
The players were in heaven when the Gunners came out of the hat for the FA Cup fifth round - and immediately thoughts naturally turned to money.
Board members and Doswell, also a sponsor of the club, are to discuss the option of moving to the 26,000 capacity home of their Premier League neighbours - who have already been knocked out the cup.
Sentimentally, and due to their unique plastic pitch, some want to keep the tie at the 5,000-capacity Gander Green Lane for their biggest match ever.
related stories
But with 19,000 extra seats to play with, plus a sizeable away following, it could have huge financial benefits for the part-timers.
Both clubs share gate receipts from the tie of 45 per cent each, with the rest going to the FA - and this could net them over £200,000 should it be close to a sell out at Selhurst Park.
However it is thought the non-league are keen to go ahead with hosting the game at Gander Green Lane.
Key figures in the club believe it will still be a significant money-spinner at their own ground, with TV revenue and other commercial deals.
It is believed that Arsenal would be open to a location change as thousands of their fans would have missed out given the tiny terraced away end of just 800 places at Gander Green Lane.