Ashby Ivanhoe Football Club have announced they have completed a deal which means they now own their NFU ground.

The club confirmed the purchase today (Monday) and officials say it secures the long term future of the club in Ashby.

Ivanhoe have been raising funds to complete the purchase of the ground at Lower Packington Road.

And the deal was done last week which means the club can now progress with the next phase of their development.

A social media post from the club reads: "On behalf of Ashby Ivanhoe FC CIC, Jon Emmerson and Neil Johnson are absolutely delighted to be able to share the news that the club has completed the purchase of the NFU Sports Ground, with the deal being complete late last week.

"This is a monumental moment in the clubs history as we secure our long term future in the town and become one of few sports clubs to own their own facility.

"It's an extremely exciting time for the club and further announcements will follow in due course on the next steps."

Ashby Ivanhoe said last July that they had started an initiative to raise £1.3million to buy their ground and put their 'adventurous' plans into action.

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The Midland League side originally had a deadline to purchase the NFU Ground by December 1st of last year which required £375,000 to complete the first stage of the deal.

Now that is done, Ashby Ivanhoe want to raise almost £1million to turn the area into a community hub with vastly improved facilities and room for 1,500 spectators.

Last August Bank Holiday, the club staged an open day where proposed plans for the new development were on show - and officials felt they were met positively by members of the public who attended.

In June last year, Ashby Ivanhoe officially become a Community Interest Company.

The re-constitution of the club was rubber stamped and they confirmed their plans which included buying the NFU ground.