AFC Wimbledon are facing a financial crisis and a race against time to raise the £11million they need to build their new stadium at Plough Lane.

The Dons plan to move into their new 9,000-seat home at the start of next season, but they are yet to sign the main construction contract and need a major cash injection to do that after building costs soared to more than £30m.

Wimbledon have until January to find the money and, with the future of the club at risk, the Dons Trust — who own 75 per cent of the club — have called a special general meeting for December 9 to try to resolve the issue.

A number of options have been presented to the 3,000 members of the Trust, which include selling part of the club to outside investors, although, crucially, they would retain the right to veto relocating the team, selling the stadium, changing the badge, colours or club name.

Wimbledon have been owned by supporters since they were formed in 2002, after Wimbledon FC were controversially relocated to Milton Keynes.

Given the role previous owners had in that move, selling a large stake in the club has divided opinion among the AFC fanbase. But the severity of the situation means the League One club are at a genuine crossroads: If Wimbledon don’t find the £11m they need, their new stadium will only be part-built next season and will have just 4,000 seats.

Read more Hodges: Leading AFC Wimbledon back to Plough Lane would be a dream

That will mean their playing budget would be among the lowest in League One and could lead to them slipping down the football pyramid.

Banks are unwilling to lend them the money needed due to factors including Brexit and the recent financial difficulties of other EFL clubs, including Bolton and Bury.

A number of local businessmen, who have attended games at their current home, Kingsmeadow, are among those said to be willing to invest if the Trust agree to them having a say in the running of the club.

Supporters are split on bringing in outside investment, with some arguing it is necessary to maintain the club’s Football League status and others fearing a repeat of when former owner Sam Hammam sold the old Plough Lane, which eventually led to the move to Milton Keynes.

Construction of the Dons’ new stadium, which will be just 250 yards down the road from the old Plough Lane ground where Wimbledon FC played and could eventually reach a capacity of 20,000, is already under way.

The Trust have so far raised £20m towards costs, £2.5m of which came from crowdfunding. The final £11m needed is higher than initially budgeted for, partly because the project has been delayed by two years and lengthy talks over planning permission and commercial agreements.

The impact of those delays equates to an additional cost of around £3m-£4m. Contractors Buckingham have come up with the possible solution of finishing the stadium for next season at a cost of just an additional £1m, but such a ground would be very basic. It would have just 4,000 seats and contain no conferencing facilities, leaving the club with massively reduced revenue streams.

Even if Wimbledon did secure the £11m loan needed to build their new home, the repayments would be great and eat into the playing budget available to chief executive Joe Palmer. There is the added fear that if any payments to lenders were missed, the club could become insolvent and have the ground taken off them.

It is why the prospect of outside investment taking a large stake in the club has been put forward for the first time. The local businessmen who have attended games at Kingsmeadow and are keen to invest claim to not be doing so as a profit-making exercise.

New investment would provide greater financial stability, reduced pressure on cash flow and a more competitive playing budget. Nonetheless, there is a fear among fans to let outsiders in.

Rob Crane, a member of the Trust board, has already resigned over the issue, while one fan on message board Wombles Underground Press wrote: “This is awful — it’s like being visited by a dreadful ghost from your past.”

There are elements of the Trust, however, who believe outside investment is needed to take the club forward.

One member told Standard Sport: “The club will be out of the Football League in two seasons [if there is no outside investment]. There won’t be the money to maintain even a partially-built stadium, the club will fold and the stadium sold. That’s the stark reality of what we face.”

AFC, realistically, cannot abandon the move as they have already sold Kingsmeadow and would have nowhere to play next season, while mothballing the project would be costly and a waste of previous investment.

A spokesman for AFC Wimbledon said: “The stadium at Plough Lane is proceeding and we are fully committed to moving back to our spiritial home. The issue we face is that the funding currently available to us will only pay for the bare minimum of the new stadium.

“There are options for doing more than that, including bringing in external investment but, quite rightly, that is a choice for Dons Trust members, the owners of the club. We have presented the options to our members and will be listening carefully to their views over the coming weeks.”

Wimbledon are at a crossroads and the Trust must decide how to proceed when they convene on December 9. The clock is ticking.

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