A DREAM that has been more than five years in the making finally became a reality on Saturday when Combined Counties League side Badshot Lea moved into their new home.

After a nomadic decade which has seen the Baggies groundshare with Farnborough Town, Godalming Town, Ash United and Camberley Town, Badshot Lea unveiled their shiny new Westfield Lane ground in Wrecclesham in front of a bumper crowd for the pre-season friendly with Aldershot Town.

“It was an emotional day,” said Lea chairman Mark Broad, who received planning permission for the new ground from Waverley Borough Council in 2014.

“In the week leading up to the game I probably went through every type of emotion going, and because of the realism of the project being finally delivered and we were opening, all the emotion came to the forefront.

“To realise what we have actually done was incredible.”

Saturday’s friendly with Aldershot Town, which Danny Searle’s Shots won 3-0, attracted a healthy crowd of 660 to Westfield Lane – and it was followed on Tuesday night by another 342 for the visit of National League side Woking, who won 3-1 under the floodlights.

“For us to get the two attendances that we got is nothing short of incredible,” said Broad. “It’s like getting a big sponsor at the start of the season and will, without doubt, set us up for a good few months.

“It’s a massive achievement and I think we can now start to put down some roots and really start to plan for the future. It’s exciting and there’s still a lot of work to do, but we’ve got a base that we can really start to push on from and not rest on our laurels.”

And Broad was full of admiration for his opposite number Shahid Azeem, chairman of Aldershot Town who, he said, refused, alongside fellow director John Leppard, to accept complimentary tickets for the game and instead stumped up £8 each.

“They both refused free entry and paid the full £8 to get in the ground and would not take a refund that I tried to give them,” he said. “That shows they are in touch with the level of football that we are at. It speaks volumes.”

And he added: “I’ve known Shahid since his time at Guildford City and what I like about Shahid is that he’s in touch with grassroots football. Shahid is an honourable man who appreciates and understands what it takes to be involved in grassroots football. When he was at Guildford he was trying everything he could with the council to try to get them a facility, so there’s a lot of synergy between what he was doing at Guildford and what we’ve been doing here.”

New Shots boss Danny Searle, who said he was hoping to welcome another couple of new faces to the EBB Stadium in the next few days, got the chance to assess his new squad as well as play guest of honour at Wrecclesham.

“It was a good day all round,” he said.

“It was an amazing acheievement from the Badshot Lea guys with regards to getting the stadium up and running and being a part of the opening was obviously a nice touch for us. There was a good crowd and a good atmosphere.

“I had a good chat with (Badshot Lea chairman) Mark Broad before the game and I think you would have to go some to find someone who cares more for their club than he did on Saturday.

“It was great to see all the staff from Badshot Lea and it was a privilege for us to be involved in that.”

And he added: “Football is a big family and whenever you can you have to look after each other, and if the fixtures fall kindly I’d love to think that our supporters that weren’t travelling away (on a Saturday or midweek matchday) would make their way down to Badshot Lea, and vice-versa if there was an opportunity.

“We would welcome them with open arms.”