Boundary Park has been the home of Oldham Athletic since 1906.In that time, the ground has witnessed the Latics reach the dizzying heights of the Premier League and the sobering lows of non-league football. Yet in 2009, Oldham was ready to move on from their long-time home ground.Although there were initial plans to redevelop Boundary Park, the land value and market conditions at the time had drastically reduced to the point then-managing director Simon Corney claimed the plans were ‘no longer economically viable’.“In its current state, Oldham Athletic is dying,” Corney said.“Our revenue fell 20 per cent again last year and we’re now attracting attendances on a par with many League Two clubs.“This new vision gives us an opportunity to provide a facility that will create new revenue streams to make the club financially viable and self-sustaining, while also giving supporters a superior matchday experience.”Oldham unveil grand plans for new stadiumPlans were soon revealed by Oldham and the local council for a new 12,000-seater ground as well as community sports facilities on a 30-acre site in Failsworth.However, they faced pushback from plot-holders at Broadway Allotments in Failsworth, where the new stadium would be, as they vowed to put up a fight to keep their allotments. Speaking to the Oldham Chronicle in 2009, former Allotments secretary Tracy Cunningham vowed the group would ‘put up a David and Goliath fight’ to prevent Oldham’s stadium plans from moving forward.“We are not budging and are really angry,” Cunningham said.“We are not going to quietly stand by and relinquish the site and, as we all live locally, the noise, traffic and disturbance associated with match days makes for a very unappealing prospect for those who will live in the shadow of the proposed new stadium.”Boundary Park remains Oldham’s home, but they nearly moved on from it in 2010GettyThose protesting also claimed the land of their allotments was funded by the War Memorial Committee and was therefore a trust.Both sides dug their heels in as the Charity Commission struggled to make their minds up.Latics’ plans go up in smokeBut in February 2011, a bombshell ruling was handed down when the commission tossed out the plans to swap Oldham Council land with sites in Failsworth for the stadium, with a key reason being that the commission was ‘not satisfied’ the mooted was in the interests of the charity. In a stinging club statement, Oldham vented their frustrations having been left in a ‘wholly unsatisfactory position.’“Having waited patiently for many months we are not only shocked by this outcome, but bitterly disappointed,” the statement read.The statement added: “Our objective has always been, and remains, to provide a solution to the long term future of OAFC.The storied ground has existed for over 120 years“Boundary Park cannot provide that and it would appear that yet another genuine opportunity to cement that future has passed Oldham by.“The outcome is that, on the basis of the information supplied by the OMBC within the application, the charity commission is not satisfied that sufficient information has been provided to enable the commission to exercise their power and permit the transfer to proceed.“We need to carefully consider how we arrived at this wholly unsatisfactory position and what the next steps will be.”With Oldham forced to remain at Boundary Park, they were eventually granted £5.7m by the council in January 2013 to help develop their existing ground.The funds were granted amid the lingering threat of legal action from Oldham given they’d spent an estimated £5m on the failed stadium plan.As part of the deal, the lease on Oldham’s training ground at Chapel Road would be renegotiated while a new stand at Boundary Park was to be built.The Latics remain at Boundary Park, which is set to undergo a second renovation in just over a decadeGettyBrutal U-turn that could have changed everythingHowever, in a stunning turn of events, the commission upheld its decision for Oldham council to register land in Failsworth as a charitable trust.That meant Oldham could have built a new stadium on their preferred site after all.When handing down their decision, the commission said: “… the balance of probability points towards charity because the land was purchased with money raised by charitable appeal and the intention was clearly that it be held as a public recreation ground as a war memorial for generations to come.”Despite the overturned verdict, Oldham never picked up and moved to Failsworth, as Boundary Park remains their home.The club and council have since unveiled plans for a multi-million pound project to not only expand Boundary Park, but build a sports and health campus which will include a university cenre.Dubbed SportsTown, £5m has already been invested to get the project underway to add on to the £1m that was pumped in to fund a new playing surface at Boundary Park.“Oldham has always punched above its weight in sport, and we’re not stopping now,” Oldham chairman and Boundary Park owner Frank Rothwell said.“This funding’s going to set things in motion for something truly game-changing.”