Hold the Derbyshire Senior Cup Final at Pride Park Stadium

This a petition calling for the Derbyshire Football Association to hold the Derbyshire Senior Cup Final at Derby County's Pride Park Stadium.

The competition was launched 125 years ago and, for many years, the final was held at the Baseball Ground, Derby County's former home.

The concept of holding the final at the BBG was scrapped in favour of a two-legged affair. The finalists now play legs both home and away.

This has got to stop. It completely devalues this wonderful competition and the gates in recent seasons have been poor.

Take last season. Belper Town beat Alfreton Town in front of just 248 people at North Street and 266 people at Christchurch Meadow. A far cry from when the Nailers last won the cup at the Baseball Ground, where in the region of 9,000 watched the match.

Of course, the Baseball Ground is long gone, but in its place stands Pride Park Stadium - the ground where the Derbyshire Senior Cup Final should be held.

Other county cup competitions are held at large stadiums. Here are some recent examples:

Durham County Cup - final at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland.
Sheffield and Hallamshire Cup - Hillsborough, Sheffield Wednesday.
Nottinghamshire Senior Cup - Meadow Lane, Notts County.
Birmingham Senior Cup - St Andrews, Birmimgham City.
Manchester Senior Cup - Old Trafford, Manchester United.

The list goes on and on. Basically, most if not all other counties stage their senior cup final at Premier League or Championship stadiums.

To hold the final at Pride Park would give the competition a massive boost and stop the falling gates - both in the final and in other rounds.

Football fans from across Derbyshire would be more inclined to go and watch if it were held at Pride Park. I know as a Belper fan that I'd be much more inclined to watch Ilkeston, Gresley, Matlock, Alfreton or any other team in a single final at PPS rather than one leg at a non-league ground.

Finally, Derby County have new owners - Americans who are desperate to get Derbyshire people on their side. What better way to do that than by bringing this prestigious, 125-year-old competition's final back to the county's biggest stadium?

Please sign the petition and let's make the Derbyshire FA sit up and take notice. The Derbyshire Senior Cup has been a poor relation, compared to other counties' competitions, for far too long.

Let's make this a happy day for football.