CHERRIES are set to erect a temporary stand at Dean Court – with attendances determining whether the club will build a new permanent facility.

Chairman Eddie Mitchell confirmed the proposal had been discussed and rubber-stamped at a board meeting earlier this week.

The structure will accommodate approaching 3,000 seats and is expected to be in place for the first game of the new season in early August.

And a decision on whether the new stand will house home or away supporters will be made following further consultation with team manager Eddie Howe.

Should attendances increase significantly following Cherries’ promotion to the Championship, the club would then reconsider plans to build a permanent stand.

Original proposals to replicate the North Stand at the empty end of the stadium have been shelved in favour of building a bigger facility, should demand warrant it.

Co-owner Mitchell told the Daily Echo: “We are definitely going to erect a stand at one end of the stadium, on a temporary basis to start with. We have discussed it and are going to seek permission to put up a permanent stand.

“At this moment in time, we have got to experiment to see what level of support we are going to get. If we fill the temporary stand every game then we realise we will have to build a new one a bit sharpish. If we don’t sell it, we will have to think again.

“Unless we look to the next level, which we can’t really do at this stage, we have got to consider staying in the Championship and what support that will bring. We know what we need to get in there to make it worthwhile building a permanent one so we will find out this coming season.

“The temporary stand will be as near to a permanent one as you can get. We have worked out we need to either fill it for half the games or half fill it for all the games to make it viable to build a permanent one. We will just have to gauge what response we get.”

Meanwhile, Mitchell said co-owner Maxim Demin, who was present at this week’s board meeting, had expressed his delight at the club’s progress. Mitchell added: “It was his ambition to get into the Championship, along with mine, and we have done it so he couldn’t be anything else but pleased. We are looking forward to next season.”

Asked whether Demin had outlined his aims for the club, Mitchell replied: “They are exactly the same as mine and we want to stay in this league. It is a hard challenge for a club our size but we are trying to build so we can maintain our position at that level.”