A football-mad dad has built a 6,000-seater Subbuteo replica of his beloved Cheltenham Town.
Jason Christopher even flogged his classic car to make room for it in his garage.
He has been hooked on the tabletop footy game since 1977 and always dreamed of recreating his team’s home ground.
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The father-of-one, who doesn’t make it to every match these days, got to work on building the tiny version of Whaddon Road, now known as the EV Charger Points Stadium, during lockdown.
The model ground comes complete with floodlights, model fans and even a ticket office – all painstakingly built by hand inside the 58-year-old’s garage in Southsea, Portsmouth.
Jason, a commercial bank team leader, originally planned the project for retirement.
But with all the extra time during the pandemic, he couldn’t resist getting started early.
In fact, Jason sold his prized 1963 Wolseley Hornet Mk2, worth up to £9,000, to make space for the stadium.
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“I always wanted to build a stadium as my retirement project, but COVID brought it forward – the stadium, not the retirement,” Jason told What’s The Jam.
“I wouldn’t dare total it up, never wise to count the cost of these things.
“I had to sell my classic car to make room for it.
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“My wife was just pleased I found something to be passionate about during lockdown.
“My son was fairly non-fussed about it – it’s not FIFA, is it?
“I saw my cousins playing it when I was 10 years old, and I was hooked.
“I gave up in my late teens…discovered other things and then made a comeback 35 years later.”
Jason says it took him just over a month to build the ground, but he’s constantly adding new touches to his pride and joy.
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