BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Colchester | Partner hails Layer Road memories

Colchester chief executive Marie Partner has said her final goodbyes to Layer Road after the gates were locked for the final time after 70 years.

Partner told BBC Essex: "To actually see 100 years of history being carried in crates and put onto the back of a lorry is really quite sad.

"We'll arrive at the new stadium for a new beginning, but we won't forget the memories of Layer Road."

"I just hope that everybody is as excited as we are, because we've got such a bright future ahead of us now," she added.

Partner has been involved with the U's for 21 years, but said she has limited herself to keeping just a couple of pieces of memorabilia for herself.

"I've taken the two plaques from the CUSA bar and the vice-president's bar, because I've been the licensee here since 1994 and that is all I am taking with me.

"But obviously I take a lot with me in my head and my heart."

Partner admitted that whilst the memories of Layer Road will linger, the move to the Community Stadium is a positive step for the club.

"There's absolutely no comparison [with Layer Road]", she said. "The new stadium offers not only 23 or 24 times a year of football, it's a seven-day-a-week operation.

"We've now got conference and banqueting. We've got decent hospitality that we can offer people. There's a nice big car park, it really feels like it's not little Colchester United anymore, it's actually big Colchester United."

An auction of memorabilia from Layer Road will take place on Sunday, 20 July, with a viewing of the items taking place the previous day.