Brentford Football club have signalled that there is to be no loss of momentum in their drive to build a new stadium at Lionel Road with a high profile appointment to the board of the company charged with development of the new facility.

Mike Power, former Chief Operating Officer for the London 2012 bid team, has joined as a non-executive director on the board of Brentford FC (Lionel Road) Ltd. For the past 5 years until January 2008, he has been working with the Olympic bid and organising team. He was previously a chartered management accountant with Procter and Gamble, for whom he worked for more than thirty two years. Mr Power is a Brentford fan and has already started to help out with the plan on a voluntary basis prior to his appointment.

His appointment to the board of the Lionel Road company follows the resignation of Ian Jones on 1 May.

Brentford FC Chairman, Greg Dyke, who is also chairman of the Lionel Road stadium subsidiary, said he was delighted with the appointment. "To attract someone of Mike's stature and experience to help us with the project is a real coup for the Club. As work intensifies on the design and the commercial negotiations to come up with a viable scheme, it is essential that we have a strong team on the Lionel Road board. In particular we need to ensure we have a robust operating plan that can underpin the long term sustainability of the Club and we believe Mike's skills and experience can help us achieve this."

Mike Power said "I am delighted to be able to help out on what will be a very challenging project to deliver. Having been born in Isleworth and supported Brentford since my schooldays it is exciting to be involved in a project which could transform the future prospects for the Club."

Brentford FC's stadium project team and Barratt Homes Limited (Barratt) are progressing with the negotiation of detailed development agreements, appointment of professional advisors and preparation of feasibility studies.

AFL Architects have been selected as stadium architects, working closely with Assael Architects who are the master planners for the whole scheme. AFL have previously designed developments at Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, the new JJB stadium for Wigan, Preston North End and Ipswich to name but a few. Rugby Union also features in their portfolio with stadia development for Munster Rugby Club in Ireland and Leicester Tigers. Structural engineers, Sinclair Knight Merz and mechanical & electrical services engineers, Hoare Lea have also been chosen in recent weeks to join the project team.

The joint Barratt/Brentford FC team has also initiated monthly stakeholder liaison meetings with local residents groups, councillors and other major stakeholders in the Brentford and Chiswick area