Forest Green Rovers' ground could be named KEVIN after fans mock stadium name change in Twitter poll

  /  autty

Forest Green Rovers' stadium could be renamed 'Kevin' after fans voted for that title in the club's own Twitter poll.

The League Two side, who became the first 'vegan football club' in 2015, asked supporters on social media to suggest a new name for The New Lawn Stadium, with the club demanding that new sponsor Innocent Smoothies is inserted in the name.

But in a move reminiscent of the Boaty McBoatface drama in 2016, fans ignored their club's pleas with over 78 per cent of the vote going to 'Kevin'.

Innocent's UK marketing director, Anna Bateson, was quoted by The Sun saying: 'We have no idea who Kevin is.'

But the idea to call the stadium 'Kevin' was first drawn up by Crystal Palace fan Ameena McColville, who noticed the name of former manager Kevin Keegan rhymes with vegan.

Forest Green Rovers will shortlist the top four names and give their season ticket holders the final say over the new ground name.

Soccer Saturday's Jeff Stelling was delighted at the news the stadium could potentially be called Kevin, with the Sky Sports presenter tweeting: 'If it is Kevin it is guaranteed a mention every week!!'

The name change would be a repeat of the 2016 farce involving Boaty McBoatFace, as 124,000 people voted for that name to be given to a British research ship.

The new name was vetoed with RRS Sir David Attenborough chosen instead, though a smaller ship used in the same crew was given the name 'Boaty'.

The New Lawn Stadium, which holds 5,000 people, was developed with new eco-friendly innovations five years ago, and Forest Green claim to be 100 per cent vegan.

Their owner, Dale Vince OBE, is a British green energy industrialist who owns a company called Ecotricity and first became the major shareholder in 2010.

Earlier this year, Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin became the second-largest shareholder at Rovers after praising their commitments to veganism and environmentalism.

New Lawn's roof is made almost entirely out of wood, and could be expanded to a 10,000 capacity stadium if the club continue to rise up the English football pyramid.

The club also produce vegan food on a matchday, ranging from pizzas, fajitas, salads and sweet potato fries rather than the classic burger and pies.

No Rovers players are allowed to meat on the club's premises as studies continue to prove athletes can still perform to the highest level on a vegan diet.

The grass at the New Lawn Stadium is also fed on a chemical-free diet.

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