IMAGINE the dream of a brand new stadium that could be used for much more than just football.

Around the perimeter of the stadium would be a giant sports hall, a state-of-the-art banqueting facility, a golf driving range, a cross country course and an adventure play area.

It wasn't the first time that plans for the redevelopment of Home Park had been announced, but with the pessimists claiming it would never see the light of day, Plymouth City Council leader John Ingham was confident that this time, it would really happen.

"This is not pie-in-the-sky," he said at a press conference to launch the project.

"We have to be bold if we are to get Plymouth the facilities it deserves," he added.

Does all this sound rather familiar?

It was April 1996, and the launch of 'The Tradium', a name intended to reflect the range of sporting, business and commercial activities the redevelopment of the Home Park area of Central Park would accommodate.

The new-look stadium would seat 23,000 spectators for sporting events, which would be as diverse as international football and ballroom dancing.

But that capacity could be increased to 37,000, with 14,000 standing for the top rock bands that, it was claimed, would be attracted to the city.

A timeline was published which would see the detailed business plans drawn up for final negotiations with funding bodies in November, 1996.

A total of £25 million would have to be raised with the prospect of the money coming from Plymouth Argyle, the Football Trust, the Regional Sports Council, the National Lottery, Plymouth City Council and South West Arts.

The following June would see construction workers move in to begin work that would see the Tradium, with its distinctive shape at the site of the car park to the south of Home Park, begin to define the skyline.

The proposed opening date was June 1999, when bulldozers would begin to demolish Home Park, which would be dwarfed alongside its' successor.

The playing surface of the Tradium would be the most high-tech available. A new type of grass with long roots and a durable surface that would comfortably withstand the pressure of rock fans enjoying concerts would boast the latest in turf technology.

Talking of technology, fans would be able to enjoy the latest on offer in sound and vision. An anonymous Japanese multi-national had agreed to provide, free of charge, the sound system and over 100 giant TV screens around the Tradium.

Any worries from local homeowners concerning noise were put to rest, as is was stated that all the speakers, even at rock concerts, would be directional to minimise sound escaping from the stadium along with soundproofing within the design of the stadium.

The vision aimed to end the ongoing perception that Plymouth lacked top sporting facilities of the standard that would entice national events to be held in the city. But on a local level it was also claimed that it would bring communities together.

Argyle manager Neil Warnock was drafted in to heap praise on the plan at the launch of the scheme.

He stated that it would help to attract top players to Plymouth, boost morale, and be the stadium that would see Argyle play in the Premiership and Europe.

A brochure was published by the City Council with the bold heading: 'Our Club, Our City. A Winning Partnership for the 21st Century.'

The document proclaimed that the Tradium would underline Plymouth's aims of providing the best in sporting and leisure facilities and would be a place where people could meet, have fun and enjoy themselves.

Club chairman Dan McCauley wanted to be seen as the man from Plymouth Argyle who would see the plan to completion in its partnership with the council.

There were doubters. One main potential problem highlighted was the lack of parking facilities for a potential attendance of 37,000 people and the additional traffic congestion in the area.

In addition, with many new stadia boasting the new concept of the retractable roof, this was not included in the first draft.

Questions were also raised when it was announced that a new company would be created to run the stadium with Argyle leasing the ground from that un-named business.

Council officials had previously been to Amsterdam, where they visited the new Arena, home of Dutch giants Ajax which was being constructed, and opened in August 1996.

Ajax were the world club champions and wanted to build on their success with their new venture which would attract people of all ages to participate in several sports, with football as its centrepiece.

So what of the other sports that would be catered for?

Under the two-tier stands would be a sports hall and dance studio. Basketball, five-a-side football, badminton, netball, tennis and bowls were sports highlighted with cross country and cycling tracks around the main building. Attached to that facility would be the banqueting hall that would be large enough for 500 hospitality suites.

The golf driving range, floodlit sports areas and adventure play areas would complete the mammoth complex.

Designed by Alfred McAlpine and Devon Design Practice, all the big guns in the area were drafted in to unveil the vision. MPs, councillors and high-ranking city officials were all behind the scheme which would dramatically change the state of leisure facilities which had altered little in decades.

There were immediate claims that the blueprint for Plymouth came directly from a similar scheme in Huddersfield. Was it also a coincidence that Neil Warnock was the manager of Huddersfield Town when they moved into their new McAlpine Stadium?

Plymouth City Council's director of programmes, David Renwick, refuted the suggestions.

He pointed out that the Huddersfield construction was with only football in mind. But, like the development in Amsterdam, the Tradium would have a seven-days-a-week focus for the whole community, and that was a crucial element in helping to secure the necessary funding from the Regional Sports Council.

It appeared that some funding was guaranteed.

The Football Trust, formed to improve ground safety in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster, took the unprecedented step of allowing Argyle to put their £750,000 grant towards a new stadium, rather than spend it on Home Park.

They would then top the grant up to £2 million if the plans for the Tradium came to fruition.

There was good news also from the Sports Council, after their announcement that it was looking to fund a major regional stadium when plans for a new national stadium were complete. That regional stadium would be in the south west.

The City Council were cautious in further revelations about funding when they were not prepared to name private funders who were showing interest in possible deals.

All this was a far cry from when Argyle first played League football in 1920.

A grandstand, built in 1905, was still in use. But that stand with pointed gable roof was described as one of the best in southern England.

In 1930, it was replaced at a cost of £11,000, partly funded by the supporters' club. But the new stand lasted only 11 years as Plymouth took a pounding during the Second World War.

The present Grandstand was opened in 1952 and over the years, various changes saw the gradual redevelopment of Home Park.

In 1964, a roof was installed for protection against the elements for supporters watching the action from the Lyndhurst terrace.

Thirteen years later, the 47-year-old Devonport End roof was removed as it had become unsafe. It took the club seven years to raise the £40,000 needed to replace it.

In the decade leading up to the first mention of the word Tradium to enter the vocabulary of Argyle fans, over £1 million had been spent on improving facilities. The most notable was the installation of seating on the Lyndhurst side.

Alas, the Tradium remained a fantasy. Home Park, vastly improved, remains in place.

Now, new plans are on the drawing board which would see the face of sporting facilities in Central Park change forever.

The question now is: Will it happen or will the ambitious plans go the same way as the ill-fated Tradium?