Can you believe it’s been 10 years since Dartford FC made Princes Park their home?

The £7 million stadium opened on November 11, 2006, with the club moving in after spending the previous 14 years without a home in the borough.

Hemel Hempstead Town FC are the visitors for the 10th anniversary Vanarama National League South match on Saturday, with Tony Burman’s side looking to move into the play-off positions.

Promotion is the aim for this season, and there have already been a few of them since the club made the move.

For Dartford council leader Cllr Jeremy Kite (Con), who is a director at the club, the years have flown by.

Construction work began on the 4,100 capacity stadium in November 2005 after Dartford council agreed the project. The council still owns the stadium and leases it to the club.

He said: “Ten years has gone very quickly and we have had some amazing moments in the town and as a football club.

“It was one of the most exciting and interesting projects that the council has been involved in and it’s inspired a lot of other investments around the county.

“Lots of clubs have developed new grounds, clubs like Ebbsfleet and Maidstone, and have used the Dartford model as justification for investing in sport.”

There has been relegation heartache to contend with and star players have left for a shot at glory in the upper echelons of the English football ladder, but overall it has been quite a journey.

Cllr Kite continued: “Running a football club is not an easy thing to do and I am very proud of the players and of Tony Burman, who is second only to Arsene Wenger as the longest serving manager in the country.

“I think the town needs a football club and Dartford has always been a football town, and I think Princes Park is brilliant.

“It’s also very rare that you go up there in an evening and there’s not something going on. There are huge numbers of young people participating, and I am very proud of it.”

Memories of the terraces

I was a regular on the Princes Park terraces for a few seasons during my school days and, as much as I love watching Arsenal at the Emirates, it harbours some of my favourite memories of watching football live.

Among the moments to have proved unforgettable are right-back Billy Burgess’s late equaliser against Bognor Regis in a thrilling 3-3 draw in the autumn of 2009 — as dramatic as it was unlikely.

His awkward knee slide celebration was that of a man not used to scoring goals and he has been a hero of mine ever since.

There are also vivid memories of a dramatic 4-3 win over Hastings United later that season, which I remember being the game in which we all thought we’d all but secured Ryman Premier League glory.

Elliot Bradbrook was probably my favourite player at the time and he’s still there, banging in the goals from midfield on a pretty regular basis. Charlie Sheringham was also popular — he never should have left.

As tough as the club found life in the Conference — now the National League — it was great to sample life at the top tier of non-league football, and the first round FA Cup tie against Port Vale was also pretty special.

Such was the media attention on that cup run that this reporter, a Dartford Grammar schoolboy aged 17, made his Dartford Messenger debut as part of a crowd shot.

Hopefully Dartford can once again reach such heady heights in the years to come.

The club will celebrate the landmark with a pre-match community session for youngsters on Saturday, running from 12.30pm until 2pm.

There will be a match, a penalty shoot-out, some footgolf, and plenty more games to enjoy at just £2 a head. No booking is required.