Scarborough Athletic FC Board of Directors issue update on battle to solve pitch problems
Scarborough Athletic’s Board of Directors have updated their fans regarding their search for solutions for the replacement of the pitch at Scarborough Sports Village (SSV).
The Board has confirmed it has three key priorities that it is working on, firstly to minimise and, if possible, delay the period during which Boro will be unable to play matches at the SSV to allow the club to operate as normally as possible in the near future, secondly to arrange a compliant groundshare to the satisfaction of the league and ground grading regulations at locations that would have the least impact on Boro fans and, finally, to assess the financial impact of the various potential outcomes and plan accordingly.
In a statement on social media on Friday April 25, the club said: “In line with the commitment made in our statement on the 16th April the Board would like to update all of our stakeholders on our activities regarding the pitch replacement project and reassure supporters that intensive work continues to be proactively undertaken exploring all available options to try and minimise the impact on our club.
"Since our last statement, representatives of the club have met and engaged with a whole number of relevant parties who to date have all expressed their support and a desire to assist the club in achieving its aims. These parties include the National League, the Football Foundation, various elected representatives including our local MP, the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, Councillors and Officers of North Yorkshire Council and representatives of potential venues where the club could look to groundshare in a manner compliant with League and Ground Grading requirements.
"During these meetings the Board have worked on the following three key priorities:
• To minimise and, if possible, delay the period during which SAFC will be unable to play matches at the SSV to allow the club to operate as normally as possible in the near future.
• To arrange a compliant groundshare to the satisfaction of the National League and Ground Grading Regulations at locations that would have the least impact on our supporters.
• To assess the financial impact of the various potential outcomes and plan accordingly.
"The Board recognise that all stakeholders are seeking certainty on exactly what the future holds and are working hard to achieve that. Further important meetings and site visits are planned early next week which will hopefully inform our decision-making process but at this stage we are trying to ensure that as many options as possible remain open to allow us to take the best course of action for the club.
"We are hugely grateful to all of our stakeholders and supporters for displaying the very best of our club over the last few days and would like to say that the overwhelmingly supportive reaction we have had from the broader community reflects positively on all of you.
"We hope the above information provides some reassurance and we remain committed to update you as the situation develops.”