Scarborough Athletic FC give ground update to fans at open meeting
Around 250 supporters flocked to Scarborough Athletic FC’s open meeting at Scarborough Cricket Club on Wednesday evening.
The meeting, which was led by Bull with contributions by fellow board members and Bridlington Town CEO Gavin Branton, was arranged to update fans about the plans to groundshare with Brid next season at the Mounting Systems Stadium, as well as inform them of progress being made regarding the SSV pitch.
Just before the end of the season North Yorkshire Council (NYC), who own the sports village, told Boro they had discovered serious structural issues with the playing surface which could take over 40 weeks to fix and cost around £3m. Bull said that NYC have various options for the pitch repair with the preferred option being a 'partial excavation and installation of Geogrid 0.5m under surface'.
Directors of the club said NYC are in active discussions with the original contractors, Willmott Dixon, about them being deployed on site during any such work.
Club Director Paul Medd said NYC have offered to put money into the improvements at Brid’s stadium required to ensure it meets the necessary FA ground standards for National League North football, the hope being that these upgrades will be done at no cost to Boro.
The work is already underway thanks to the generosity of The Valley Bar Seadogs, a supporters group who organise travel to away matches and raise funds for the club, as they have donated £11,000 to ensure that the works at Brid could start immediately.
This work needs to be completed by July 31 in order for Boro to play football back at the ground which hosted them for the first decade of their existence, but the club have a detailed plan in place to achieve this.
Town CEO Branton's words were met with rapturous applause as he spoke about the groundshare, admitting helping a friend was priceless, the Queensgate club allowing Boro to play at their ground free of charge.
Branton said: “It’s your ground, treat it as your own on matchdays. Support your club.”
Club directors told fans that East Yorkshire Motor Services and Esk Valley Coaches are looking at creating a special offer with Valley Bar Seadogs to provide coaches for fans travelling from Scarborough to Bridlington on matchdays. They said that conversations with Northern Rail are also underway.
In a Q and A fans were re-assured by Branton that the facilities for disabled fans are good and under-cover, saying that supporters would be looked after.
Several fans also offered to help with the upgrading work required at Queensgate by July 31.