Scarborough Athletic welcomes end of ‘year in exile’ as pitch repairs completed
Pitch repair project completed in time for new football season
A North Yorkshire football club has welcomed the end of its ‘year in exile’ as a council scheme to repair its football ground was delivered ahead of schedule.
Football and council bosses have said they are “delighted” that Scarborough Athletic FC will be returning to its home ground on the coast after the club was forced to play its home fixtures at Bridlington Town’s stadium.
A survey last year identified “serious structural issues” at the council-owned Scarborough Sports Village, including a defective drainage system installed when the facility was first built.
North Yorkshire Council’s original estimates predicted that repairs could cost up to £3.4 million, but the bill to the taxpayer was considerably smaller, according to a senior member.
While final costs have not been published, Cllr Simon Myers, NYC’s executive member for culture, arts, and housing, said it would be “less than 20 per cent of what we thought it might cost”.
Cllr Myers said the council had been “determined not to let Scarborough down” and conceded that it was “probably quite unusual for a local authority to actually deliver things on time and under budget, but that’s what we’ve done”.
He added: “Scarborough Athletic will be back here playing their friendlies, the ladies team will be back here, the academy will be back here, all the community youth will be back here, slightly ahead of schedule. So thanks to Willmott Dixon and our partners for all their hard work.”
Scarborough Athletic FC will be playing a friendly game against Barnsley FC on Saturday, July 25.
SAFC chairman, Trevor Bull, said: “I’m delighted to be looking out there on a perfect pitch, because it hasn’t been perfect for a number of years, and we knew it was failing.”
Mr Bull added: “Councils aren’t renowned for doing things on time, and NYC inherited a situation that wasn’t of its own making, so that must have made it a little bit more tricky.
“We’ve had our year in exile, which was really difficult for us as a football club, and we’re looking forward to coming home.”
He also thanked the authority and contractors who “were great and kept us informed all the way through the process”.
Will Watts, the Vice-chairman of Scarborough Ladies FC, said: “It’s great to be here representing all those girls from Scarborough Ladies, all 120 of them, desperate to get back on that pitch.
“We may be a junior partner in the grand scheme of things, but it’s great to see Scarborough Athletic back.
“It’s brilliant work by everybody on the pitch, and we just can’t wait to get those lasses back on the grass and enjoying their football.
“And, who knows, their World Cup’s coming around pretty soon, so there might be some familiar faces.”
Eddie Pearson, the commercial manager at contractor Willmott Dixon, said it had been “a long year, but we have been really delighted to be working with everybody at Scarborough”.
He added: “We’re pleased that after a long road, we’ve now found that we’ve got a pitch that’s looking a lot better than it was when we first got here.
“We wish you all the best and hopefully a lot of success for both the men’s and the ladies’ teams in the next year.”