Scarborough Athletic Chairman Trevor Bull tells This is the Coast the club is facing a "potentially life threatening" situation as the availability of its home ground for the upcoming 2025/26 season is thrown in to doubt.
Trevor Bull says the club found out on Monday that there was a problem with the North Yorkshire Council owned pitch at the Scarborough Sports Village, he says that the initial information suggested the pitch might not be available for the first few games of the new football season, but less than 24 hours later came news that the problems were more complicated than originally thought and the council were unable to say when the pitch would be usable or when they would be able to start work on repairs.
Initially, North Yorkshire Council had planned to replace the playing surface at the Scarborough Sports Village with an upgraded version at the end of the current season. However, the Council’s assistant director for culture, leisure and libraries, Jo Ireland, explained that a recent site survey had identified "serious structural issues including a defective drainage system installed when the facility was first constructed". As a result, "the works required before the pitch can be resurfaced are therefore considerably more extensive and complex". Consequently, "the pitch will not be available for competitive fixtures for the start of next season", although non-competitive community use can continue for the time being.
In an interview with This is the Coast, Trevor expressed grave concerns about the implications for the fan-owned community football club,
The full interview can be heard in the latest edition of the Seadogs Podcast
Trevor Bull says the news from the council "just blew my mind open". He also noted his surprise that community users could still use the pitch, indicating that North Yorkshire Council may not have immediate plans to commence the significant repair works.
Despite the setback, Trevor Bull acknowledged the overwhelming support the club has received, including from local politicians like Allison Hume MP, who has offered her assistance and plans to attend the final home game of the season on Monday. Trevor has urged supporters to attend their final home game against Darlington to "show what this club means to us" and to demonstrate the significant impact the situation will have. He emphasised that "by turning up in in their thousands, you know, maybe on on Easter Monday, that that is saying this this club is vitally important to us".
Despite the challenges, the Board of Directors of Scarborough Athletic FC has assured its stakeholders that they are "committed to working hard with all parties to minimise the impact of this news on our club and community" and will keep everyone updated as the situation develops.
Trevor says work is ongoing both at the club and within the council but he is unable to say when there might be an further developments.
Scarborough play their final home game of the current season on Easter Monday against Darlington. Tickets for the match are available at https://scarboroughathleticfc.ktckts.com/event/sca2425h23/darlington
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