Scarborough secure funding for new stand

A joint funding bid of £150,000 with Scarborough Borough Council to the Football Stadia Improvement Fund has been successful, and will allow improvements to be made to the stadium, including a new covered stand and additional spaces for disabled spectators.

It will take the capacity of the stadium to more than 2,800.

Club chairman, Trevor Bull, said: “I am absolutely over the moon that the funding bid has been successful. It enables us to get started on the much needed stadium improvements, which, when complete, will provide our loyal supporters with a greatly improved match day experience.

“We particularly welcome the ability to be able to expand our provision for disabled fans and we know the new facilities will be well used. The increased capacity that the changes will bring will not only allow us to maintain our current level of support but also increase it in the future.

“The project has been 18 months in the planning and development and I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to get us to this stage.”

The Football Stadia Improvement Fund money will be added to the £100,000 generated by the council in 2017 through the awarding of the naming rights for the stadium to Flamingo Land Ltd. The remaining funds required for the projected £290,000 project will be provided by Scarborough Athletic FC, its Supporters Club and sponsors.

The new stand will be constructed on the eastern side of the football pitch, in lee of Oliver’s Mount. The stand’s central section will have 336 seats, some of which will be for families. Tiered terraces for standing on each side of the seated section will each accommodate 430 spectators. Eight new wheelchair spaces will be created in the existing main stand, expanding current capacity from four to twelve spaces.

Work is expected to start on the improvements in the coming months, which will initially involve alterations to the floodlights and pitch side fence. The construction of the new stand will begin after the end of the 2018/19 football season to minimise disruption.