Timely reminder for future fans

Telling the story of the First Division North club's return from playing in exile in Bridlington and containing photographs, matchday programmes, the current Seadogs kit and even a copy of the EVO-STIK NPL handebook, the capsule was buried at the site of the Scarborough Leisure Village on Thursday after work started on the multi-million pound project earlier this month.

Funded with £2.2 million from Sport England and expected to open in the summer of 2017, the complex housing the new 2,000 capacity stadium at Weaponess will also feature an eight lane 25-metre Olympic legacy swimming pool, sports hall, squash courts and fitness suites.

The Mayor of Scarborough, Tom Fox, is pictured with Seadogs chairman Dave Holland, far right, at the official ceremony to bury the capsule which is due to unearthed by future generations of supporters 50 years from now in 2066.

A proud Holland said: "I am one of a whole generation of supporters who witnessed the demise of the Scarborough Athletic Football Club ground in 2007 and who have, ever since, held onto the dream of returning back to the town from exile in Bridlington.

“We are all very excited as we look forward to seeing a Scarborough club playing in Scarborough and being able to welcome a whole new generation to the pleasures of participating in community football or simply watching from the terraces."

He added: “It’s a personal dream coming true and I am just trying to work out the number of sleeps until we walk out at Weaponness.”

Sport England director of property Charles Johnston said: “We are delighted to invest over £2.2 million of National Lottery funding in the Scarborough Leisure Village. Offering state-of-the-art sporting facilities, as well as becoming the new home of Scarborough Athletic FC, I am confident that upon its completion, the leisure village will become a real focal point for the town and no doubt inspire more locals to become active.”

Scarborough Athletic were given the green light for work to start on their new home just before Christmas with the rest of the funding coming from the sale of the club's old home at the McCain Stadium, sold after the former Football League club was wound up in 2007.

Councillor Fox said: “Good things come to those who wait and what better way to kick off 2016 than to celebrate the start of this eagerly anticipated development.

"There have been those who said this project would never happen, but we and our partners have never lost sight of our ultimate goal, which is to create a first class leisure facility for local people and a new football ground for Scarborough Athletic Football Club and other sports and community clubs and groups.

"We are looking forward to seeing the construction progress and eagerly await next year’s opening, which, without a doubt, will be a much celebrated milestone in the history of sport and leisure in our borough.”

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