Post by The Lucky C on Nov 28, 2006 16:59:41 GMT -1
From the beeb:
The team I've supported for 31 years – Scarborough Football Club - is in severe danger of folding and I'm wondering if people can help with the survival bid?
Boro will be extinct very soon unless the club sells its McCain Stadium ground for housing and builds a new ground on the outskirts of the town.
The plan is to sell the old stadium for about £4m and with the proceeds build a new one for £2m and use the remaining £2m to pay off all the debts and pay the bills.
The problem is that unless Scarborough Borough Council agrees to the proposal - and transfers the covenant that decrees the McCain Stadium site must be used for sporting purposes to the new stadium – the club will be liquidated.
Boro, who were relegated from the Football League in 1999, were chucked out of the Conference last season because of their financial problems and made to play in Conference North this season.
The Conference then added on a 10-point penalty and surprise, surprise, Boro find themselves bottom of that division and facing a drop into the UniBond Premier League next season.
That is if they survive that long.
Scarborough’s hardcore fans have responded to this crisis by using the internet to get support from around the nation.
If football is about community and the social benefits a club can bring to a town then hopefully the council will back the club and allow the ground move to take place.
The club’s fans have set-up an online petition to urge the council to support the ground move and and they’ve also formed a Trust with a view to taking over and running the club in the future.
A couple of mentions on national TV last week brought a rapid increase in the number of people signing the petition, many of them with no links whatsoever to Scarborough.
There were some great emotive postings on the Surfing Seadogs messageboard, such as this from a fan who watched Boro’s 2-1 win at Burscough in the FA Trophy on Saturday:
"Going to Burscough today was odd because we had no idea whether it would be our last game ever or just a continuation of our long and proud history. Towards the end I was torn between wanting the game to end, so we’d win, and not wanting it to end ever! We can only hope and pray that things go right for us."
I certainly hope things do go okay and the creditors who are circling around the club give the council the time it needs to make the right decision for the town of Scarborough.
In the meantime, I’d be grateful if fans out there from all clubs would consider signing the on-line petition.
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No-one wants to see a club go under. The petition can be found at www.gopetition.com/online/10254.html
The team I've supported for 31 years – Scarborough Football Club - is in severe danger of folding and I'm wondering if people can help with the survival bid?
Boro will be extinct very soon unless the club sells its McCain Stadium ground for housing and builds a new ground on the outskirts of the town.
The plan is to sell the old stadium for about £4m and with the proceeds build a new one for £2m and use the remaining £2m to pay off all the debts and pay the bills.
The problem is that unless Scarborough Borough Council agrees to the proposal - and transfers the covenant that decrees the McCain Stadium site must be used for sporting purposes to the new stadium – the club will be liquidated.
Boro, who were relegated from the Football League in 1999, were chucked out of the Conference last season because of their financial problems and made to play in Conference North this season.
The Conference then added on a 10-point penalty and surprise, surprise, Boro find themselves bottom of that division and facing a drop into the UniBond Premier League next season.
That is if they survive that long.
Scarborough’s hardcore fans have responded to this crisis by using the internet to get support from around the nation.
If football is about community and the social benefits a club can bring to a town then hopefully the council will back the club and allow the ground move to take place.
The club’s fans have set-up an online petition to urge the council to support the ground move and and they’ve also formed a Trust with a view to taking over and running the club in the future.
A couple of mentions on national TV last week brought a rapid increase in the number of people signing the petition, many of them with no links whatsoever to Scarborough.
There were some great emotive postings on the Surfing Seadogs messageboard, such as this from a fan who watched Boro’s 2-1 win at Burscough in the FA Trophy on Saturday:
"Going to Burscough today was odd because we had no idea whether it would be our last game ever or just a continuation of our long and proud history. Towards the end I was torn between wanting the game to end, so we’d win, and not wanting it to end ever! We can only hope and pray that things go right for us."
I certainly hope things do go okay and the creditors who are circling around the club give the council the time it needs to make the right decision for the town of Scarborough.
In the meantime, I’d be grateful if fans out there from all clubs would consider signing the on-line petition.
------------------
No-one wants to see a club go under. The petition can be found at www.gopetition.com/online/10254.html
