LongTimeLurker Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 ...PS what has happened to Lurker? He is usually all over this type of topic like a rash. Seeing as you are apparently concerned about my welfare, I`ve been doing a lot of travelling recently, so have not been online that much. Will be interesting to see what unfolds on this Clydebank thing. They are the obvious poster child of the type of club that needs a pyramid mechanism to be able to get back to where they (please not pedantry about Airdrie being the continuation of Clydebank) used to be, so their absence from the LL on its launch was definitely not a positive for the new fifth tier. If Edinburgh Uni can put an entry level ground together in an open playing field within a year, it clearly isn`t mission impossible for a club like Clydebank to do the same if they have cooperation and support from their local council. Beyond that I think HTG hit the nail on the head by pointing out that the powers that be in the SFA actually don`t want top junior clubs anywhere near the LL, so the whole junior vs senior argument is a bit pointless. Self-interest rules the roost over any forward-looking grand vision of the future of the nonleague portion of Scottish football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross. Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 This appears to be the site in question - it has two parks on it with the white building on the right as changing facilities. https://www.google.com/maps/@55.9255546,-4.3892073,422m/data=!3m1!1e3 It will need a lot of work for it to meet the Junior requirements - let alone the LL. A wall around it for starters. That is the site that has been earmarked, and from what I have heard regarding the plans I can't see it taking that long to get enough in place to meet junior or LL requirements. The over all work being done may take a bit longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cicero Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Seeing as you are apparently concerned about my welfare, I`ve been doing a lot of travelling recently, so have not been online that much. After I posted that statement, I did have a bit of a guilt trip fearing the worst. Glad to see you are okay even though I don't agree with most of what you write. It is good for a laugh though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaffenThinMint Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 If Edinburgh Uni can put an entry level ground together in an open playing field within a year, it clearly isn`t mission impossible for a club like Clydebank to do the same if they have cooperation and support from their local council. Except that Edinburgh Uni has the financial backing of, erm, a Uni! It does make a difference - a hell of a difference. Read about the saga of Team Bath and their whoose through the pyramid of England as a worked example of the sort of resources a major tertiary education establishment can chuck into its Sports wing with the right incentives. That is the site that has been earmarked, and from what I have heard regarding the plans I can't see it taking that long to get enough in place to meet junior or LL requirements. The over all work being done may take a bit longer. Another point to consider is that the amateur clubs using the two pitches (it will be impossible to disrupt only the one due to the shared changing facilities) may well object to being turfed out & try employing delaying tactics unless some sort of accommodation can be reached. It would be interesting if someone could come up with a compliance "shopping list" based on estimated costs of what creating a "licenced" ground from scratch would actually cost. Obviously with the building industry still not out of the recession, pricing is that bit cheaper for part of the work needing to be done, but I'm sure a workable estimate could be calculated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross. Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Another point to consider is that the amateur clubs using the two pitches (it will be impossible to disrupt only the one due to the shared changing facilities) may well object to being turfed out & try employing delaying tactics unless some sort of accommodation can be reached. It would be interesting if someone could come up with a compliance "shopping list" based on estimated costs of what creating a "licenced" ground from scratch would actually cost. Obviously with the building industry still not out of the recession, pricing is that bit cheaper for part of the work needing to be done, but I'm sure a workable estimate could be calculated. Not sure if anyone has the park booked as a regular thing. Been a long time since I played Saturday morning amateurs but when I did, we used those parks on the odd occasion but they were out of use more often than not due to issues with drainage which meant they were regularly waterlogged. They tended to be used on an ad hoc basis and were never block booked. That might have changed, but when I heard we were being offered this area as a prospective stadium I figured it was the council trying to get rid of 2 problems at the same time. As far as I know we would be looking at installing an artificial pitch. How that would work with the previous drainage issues I'm not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ex player Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 So is it going to b the same set-up as Clydebank rugby club and yoker juniors have the west Dunbartonshire council that the council own the land and rent it to the clubs for 25 years ?????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacGafraidh Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 any news on this? Are Clydebank preparing an application? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inthepink Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Just thought I'd give this a bump! Any more developments/news on Clydebank making the move to the LL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongTimeLurker Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 They probably still have a lot to do on getting a ground sorted out that would make it possible for them to get entry level licensing before there is any danger of them applying for one of the vacancies in the LL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaffenThinMint Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 On the new Clydebank ground saga there's now some interesting developments (excuse the pun): http://www.clydebankpost.co.uk/sport/football/articles/2015/02/11/524214-clydebank-ground-move-dream-takes-step-forward/ In order to avoid the inevitable local rag internet scrub in years to come, here's the main part of the text for future reference: Clydebank ground move dream takes step forward (Clydebank Post 11 Feb 2015) BANKIES fans may soon have the dream of their club realised after West Dunbartonshire Council agreed to a £500k grant towards a new stadium at Faifley Knowes. The revenue committed will amount to around half of the total required, with funding to be sought for the remainder over the next few months. The current plan is for the facility to have an astro-grass pitch. As well as being used as Clydebank’s home ground and training facility, it will be made available for use by the local community and act as a sports hub for the area. Club chairman Gordon Robertson was delighted with the news He said: “This is a really exciting announcement for Clydebank FC. “It represents a huge step towards our dream of having a place to call our own. “These are still early days but everything seems to be moving in the right direction. “West Dunbartonshire Council have been very supportive of the club. We believe that together we can create something special in the town.” Clydebank currently ground share with local rivals Yoker Athletic, playing their home ties at Holm Park. The club entered into an agreement at the start of the 2008/2009 season after five years at Drumchapel Amateurs’ Glenhead Park. The club currently have a consultant working on a business plan which will identify the best avenues for the project to achieve the second half of funding. It is expected that a business plan will be completed in the coming months and a schedule will be put in place for the summer. Club treasurer Bill Abraham believes the news is encouraging for the town and the club alike. He said: “We are delighted, we have been working with the council for months if not a year on this. We’ve had great support from West Dunbartonshire Council during that time “It will give the club a base in the community, all we have had is short term leases. This will give us stability, the plan is for a modern facility which the community will be able to use. “For a town the size of Clydebank the amount of all weather pitches is very small, so this would be a massive benefit for a lot of local clubs as well as Clydebank FC.” The move may well secure the club financially in the long term, saving them money on rent, bringing in money through the multi use of the pitch, whilst also making them a more attractive proposition for sponsors. Now for the very interesting part: Abraham believes the plans will mean a brighter future for the Bankies. He said: “Funding is hard, given the general economic climate, this would help massively. “I would certainly expect that it would put us on a sounder financial footing. “Potentially it could give us a better chance of becoming a licensed club and gaining entry into the Scottish League in the long term.” Reading between the lines - it seems that the long term plan (good, good, I like long term plans, they're such a rare delicacy in Scottish non-league football) is jumping ship to the Lowlands & going for the play offs. I can imagine a few more SPL3 clubs getting a little more nervous when that day comes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cicero Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Another 500k to raise???? How likely is that? To me it seems a huge amount for any non-league club to achieve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenISthecolour Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Whilst agreeing with the previous post 500k being a huge amount to raise, these plans don't suddenly appear, ie new stadium etc, obviously must have been under discussion for quite some time, so my question is, Has anyone been working on raising some funds towards it already? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surely not! Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Whilst agreeing with the previous post 500k being a huge amount to raise, these plans don't suddenly appear, ie new stadium etc, obviously must have been under discussion for quite some time, so my question is, Has anyone been working on raising some funds towards it already? Most of these grants are based around some for of funds match. The club will get the £500k if they can raise the same amount. I'd assume that Clydebank wouldn't have pursued the council offer ( they would most likely have had to ask for it rather than someone at the council offering it up) without having plans in place for the other £500k - and is most likely through a number of different grants and loans with a contribution through fundraising from the club. IIRC the spartans fundraising through the club was around 5% of all the money needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongTimeLurker Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Another 500k to raise???? How likely is that? To me it seems a huge amount for any non-league club to achieve. Maybe some on here need a reality check as to the size of club that Clydebank were in the not so distant past: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cicero Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Maybe some on here need a reality check as to the size of club that Clydebank were in the not so distant past: Ha Ha Ha so ironic. And in the more recent past I have no idea how much they have already raised. It is hard enough to raise funds to keep any Superleague club going on a weekly basis given the wages that they will have to pay never mind save half a million pounds. All I am saying is that 500k will be difficult to match fund for any club. Good luck to them in any case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongTimeLurker Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 A new mechanism is now in place for nonleague clubs to play their way into the SPFL. After over a decade of inactivity from West Dunbartonshire council on helping Clydebank get a new ground including times pre-credit crunch when there was a lot more money floating about in the public sector, they are now stating publicly that they are willing to sink a lot of money into this only a few months before the first ever pro/rel playoffs. Odds on this isn't being done with the superleague in mind and what flows from that is that people (including local politicians), who would not be interested in being involved with a superleague junior club, because they see it as very much second best to being a full-time club bouncing between the top two tiers, are now a lot more likely to come out of the woodwork to assist with something like this. Would have thought the obvious way for them to proceed is to find a way to use future 3G/4G pitch rental revenues and the whole concept of being a leisure hub for the surrounding community as a way to attract additional public and/or private sector finance in a similar manner to what Spartans did with Ainslie Park or East Stirling plan to do at Little Kerse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jute Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Maybe some on here need a reality check as to the size of club that Clydebank were in the not so distant past: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbUpvI8OVBY Never been as wet at a football match as I was that night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queenserse Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Is this story really true West Dunbartonshire have recently proposed cutting the school week an giving school kids sandwiches to save money but they have half a million to give to a football team? Am I going mad? Or (before somebody else says it) have I always been there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H Wragg Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Was there not a proposal for a stadium at Mountblow pitches as well? Where exactly in the Faifley is 'Faifley Knowes ? As said by others, good luck to The Bankies whatever happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross. Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Was there not a proposal for a stadium at Mountblow pitches as well? Where exactly in the Faifley is 'Faifley Knowes ? As said by others, good luck to The Bankies whatever happens. https://www.google.com/maps/@55.9255546,-4.3892073,422m/data=!3m1!1e3 Pretty much the end of Faifley, if you were on a 62 bus, or whatever number it is now that they have changed them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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