The crumbling wooden main stand at the club's Grant Park has been flattened as the £40,000 appeal to replace it with a modern 150-seat stand gathers momentum.

Committee stalwarts and fans volunteered their time last weekend to pull down the stand, which has been patched up beyond repair in recent years.

Long-serving secretary Alan McIntosh is excited at the boost a new stand would give the club which lives a hand-to-mouth existence.

He has already sold almost half of 100 seats-for-life in the new stand to supporters at £100-a-seat.

The club has a pre-season friendly lined up against old rivals Elgin City on July 11 and are selling corporate hospitality packages to give the fund a boost.

And Sky Sports presenter Gary Imlach, son of former Lossiemouth and Scotland international Stuart Imlach, will attend a sportsman's dinner in November to help raise funds for the new stand.

A funding bid to the Scottish Football Partnership for up to 60% of the cost of the project will be submitted in the next few weeks.

"The stand went up in the early 1950s and we think the seats came from either Urquhart Parish Church or Garmouth Parish Church."

In its day, it could have accommodated up to 300 people but that number in recent years might have been enough to bring it down, given its rickety state.

A mobile phone, baseball bat and burberry scarf were the main items discovered underneath the stand when it was demolished.

"I have never known the ground without the stand but it was well past its sell-by-date. We're looking forward now to getting the new stand up.

Standing room only...There will be no bums on seats at Lossiemouth's Grant Park for a few months after the crumbling main stand was demolished last weekend. Club secretary Alan McIntosh and volunteer helpers made light work of flattening the eyesore. NS

"We did well getting it down over the weekend and I would like to thank those who helped. We will get it cleared away this weekend ready for the concrete base to go in.

"If the fundraising goes well we could have it up in time for Christmas. Once the concrete padding is in place it can be assembled in three days," added McIntosh.

The club will buy new dug-outs to replace the old concrete ones which were part of the former stand.

With manager Charlie Charlesworth continuing a solid rebuilding job on the playing squad, a new stand would complement his work perfectly.

"It is exciting times at Lossiemouth," said McIntosh, "it is just a pity that we don't have more committee members."

Lossiemouth have been operating without a chairman or vice-chairman for about a year and McIntosh is the driving force behind the club.

The club has strong support from the local business community, but it is still an uphill struggle to stay afloat.

Their annual sportsman's dinner on June 20, when former Leeds and Scotland international Eddie Gray will be the main speaker, is one of its main fundraising events.

Anyone who would like to support the club as it builds for the future can contact McIntosh on 07890 749 053.

Meanwhile, Lossiemouth's ground improvements this week came at the same time as Highland League newboys Strathspey Thistle were given council planning permission to implement their own ground upgrading to meet league entry requirements.

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

Bookmark this

---