Scarborough FC facing sorry exit

9:54am Tuesday 12th June 2007

SCARBOROUGH Football Club's hopes of survival look to have all but disappeared with 128 years of history set to be ended at Leeds High Court today.

The Seadogs face a winding-up order with club secretary Derek Megginson admitting the club will be liquidated unless there are "major developments".

The future looks bleak for the Seamer Road-based club after Scarborough Borough Council rejected the club's plans to relocate to a new stadium on an industrial estate.

Reversing a cabinet decision in January allowing the lifting under certain conditions of the covenant on the McCain Stadium - restricting its development to leisure use only - the authority has decided not to put the Seadogs' proposal to council members for ratification.

A statement on the club's website stated: "Without this the club faces liquidation. The council have indicated that they will consider exercising their rights to buy the ground and this should allow the club to move back to the McCain Stadium at some stage."

The Seasiders need to sell the ground to pay off pressing debts. Megginson said the club had a buyer who would have allowed them to do that as well as having enough cash left to build the new ground.

But the council are concerned with the proposals brought before them.

Club chairman Ian Scobbie has contacted both The Supporters' Club and The Seadog Trust asking that, in the event that the club is liquidated, discussions take place quickly to discuss the constitution of a new company.

Following consultation with the FA and relevant leagues, Scarborough were asked to submit an application to join the Northern East Counties League as a new company but, as of Friday, had not done that yet.

Megginson said: "The club will be liquidated today unless there are major developments.

"We are preparing for the worst, while being hopeful for the best.

"The borough council has said it is not happy that there will be enough in the pot to build a ground to satisfy their standards and they are not going to ratify it and lift the covenant on the McCain Stadium.

"We have had a CVA (Company Voluntary Arrangement) but we can't stay in it forever.

"We still have a buyer who will pay enough money up front to pay all the debts and make another payment to allow the new ground to be built.

"It was all looking good. I can understand the council wanting to safeguard the stadium as a leisure facility but it would seem this decision would have the opposite effect.

"It would be a crying shame if the club was liquidated."

Council's NO'

Ian Anderson, Scarborough Borough Council's head of legal services, said: "On June 1 the council's Monitoring Officer was requested by the chairman of Scarborough FC to arrange a meeting of full Council on June 11 to consider the absolute and unconditional removal of the restrictive covenants on the land in favour of Scarborough Council together with the council's right of re-purchase of the land.

"Subsequent communications made clear that even if the council was to agree to this proposal, the company and hence the club would not necessarily be saved from liquidation on June 12.

"Following consultation with the group leaders appointed by full council to advise it in relation to this matter, it was determined that no meeting would be arranged."