Boro Breakthrough As Brid Groundshare Approved

Scarborough Athletic's groundshare at Bridlington Town has officially been agreed by both the National League and the Northern Premier League.

The NPL administer Brid's NPL East division, while two leagues up, are Boro in National North.

Scarborough Athletic are in need of a base while work is completed on their Scarborough Sports Village home for most of next season.

The news has been seen as a breakthrough for both clubs, with Boro's Board of Directors releasing the following statement:

'We are firstly delighted to share with you the good news that our proposed ground share agreement with Bridlington Town AFC has now been formally approved by both the National League and the Northern Premier League who we thank for their cooperation throughout.

We would also like to place on record our huge gratitude to Chairman Dan Rogers, CEO Gavin Branton and everyone at Bridlington Town for their fantastic help and support in making this possible.

Our next challenge is to get the Mounting Systems Stadium Step 2 compliant by the end of July. We are working closely with the Football Foundation to identify and progress the work needed to meet ground grading requirements. We are pleased to inform you that we have a plan in place to ensure this is completed within the required timescale and that some of the physical work will commence in the coming week.

Whilst there is a lot of activity being undertaken and these updates are aimed to inform as much as possible we do realise that there is much more to consider and that supporters and stakeholders may well wish to seek clarity on other matters associated with our current situation. To try and promote ongoing dialogue it is our intention to hold an open meeting at which we would encourage attendance from anyone with interest in our football club. The meeting will take place at 7pm on Wednesday 4th June in the marquee at Scarborough Cricket Club with doors and bar open from 6pm and all are welcome.

We are also delighted and hugely grateful to all the Seadogs that have already purchased Season Tickets for next season and/or signed up to our "No Battle No Victory" fund.

Now that we have the clarity required that we will be starting the season in Bridlington we would once again encourage supporters to purchase their Season Tickets as soon as they are able to assist us with our ongoing financial planning.

Finally, whilst we appreciate that everybody's circumstances are different, we cannot overstate the importance of joining our "No Battle No Victory" fund to minimise the financial impact that our time away from the SSV has on our football club. You can sign up here: https://pay.gocardless.com/BRT0003W9RM4099.'

Daniel Rogers, Bridlington Town chairman said:

“We are delighted to welcome back our long-standing friends from Scarborough Athletic to the Mounting Systems Stadium. Football is one big community and only thrives if all clubs in it succeed and we are pleased to offer to share our home with Scarborough Athletic at no cost to them, to help out during this difficult period.

I hope that Scarborough fans will feel back at home in Bridlington and come out in full force on match days. Now ratified by the leagues, we look forward to hosting Scarborough Athletic for the 2025/26 season and wish them all the best for their campaign ahead – but not before we give them a run for their money in our pre-season friendly on Tuesday 15th July.”

Gavin Branton, Bridlington Town CEO added:

“It is an absolute pleasure to help our old friends at Scarborough Athletic during this difficult time which they have had no control over.

I remember many years ago in 2007 attending a meeting at Scarborough with Pete Smurthwaite and the then Scarborough Athletic committee to help give birth to the club and offer a home for North East Counties football.

The club has had great success since then and I’m sure will continue to move forward after these present issues. In the meantime we are very happy to help.

As Dan has said in his statement- we will not be charging for use of the stadium. Goodwill and helping out old friends is priceless.

A lot of hard work has been going on behind the scenes over the past few weeks to come up with solutions to various problems, but we have a way forward and have had positive outcomes so far.

We have worked excellently as a team and are now in a position to make this announcement. A massive well done to all the Scarborough directors – it has been a pleasure working with you to get to this stage.

Finally, all I ask of the Scarborough faithful is use The Mounting Systems Stadium as your own during your stay. Support your club in numbers and I wish you every success for the season. I look forward to seeing many old friends in the coming season.

Onwards and Upwards – No Battle no Victory.”