Scarborough Athletic Eyeing Bridlington Ground Share Amidst Pitch Problems

Scarborough Athletic Football Club is actively pursuing a temporary ground share arrangement in Bridlington as issues with the artificial pitch at Scarborough Sports Village necessitate a move away from their usual home for the start of next season.

The club's board have today provided an update on the situation following discussions with North Yorkshire Council and industry experts.

According to a statement from the Board of Directors, a meeting was held with senior representatives of North Yorkshire Council, who underlined their commitment to the club's long-term future in the town. The council gave a clear pledge to deal with the issues uncovered at the stadium and are in discussion with the original contractors, who are reportedly supportive of resolving the problems quickly. However, the scale of the issues means the process will take time, requiring the club to play home fixtures elsewhere for a period. Every effort is being made to reduce the duration of this required absence.

Discussions also took place between the club and council regarding other potential support while the team is unable to play at Scarborough Sports Village. Club officials, alongside council representatives and playing surface industry experts, attended an on-site meeting to explore extending the lifespan of the current pitch through remedial work. Unfortunately, it is the view of both the industry experts present and a potential independent certifying Testing House that this option is not considered viable, as the surface would fail the relevant FIFA test.

With returning to Scarborough Sports Village not possible in the short term, the club has been exploring possible ground share venues. Initial exploratory conversations were held with Scarborough RUFC in an attempt to secure a venue in the town, but both parties agreed this would be impracticable within the allowed timescales. Trevor Bull, the club's Chairman, explained that the logistics and the amount of work required to convert the rugby ground into a Step Two football stadium in the available two and a half months would have been "absolutely impossible". He expressed appreciation for the support from the rugby club and the cricket club.

The club has therefore moved to find a workable ground share option as close to Scarborough as possible. They have spoken to representatives from a number of venues, all willing to explore sharing their grounds. Scarborough Athletic can now confirm they are actively pursuing a ground share arrangement at The Mounting Systems Stadium, home of Bridlington Town AFC.

Mr Bull stated that the club has had "very positive discussions" with Bridlington Town. The Bridlington ground is familiar to many Scarborough Athletic supporters, having been their home for ten years before the move to Scarborough in 2017. Mr Bull highlighted that Bridlington Town have been "absolutely unbelievably helpful" and are "bending over backwards" to assist, looking forward to renewing their partnership. He also noted that the Bridlington ground has seen significant improvements since Scarborough Athletic last played there, particularly the clubhouse, bar, and outside beer garden.

The proposed arrangement at Bridlington is subject to a number of approvals. Both clubs are working closely with The National League, The Northern Premier League, and the Football Foundation to address the practical, financial, and governance challenges needed to achieve a compliant ground share arrangement in time for the start of next season. A key challenge highlighted is the deadline of the end of July to have a Step Two compliant ground, leaving about two and a half months to complete necessary work.

Mr Bull confirmed that the club knows "exactly what needs to be done" at the Bridlington ground to bring it up to standard. Significant work is required, with notable items including three additional turnstiles and associated works, and more toilets. The club is working with the Football Foundation, who are in charge of ground grading, to understand the exact requirements. Plans are currently being drawn up and costed for these necessary additions. They are also exploring potential funding assistance from the Football Foundation.

The club faces significant financial challenges due to the move, as their business plan is centred around playing at Scarborough Sports Village, generating revenue through advertising, bars, catering, and other streams, which will be lost. Mr Bull stressed the need to regenerate income streams and raise money. Season tickets and sponsorships are a "massive part of that". The club plans to get season tickets on sale quickly and will be talking to sponsors. They will also be organising fundraising activities over the summer and encouraging fans to buy merchandise, such as shirts.

Mr Bull acknowledged the travel distance to Bridlington (about 17 miles from Scarborough Sports Village to Queens Gate, making it a roughly 35-mile round trip). While anticipating a potential "hit on the gates" regarding attendance, he emphasised the need to think of other ways to bring money in and explore ways to help fans get to games, possibly arranging transport. His main message to fans is the critical need for their support to make the ground share work and keep the club alive. He urged fans to buy season tickets early, continue sponsorships, support fundraising activities, and most importantly, attend matches in Bridlington.

The club board acknowledged the relentless work currently being undertaken by a small group of people balancing these tasks with their day jobs. They expressed satisfaction with the progress made so far and a real commitment from everyone involved to see the situation through. The ultimate aim is to get as many people as possible to Bridlington for matches and then wait for North Yorkshire Council to complete the works at Scarborough Sports Village to facilitate a return home. Mr Bull concluded that the number one priority has been securing the future of the football club, and he is now confident they "will have a football club" next season.

Trevor spoke to This is the Coast's Paddy Billington

You can hear the full interview with Trevor in the latest edition of the Seadogs Podcast

Here is the full statement from the club's board.

Board Update – 9th May 2025

Now that the season has ended on the pitch it is as important as ever that we keep everyone informed on progress relating to the pitch replacement project and we are now able to provide the following updates:

Last week a meeting was held between members of the board and senior representatives of North Yorkshire Council where the council were keen to underline their commitment to working together to ensure our long-term future in the town.
In the meeting the council made the following points:

• They gave a clear pledge to deal with the issues which have been uncovered and are already in discussion with the original contractors, who during initial conversations are also supportive of resolving the issues as quickly as possible.
• That given the scale of the issues uncovered at the stadium this process will take time, but every effort is being made to reduce the period that the club may be required to play home fixtures away from Scarborough Sports Village.      
• That they are clearly committed to seeing this through with the least possible disruption to everyone connected with our club.

Discussions also took place between the club and the council on what other appropriate support may be available from them while we are unable to play at Scarborough Sports Village.

Club Officials also attended a separate on-site meeting at the stadium with council representatives and playing surface industry experts where the club expressed a strong desire to explore the possibility that, with some potential remedial work, the lifespan of the current pitch could be extended.  

Unfortunately, we have now been informed that it is the view of both the industry experts present and the potential independent certifying Testing House that this option is not considered viable and the surface would now fail the relevant FIFA test.

Away from the SSV we have also been exploring possible ground share venues along with the Football Foundation to gain a full understanding of the ground grading requirements that apply to anywhere we would like to ground share and importantly understand what work is required.

We can confirm that we originally approached Scarborough RUFC to try and secure a venue in the town but following initial exploratory conversations both parties have agreed that this would be impracticable in the timescales allowed and we thank the Rugby Club for their time and consideration in this matter.

We have therefore moved forward quickly to find a potentially workable groundshare option as close to the town as possible and have spoken to representatives from a number of venues who have all been willing to explore sharing their homes with us.
The club can now confirm that we are actively pursuing the possibility of a ground share arrangement at The Mounting Systems Stadium, home of Bridlington Town AFC.

The arrangement would be subject to a number of approvals and both clubs are now working closely with The National League, The Northern Premier League and the Football Foundation to explore the practical, financial and governance challenges that we will both need to overcome to achieve a compliant ground share arrangement in time for the start of next season.

It is a ground that our supporters know well having spent ten challenging but enjoyable years with them in the past and we are extremely grateful to Bridlington Town for their warm welcome, ongoing collaboration and assistance.

We will continue to update you as the situation develops and once we have further clarity we will be reaching out to seek the help that we need to ensure that we are able to meet this challenge and move forward together.

The Board of Directors,
Scarborough Athletic Football Club