Gray reassures youth teams over pitch plans

Mar 13 2008

HAMILTON Accies vice-chairman Les Gray this week insisted the club’s youth football programme won’t be affected if they put down a grass pitch.

Assurances have been lodged with the SFA and SPL that a grass pitch with undersoil heating be installed at New Douglas Park, should Accies win promotion this season.

But Les says some of the revolutionary ‘Fieldturf’ surface could be placed at the far end of the stadium, behind the goal at the ‘Sainsbury’s end’, to the right of the main stand.

The programme could also be utilised in schools, according to Gray, with between six and eight schools benefiting.

But he also said long-term plans are in place for Hamilton to create their own football academy, using income generated from SPL football.

Les, who is head of the hugely successful youth development at Accies, said: “Lifting the synthetic surface won’t impact on the football programme at all – there’s a large ‘footprint’ behind the goal at the ‘Sainsbury’s end’ where we could put part of the Fieldturf surface down and create a few seven-a-side pitches or something like that.

“At the moment we can cater for about 500 kids a week, and those pitches at the end of the park could easily cope with that.

“We’re in talks with the council and education department to take the community programme into schools.

“We may also lease pitches to schools, which would allow us to expand it into different areas that we haven’t been to before, like Larkhall.

“The only disappointment would be that the focal point is no longer the stadium.”

Les added: “We won’t be able to say until we know for sure that we’re going to the SPL or not, but plans are in place to continue and drive things forward.

“We have proposals in with the council and, should a tenant approach us and ask for an office block at that end, we would accommodate the football programme with an indoor pitch, or pitches alongside the building.

“We also have long-term plans to have our own academy with synthetic surfaces, which would be paid for with the income that the SPL would bring.”