Fixtureat weekend

way to get Blantyre the all-weather playing pitch that it needs and with all the capital that the juniors had tied up in their stadium the only way to release it would be for them to sell and move premises.

“The plan is now for the juniors to sell the land and donate a contribution to Blantyre Victoria Community Club in order for us to build this stadium facility, and we have approached South Lanarkshire council for an asset transfer of the Stonefield football pitches located next to the public park.”

The Stonefield grass pitches are currently being used as the home parks for Blantyre Victoria Youth teams every season and have been for the last four years.

And the spokesperson added: “To our knowledge no other football teams have been booking these pitches, and without the Blantyre Victoria Youth teams they would lie empty at weekends as well as through the week. They are central to everything in Blantyre, easy to access and are a stone’s throw from the existing Blantyre Vics ground.

“The community club committee will run the new facility which will be used not only by the juniors and the youth of Blantyre Victoria but also the community of Blantyre, local organisations and the general public.

“These plans are in the preliminary stage and are all subject to change. At this stage it’s only an idea and there is still a great deal of work to do to find out if the project is achievable.

“We hope the people of Blantyre and surrounding areas will get behind this project and give us their backing, however we appreciate everyone has their own opinions and we aim to listen to everyone.”

At the meeting it was also outlined that further immediate benefits to Blantyre through the asset transfer and stadium build would include employment opportunities; mental health workshops; family fun days; education classes; coffee mornings; disability football; school tournaments; public hire; holiday programmes; a community cafe and more.

Further community consultations are set to take place in the coming months, with Blantyre Victoria Community Club urging people to go along. Junior football side Blantyre Vics will host Arthurlie at the KG Stadium this Saturday, August 17.

The West Region Championship League match will kick off at 2pm at the stadium on Forest Street, Blantyre. Entry is £6 or £3 concessions.