Cordon tackles pitch invasion fears at club

GLENROTHES: Strollers Football Club granted alcohol licence

A Fife community football club has been allowed to serve alcohol after concerns about fans storming the pitch were tackled.

Glenrothes Strollers Football Club addressed police fears about potential pitch invasions by introducing a rope barrier around the outdoor seating area at its pavilion in Over Stenton Park.

At a Fife Licensing Board meeting, Sergeant Gordon Hood from Police Scotland confirmed the barrier would be sufficient, and the club was granted a licence to sell alcohol on the premises.

The move is a boost for the Strollers, who plan to use the café area to hold fundraising events.

Mr Hood earlier told the meeting: “Alcohol at sporting events gives the chief constable a cause for concern.

“The outdoor drinking area does not have any barrier and leads directly on to the pitch.”

Licensing consultant Janet Hood told councillors: “We’re not talking about Rangers and Celtic football matches, where people might be rushing on to the pitch.”

She added: “There are only 30 people allowed on to the veranda at one time.

“There’s 12ft from that barrier to the pitch side, and that would act to answer police concerns about people rushing on to the pitch, but I’m grateful to Sgt Hood for pointing out that may be an issue.”

Glenrothes Strollers FC opened its new £733,000 pavilion in March, having expanded membership in recent years.

The club runs a wide range of teams, including groups for girls, adults and players with learning disabilities.

However, its future was called into question due to a design issue at the new pavilion. The facility has no fire hydrant and is running under a temporary occupancy licence while the club tries to find £27,000 to rectify the problem.

Club secretary Brian Gibson said the situation was “in hand”.

He welcomed the licensing board’s decision.

“We have a fantastic building that nobody can believe we put up with the funding that we received for it,” he said.

“Everybody is saying what a fantastic venue we’ve got here, and we’re planning to make the space available for the community at large, and make a real success of it.”

Tenant licensee Grant MacNicol said he had no issues with the conditions imposed, which included the cordon and the use of plastic glasses outside.

“We had already planned to do that,” he said.

“It means there can be a lot more fundraising for the club. It means we can put on events from the café, so it is also an events space.”

Everybody is saying what a fantastic venue we’ve got here, and we’re planning to make the space available for the community at large. BRIAN GIBSON

Picture: Sarah Burns. Glenrothes Strollers have been granted a licence to sell alcohol at their pavilion.