The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Lichties looking to improve from the ground upwards
Arbroath chairman Mike Caird has outlined key upgrades the club has made to Gayfield to meet Premiership criteria.
Work has been ongoing throughout the summer to improve the Lichties’ home ground.
In April, the club demolished the historic wall at the stadium entrance. New offices and turnstiles are being constructed in its place to present a more modern look.
There have also been changes made inside Gayfield which may not be as immediately obvious to supporters.
And should Arbroath go one better than last season and gain promotion to the Premiership, they will do so with a top-flight-ready ground. “In pre-season, a lot of supporters think you put your feet up for a few weeks and start again,” Caird explained.
“This is when we do all of our work.
“As you could see since the last game of the season, the new-build is coming on well.
“The turnstiles are coming in the next couple of weeks and the outside is almost finished.
“There is also work going on inside the ground for our supporters as well.
“We are putting in new seats.
“We are upgrading our floodlights as well. That’s necessary due to the regulations for playing in the Championship or, if we were lucky enough, in the Premiership.
“The levels dipped just below what we need, so in the next few weeks the bulbs will be replaced on the floodlights with LEDs.
“There are other things that are going on in the ground that supporters will see when they arrive at the first cup game of the season.”
As well as improving the ground to meet certain standards, the club is also looking to improve the matchday experience for supporters.
Changes include improving the seating to create a sheltered family zone, where young fans can meet their heroes prior to games without being soaked by the rain.
The last match of the season saw 5,154 pack into Gayfield, the highest attendance in a decade.
Club chiefs are hoping that becomes the norm and are determined to make the stadium a more comfortable place to watch football.
“We need to improve the ground,” Caird insisted as part of the programme to boost the crowds.
“We desperately want to improve the players, which we will do, but you’ve got to maintain the structure of the ground.
“As chairman, and as directors, that’s what we’re determined to do; make it a better experience for supporters.
“We had over 5,000 at the last game of the season and handled that well.
“We want to continue having big number of supporters coming to the club so we want to make the ground as safe and as comfortable as we can.”