Club are ready to push ahead with stadium
PAUL THOMSON
East Kilbride FC have confirmed work on a new stadium will go ahead “as soon as we get back to some sort of normality.”
The 4000-seater development in Langlands will be built by local charity East Kilbride Community Trust and the Lowland League side will be the prominent tenant.
The stadium was first given the go-ahead by South Lanarkshire Council’s planning department in November 2017 when the development at Hurlawcrook Road was given permission in principle.
When EKCT first lodged their blueprint for a phased 4000-seater development, they had hoped to be operational by late 2018 with the stadium completed in its entirety by 2020.
After being hit by delays, East Kilbride FC have assured fans construction will get underway once lockdown measures are lifted.
East Kilbride Club secretary Dave McKenna told the club’s website: “The final plans have all been passed and approved.
“Timing is not great as we know, but we are hoping to make a start on it as soon as we got back to some sort of normality and we get the resources, the materials, the people, all the practical things.
“This stadium is definitely going ahead now.
“All along the Community Trust and the club have worked hand in hand. With the stadium being built with, and for, the Community Trust, it’s obviously for just more than East Kilbride FC.
“The plans are fantastic. There’s capacity for other sports and other uses of the stadium, so we will continue to work with Community Trust to provide this stadium.
“There’s 80,000 people in East Kilbride, a lot of them very young, so the need for these facilities is long standing.”
As well as catering for football, the stadium will house a multisports pitch, gym, a boxing ring, sports hall, a function suite and office space.
The function suite would be available for community use and private parties outwith matchdays, where it will be used as a corporate lounge.
The news comes a week after the club appointed a new management team. Stevie Aitken will manage the team alongside assistant Ian Durrant, the Rangers legend, and Aitken’s brother Chris.
Aitken said: “There’s a big project here, there’s a new stadium planned that would put a lot of clubs to shame. We just have to make sure we are in the right position at the right time for them to start building the stadium.
“They are desperate to start building it tomorrow, but it’s a step at a time.” East Kilbride play home matches at K-Park Training Academy, also operated by EKCT. It was opened in 2011 and has been EKFC’s base since their first Lowland League campaign in 2013.