Clyde announce intention to return to east end of Glasgow

Clyde have announced their intention to return to the east end of Glasgow.

The Scottish League One club are ground sharing with Championship side Hamilton this season after leaving Broadwood in Cumbernauld at the end of the 2021-22 campaign.

Clyde issued a statement on their official website which outlined as a “clear front runner”, a current sports complex on the Gallowgate, “less than a mile from the club’s first grounds of Barrowfield and then Shawfield” and will now look for backing from “the hundreds of supporters who own the club.”

The statement continued: “The current sports complex at Crownpoint represents an historic opportunity to embed Clyde Football Club back in the heart of the very community which gave birth to it 145 years ago.

“The complex is currently owned by Glasgow City Council, and a proposal for a Community Asset Transfer has now been submitted.

“This marks the formal launch of a bid which we hope will culminate in the club relocating to a new stadium on the site.

“Prior to the submission, we have held talks with non-football parties as the site includes a premium athletics facility – which we are fully committed to maintain in partnership with current users.

“As yet, it has not been practical to approach every user of the site, but we will be offering the same commitment to protect and develop whatever assets we are able to secure for the ongoing benefit of each organisation which has a stake in its future.

“For our own supporters, the focus will be on the southern section of the site which currently houses a 4G pitch and a range of smaller all-weather facilities.

“Recently commissioned architect’s drawings have confirmed there are a range of options to accommodate a stadium sufficient for our current needs and flexible enough to grow with our aspirations in the future without impacting on the facilities throughout the rest of the site, or indeed on the surrounding area.

“However, it is important to stress that this may be a competitive process and that, rightly, the wishes of the community around the complex will be a paramount consideration for the local authority.

“Throughout the coming weeks and months, we will be developing a proposition in consultation with our own supporters, who will ultimately have the final say on whether the club pursues this opportunity.

“This proposition needs to be mutually advantageous so, simultaneously, we will be reaching out to representatives and organisations in the local community for whom we hope to develop the site to its full potential.”

“The prospect of Clyde moving to Crownpoint is, of course, not entirely new,” the statement continued.

“Many will be aware that our interest in the location dates back to before 2017, and it may be reassuring that a fresh study (which has been entirely independent of the original effort) has come to the same conclusion about the most suitable location for our new home.

“We have examined and enquired about many sites spread across a substantial geographic area in and around the east of the city.

“It is fortuitous that Crownpoint is as close as it is to Shawfield, but it is more important that it ranked so highly in the crucial aspects of accessibility, situation in an area undergoing rapid regeneration and, most importantly, the potential of the site to support a resurgent football club in a thriving community hub.

“The board will now consider means of consulting with supporters on an emerging proposal. All supporters are reminded that the constitution of the club places ownership in the hands of paid up subscribers to the Community Interest Company.

“Although we are committed to engaging with as many supporters as we can, those who are owners will make the final call.

“So we would urge lapsed members to re-join and potential new members to sign up now.

“There really never has been a more pivotal time to have your say on the future of your club.”