Scarborough May Survive - 15/04/2007

Former Football League club Scarborough FC could yet be rescued from closure even though they are still facing a compulsory winding-up order. The club were expelled from the Conference last season after going into administration for a third time and placed in Conference North with a ten point penalty which was introduced to stop clubs using administration as a reorganisation device to recover from over spending. They are now fighting relegation to the third level of the non-league pyramid, in their case the Unibond. They have debts of £2.1m, with the Inland Revenue and HSBC Bank being principal creditors, and administrators are petitioning to force the club to close because it was unable to meet the terms of a Company Voluntary Arrangement. However, Scarborough chairman Ian Scobbie has stated, 'We have finalised with a local developer the terms of an agreement to dispose of the McCain Stadium site. This releases funds to repay creditors and thus to secure the immediate future of the football club.' The plan is to build a new, smaller stadium on the outskirts of Scarborough. The club offers an example of promotion to the Football League undermining a team that could probably function better at Conference level. Scarborough is a reasonably sized town, but it probably contains many people who have historic allegiances to other clubs or are supporters of major northern clubs such as Manchester United or Leeds.