SPARTANS general secretary Colin Hutchison, who is overseeing the development of the club's brand new state-of-the-art facilities at Ainslie Park, has a strong message for the 29 SFL chairmen who will be voting to include a new member club in their set-up on Thursday.
"Although our facilities are not yet operational, they soon will be and I encourage these 29 chairmen to take a long-term view on Spartans' application," stressed Hutchison.
Spartans, along with Cove Rangers from the Highland League and other East
of Scotland League hopefuls Annan Athletic, Edinburgh City and Preston Athletic, are optimistic that their park and dressing rooms will be ready for use by mid-September.
Hutchison continued: "I was taken aback by the weekend press which suggested that an SFL document allegedly scored us nil points on our facilities. I was very surprised because although there is work in progress, we fully expect it to be completed by September 13.
"Everybody who visits Ainslie Park is hit by the wow factor. We have been canvassing the 29 SFL member clubs and have been encouraged by the fact that the scoring is not everything and that the long-term view is much more important."
The new stadium meets all of the licence requirements for SFL Division Three membership including a grass football pitch with an initial capacity of 2400, a large synthetic football pitch, six changing rooms, a physiotherapy centre along with coach and car parking. Sam Lynch, Spartans' joint manager for the past 14 years, is also keen that his side is given the opportunity to play in the SFL. "As a club we are all very excited about the possibility of being in membership of the SFL," said Lynch. "Edinburgh can easily cope with having a club in the SFL and at Spartans we already have a fan base. There are currently over 500 young people involved with Spartans and we have been talking to all of the local schools.
"There is a huge potential for Spartans and the players we currently have plus others who we have waiting in the wings would make us a valuable addition to the SFL. We started pre-season training two weeks ago to ensure that everyone is in top condition. The big question being asked is can Spartans really compete at this level and my answer is simple – I know we can.
"We think that what we have to offer are definitely the best facilities and we are determined to convince the SFL chairmen the benefits of having Spartans as members. We would raise the standards and enhance the SFL."
Spartans have qualified for the last 16 of the Scottish Cup on two occasions in the past few years and have had two sell-out crowds of 3,500 at their current City Park ground. They also took nearly 1,000 supporters to St Mirren for their Scottish Cup replay while 400 travelled to both Alloa and Arbroath.
Mike Lawson, the other half of the management team, is also hoping for another crack at managing an SFL team, having previously been in charge of both Meadowbank Thistle and Arbroath. "We have not seen the documents which the SFL have sent out to their 29 member clubs, so it is difficult to comment on whether we allegedly scored no points for our facilities," said Lawson. "When the facilities are completed in September they will definitely be the best and we just have to convince these 29 clubs that that is the case. The fact that we might have to play a few games on another park early in the season should be irrelevant.
"We trust that the 29 voting chairmen will look at the bigger long-term picture. We will grow as a club and we just need these chairmen to give us the opportunity to prove it. We can definitely add something to the SFL, and Edinburgh, as a city, is crying out for an SFL team.
"The football landscape in Edinburgh is completely different from the situation in 1974 when Ferranti Thistle were voted into the Scottish League. Families will come to watch Spartans on a Saturday when Hibs and Hearts are not playing."
Stewart Fowlie, the Spartans captain, added: "We have a true involvement with the community in north Edinburgh and our first team players regularly referee youngsters' games. These are the aspects of our bid which should be celebrated and I sincerely hope that this carries currency with the 29 clubs who will be voting.
"As a player, playing for Spartans in the SFL would be the cherry on the cake. All of us have a real desire to play in the Third Division. Spartans FC has been around for 57 years and a few months' delay are sacrifices worth making by the SFL member clubs."
Spartans and the four other clubs will learn their fate on Thursday when the first club to achieve 15 votes will take their place in the SFL.
The full article contains 842 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
