The sale of one of Ayr’s prime sports venues will see a major shake-up for football and rugby in the town.
Council chiefs agreed the sale of Dam Park last week to Ayr Rugby Club in a move which will see Whitletts Victoria returning to their home patch with the club set to lease Voluntary Park from the local authority.
Vics will grace the pitch at Whitletts for the first time in 11 years whilst Dam Park will become the new home for Ayr’s future rugby stars.
The rugby club will have Dam Park as a new facility to grow Ayr’s future stars of the game as they are set to launch ambitious plans for their Millbrae home ground.
Ayr Seaforth Athletics will also move from Dam Park to a new multi-million pound facility in Craigie with work commencing last summer.
For West of Scotland Football League Conference A outfit Vics, the move will come as a huge boost with plans to transform the current all-weather pitches on Glenmuir Place and renovate facilities.
And Vics have revealed the move could see the Scottish Cup brought to North Ayr as they bid to revamp facilities ahead of their long-awaited homecoming.
In a statement, club spokesman John Dalton said: "Now the club can really start to plan the next stage of its development with the redevelopment of the former pavilion into a new clubhouse and bringing the facilities up to a standard that will be suitable not only for the club to play matches in the West of Scotland Football League, but also help the club achieve its goal of becoming a full member of the Scottish Football Association and playing in the Scottish Cup.”
Plans include transforming the current pavilion at the Whitletts all-weather pitches into a new clubhouse and creating a sheltered standing area for fans.
The move back home will also continue the great work seen by the club’s charity, Vics in the Community, who are set to take on the running of the football facility on a long-term lease, running all its activities from the park – including youth football.
Since forming in 2018, the charity has given back to the community, supporting residents through the Covid crisis by delivering 10,000 meals and are continuing to help during the current cost of living crisis.
Vice-president Brian Williamson of Ayr Rugby Club said: “Ayr Rugby is delighted with the acquisition of Dam Park as an additional playing facility.
“This news will come alongside the existing plans to redevelop Millbrae and puts the club in a fruitful position.
“This is a great boost for both the club and the local area.”
A spokesperson for South Ayrshire Council said: “We’ve agreed to sell Dam Park Stadium to Ayr Rugby Club. This is brilliant for local rugby, as the club will now expand its youth section hopefully developing some future stars.
“Ayr Seaforth Athletics Club will move to the new sports facility that’s being built at Craigie Park, while Whitletts Vics FC will relocate to Voluntary Park at Glenmuir Place.
“We’ll lease the all-weather pitch at Voluntary Park to Vics in the Community, allowing them to grow football locally. The changing pavilion will be included in the lease, so the group can upgrade it and expand their work to improve lives on and off the pitch.”
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