Work will begin on the construction of Ayr United's new North Stand within the next three weeks.
Diggers are to move in on Monday, June 19 with club chiefs beginning the year-long transformation of the site as part of an ambitious seven figure investment at Somerset Park.
The development will see the entire north bank terracing taken out of use for season 2023/24 while work is carried out. Club chairman David Smith said today that fans will see a "facility they can be proud of" appearing before their eyes over the coming 12 months.
Smith himself has pledged to play a hands-on role - returning to his roots to contract manage the development. He told the Ayrshire Post: "It's what I do and I can't wait to get in there and get started. This will be a very visual project for the supporters as the year progresses.
"They will literally get to see the new stand built before their eyes and it will be a tremendously exciting period in the club's history. I first envisaged this many years ago - just scribbling drawings on a piece of paper myself - so to finally be at the point we're now starting work is fantastic.
"It will be a landmark moment when that first digger goes in and from then we set about creating something that the whole club and town can be proud of."
More than £2 million is being invested into the project which will see the iconic terracing remain, along with 700 seats built as part of a new hybrid facility. Elsewhere within the stand, a new hospitality suite will be the envy of the league, Smith insists.
"It will be amongst the best hospitality offerings in the Championship," he said. "We have been very clear all along that improving the fan experience is the top priority with this development. Since announcing the project a long time ago, there have been some pretty major cost implications associated with it, but getting that fan experience right is something we will not compromise on."
Phase one of the development will see the new stand, hospitality suite and offices built over the coming year. Further phases will allow for the addition of a business club, extra offices and facilities such as a sensory room. Smith added: "The phasing also gives us flexibility on future ideas and other potential income streams."
He explained: "A site investigation revealed some very challenging environmental conditions of the ground beneath the stand, so that means a number of extra things that we have to do to prepare the site, including piling and ground remediation, which has greatly increased the overall cost of the project.
"Allied to the hyper-inflation experienced during the last year or so, it's provided a fairly substantial financial hurdle. Every site I work on with my own business has those same challenges at the moment. But we have prepared a plan to overcome that and we can't wait to get underway now."
Smith added: "The support we've had from South Ayrshire Council has been great, and the work done by our design teams at Denham Youd and Clancy Consulting has been out of this world. We have a lot of local people working on this project and it's going to be one that the community can be properly invested in as we move along."
Meanwhile, the club will also make a substantial five figure investment in overhauling the Somerset pitch this pre-season. Smith revealed: "We've discovered issues with a layer of thatch beneath the surface which was retaining water, so the whole thing will be ripped up.
"We have hundreds of tonnes of new soil and sand coming in - Somerset will be a busy old place this summer. The pitch will effectively be built up again from scratch. It is badly needed and will hopefully make a big difference."
