Clyde secure deal to keep playing at Broadwood

FEARS over the future of Clyde have been allayed after the Irn-Bru First Division club reached a deal with their stadium owners.

Broadwood Stadium Company has accepted the terms of a new business agreement that will allow Clyde to continue using the Cumbernauld ground. The club had been facing eviction by the end of this month over a debt exceeding £140,000.

But the stadium company, which was set up by North Lanarkshire Council, accepted a repayment proposal from Clyde's board of directors yesterday.

The debt will be reduced by £40,000 immediately and the remainder will be paid in monthly instalments of £6,000 over the next 19 months.

Jim Logue, chairman of the Broadwood Stadium Company, said: "The board is delighted that we have finally been able to reach an agreement and that Clyde FC will continue to use our facilities. We have worked very hard throughout the last few months to reach an understanding based on a robust business plan that meets the stadium's financial criteria. This has now been presented by Clyde FC and accepted as feasible by both our legal advisors and accountants.

"As we made clear throughout these negotiations, there was no hidden agenda or desire to force Clyde FC to leave the stadium. We did, however, have a legal responsibility to ensure that Broadwood Stadium Company was not operating illegally by allowing Clyde's outstanding arrears to continue to spiral.

"We now look forward to working closely with Clyde FC and encouraging the team and supporters in the new season."

Clyde director John Alexander said: "We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Broadwood Stadium that allows the club continue playing at Cumbernauld."

There was further good news for the club as the Scottish Football Association offered hope that a B international would be staged at Broadwood next month. On Tuesday, the SFA announced Scotland B would no longer face Northern Ireland at Broadwood on 6 May because Clyde did not expect to be there at the time. But no new venue was arranged and the SFA is set to move the game back to Broadwood.

An SFA spokesman said: "We wanted the match to be at Broadwood, so if there's some sort of agreement that allows the game to go ahead then it would be our priority to make that happen. But, obviously, we would need to speak to all the parties concerned."