No one is more upset about the club having to leave Hamilton than I am. I was brought up in the town, attended Hamilton Academy, played in the youth set-up, and have supported the team all my life. Any harm to local businesses or damage to the community in any way by the club’s relocation is something I would bitterly regret.
But the board was left with absolutely no option. It became impossible to stay at New Douglas Park, and there is no other location at the moment available in the town which could house the club at this time. We tried for many months to purchase the company which owns the stadium, which was the seller’s preferred method of completing the transaction. The funds were in place. But the seller refused to provide all the normal information about the company – a standard, required procedure . He also refused to provide the normal, necessary warranties. That meant we would have had to buy the company without knowing what liabilities it had, and without having any redress if we found any. That would have been irresponsible in the extreme and would almost certainly have finished the club. We were also presented repeatedly during the negotiations with demands and threats, all of which we managed to ignore.
The seller in the end sent a letter which was published by The Sun newspaper in which he claimed the club owed him rent in excess of £500,000 and which purported to offer a lease rent-free for two years. The club owes the owner absolutely nothing. Indeed, the contrary is the case. Further, the conditions attached to his proposed lease were completely unacceptable. The distortions and inaccuracies in his letter ended any possibility of a deal being agreed and brought all negotiations to an abrupt end.
The experience of being tenants at New Douglas Park for two years was also totally unsatisfactory for the club in respect of players’ facilities, hospitality, catering, cost, and general management of the stadium. In the end the only course of action open to us was to leave.
We appreciate that moving to Broadwood could adversely affect our home support. But we are aware that many supporters (I was one of these) had stopped attending matches in Hamilton because they were unhappy with the manner in which the club was run historically, going back many years. Hopefully some of these will return and see this move as a fresh start. We are also carefully considering ways and means whereby we can help supporters attend matches.
I was approached by The Sun newspaper requesting my response to the points outlined in this statement, with the view of publishing them on Sunday (11th May, 2025). However, I have noticed that they have not yet published my response.
YOUTH ACADEMY
I have already made it clear that the continuation and further development of the Youth Academy is of vital importance to the club. Naturally everyone involved is anxious to have details of our intentions now that New Douglas Park is not available to us.
Urgent attention is being given to this matter – taking into account all relevant aspects, but with the major priority being the welfare of the young players involved.
People are asking for details to be provided of the future running of the academy. I respectfully request a little patience while the Board finalises these details. We are working on the best solutions, not the quickest. Please take into account that the impossibility of remaining at New Douglas Park only finally emerged at the end of April.
We shall clarify the whole Youth Academy position as soon as possible.
Jock Brown
Chairman
