Football club vows to transform Zones

Iain Robertson • Published 19 Aug 2009 15:15 0 Comments

ALLOA Athletic Football Club has vowed to transform the former Zones leisure centre into a football academy and sports facility for the whole community.

The dilapidated eyesore has been lying empty for the past 20 months, but the Wasps have vowed to bring it up to scratch for the benefit of the whole community, after Clackmannanshire Council accepted their bid for the building.

It will be turned into a football academy, but the club's plans are also for a multi-purpose facility suitable for the needs of many local sports clubs.

A football club spokesman told the Advertiser, "We think we can build a football academy in Clackmannanshire for everyone who wants to play the game, from a four-year-old girl right up to men in their 60s.

"It will be primarily for the academy, but we also want to encourage other clubs to use it.

"Everybody can have access, and we have already had discussions with a number of clubs, including Sauchie Juniors, who have indicated they want to be involved."

The club has invested heavily in the facilities at Recreation Park, with the result that community use of the ground has increased to 100,000 users, and the club believes the addition of Zones can only add to that success.

The Wasps are also looking to incorporate a rehabilitation centre for all sports to access, and are investigating how the centre can work for the whole community.

Their offer will also provide the council with an annual bounty of £40,000 for reduced leisure access, how they choose to spend that money will be a decision for the council, and will guarantee the brass band, who are based in the building, a home for years to come.

Alloa FC have promised to have the new facility open as soon as possible.

Last week's vote by the council brings to an end to a 20-month saga over the sale of the building, which saw plans for a bowling alley fall through in March.

But the club aren't interested in the politics of the deal. They are focussed only on creating a leisure hub for the people of Clackmannanshire.

The spokesperson added, "We are very pleased to understand the council has backed us, with nobody voting against.

"It appears the council may have had a difference of opinion, but we see no value in going over what has happened in the past. We've got here, and that's the bottom line, we now want to move forward."

Zones originally opened six years ago and housed an indoor skate park, fitness suite, music zone and five-a-side.

But, after proving initially popular, public interest in it waned and the building was left to fall into disrepair. The decision was subsequently taken in January 2008 to close it.

Since then, crippling refurbishment costs as well as disputes over its sale conditions has seen Zones sitting unused.

Along with the football club's bid the council also received offers to use the site used for a nursery or a care home.

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