By John Baron
Farsley Celtic have announced that work is set to restart on laying their new artificial pitch, following delays.
The Celts are hoping to lay a new 4G pitch at the Citadel but work stopped more than a month ago after the grass pitch was lifted and an unspecified problem was found.
Work to tackle the issue is now due to start on Monday, 23 September with work on installing the new pitch starting the following week.
It’s hoped the pitch will be completed ‘well in time’ for the Spennymoor home game on Saturday, 19 October.
Chairman Paul Barthorpe today said: “These issues relate to the historical use of the site, and its impact on the ground beneath. Unfortunately the impacts of this weren’t detectable until we dug down to begin works.
“Their on-site activity to resolve our issue is seven days – due to the delay they have agreed to work through the weekend to help us catch up on time. They will be on site w/c 23rd September, so we will get the site back on the 1st of October.
“Between now and their commencement date on the 23rd they will be double checking the on-site readings, and will also be doing an additional survey for us in preparation for the floodlights planning application which is being worked on and submitted once the pitch is completed.
“The league are fully aware of all events and have been very co-operative with us to date.
They allowed us to switch a number of home games to away games, but going forwards (including the Leamington game) we have to hire out alternative venues and play them as home games. While disappointing in terms of club finance, fans wanting to watch us play at home and asking fans to travel is unfortunately a short term pain we are going to have to deal with.
“But once the pitch is down it will benefit the club for the next decade, so I have to be positive about the situation and say a few extra weeks damage to my wallet and frustration in the bigger picture is a small price to pay.
“This process hasn’t been easy, and is already hugely over budget and way behind time, but this is the reality of large scale construction and we will just have to accept this and see it through as the changes it will make to our club are significant and will continue to be for years to come.”
Farsley travel to Hallam in the FA Cup tomorrow and then play their first ‘home’ game of the season against Leamington at Alfreton FC’s ground. The Celts have so far played their opening eight National League North games away from home, along with nine pre-season games.
Amid a raft of announcements today, the club also announced the appointment of a new CEO.
Jon Wickham owns three local businesses and has pledged to ‘bridge the gap’ between the club and the community.
He said: “As a lifelong fan of the club, stepping into this role was an easy decision for me. I am super passionate about the club and committed to bringing my experiences within business to help drive our club forward.
“One of my primary goals is to bridge the gap between the club and our community. FCFC has always been a community-centred club and I believe the future success both on and off the pitch will be directly tied to the strength of our relationships with local businesses and the supporters of the club.
“Over the rest of the season and beyond I’ll be reaching out and engaging with the community on all levels to explore how we can work together to not just benefit the club but the wider community as well.”
The Celts have also appointed Jack Wickham as new marketing and media manager.