Brutal Era Over For Vics
In the 1972 / 73 season Ayr United finally got to play competitive home games at Dam Park although it was out of necessity rather than design . The pitch at Somerset Park had become increasingly problematic over the previous two seasons with waterlogging being a persistent issue . After extensive investigation it was discovered that the layer of loam under the turf had become all but impervious to rain and water would just sit on the surface . The remedy was to introduce a greater camber to the pitch for a better run off of excess water , but an unusually wet summer of 1972 meant that the initial reseeding failed and had to be started again . Ayr had been drawn in the group section of the Scottish League Cup with home and away games against Rangers , Clydebank and St . Mirren , so when it became obvious the new pitch would not be ready Dam Park was decided on as the site for Ayr ’ s home games . However , the obvious issue was would Dam Park be big enough to hold Rangers ’ considerable support that would descend on the west coast for the game . Ayr Town Council , the Police and other bodies inspected Dam Park which had , at the time , a notional capacity of 14,000 . The conclusion was drawn that while perfectly adequate for the two games against the lesser clubs it would not be prudent to play the Rangers game at Dam Park , so that tie was staged at Kilmarnock ’ s Rugby Park instead . The St . Mirren game attracted 5,335 to Dam Park while the Clydebank game , played on a Wednesday evening , was less well attended with 3,126 coming through the gates .
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Programme for the Ayr United v St . Mirren game at Dam Park Credit : Andy McGregor
The 1970s were really tough for Whitletts Victoria ; vandals were the scourge of Voluntary Park and the club ’ s support was all but non-existent . The club sat out the 1972 / 73 season , unable to gather a squad together and , in 1974 / 75 , things were no better as the Vics failed to complete the season .
Greyhound racing in Ayr had been held at the Tam ’ s Brigg Stadium in Limekiln Road until its closure , after 39 years , in 1972 . An ice rink for curling was built on the site but greyhound racing was reborn in the town at Voluntary Park . Greyhound promoter Frank Doonin leased the site and , after flattening the banking for the track , the first race took place on 6 August 1983 . The greyhound company and football club lived side by side until well into the new millennium when more stringent safety regulations meant regular inspections by the authorities . The main safety concerns related to the venue ’ s clubhouse and spectator accommodation . The clubhouse had been patched together after a calamitous fire to the original football building in 1980 , and the estimate to bring the site up to scratch was £ 440,000 . Unbeknownst to the public , Ayr staged its last greyhound race on 10 November 2010 . By February 2011 , the site was permanently closed and reduced to a pile of rubble . After laying derelict for a number of years a new housing estate , Victoria Crescent , was built over the site .
Left : A 1958 OS map of Ayr showing the Tam ’ s Brigg Stadium and Ayr United ’ s Somerset Park Map : National Library of Scotland