EXILED ATHLETIC COME HOME
Scarborough Council stepped in to buy the Seamer Road ground from the liquidators, with
the intention of developing it for housing and retail, and using the proceeds to establish a
replacement ground elsewhere. A fan-owned phoenix club, Scarborough Athletic, were
formed in the summer of 2007, and a place in the Northern Counties East League was se-
cured. With Seamer Road out of the equation, Athletic's search for a suitable ground took
them 20 miles away to Bridlington Town's Queensgate ground. Meanwhile, Scarbor-
ough's well regarded Centre of Excellence set-up continued to run, culminating in the for-
mation of a men's team,
Scarborough Town, in
2008. Finding a home at
the Pindar Leisure Centre in
Scarborough, they enjoyed
plenty of early success in
the Teesside League and
later the Wearside League,
but unable to develop the
facilities at the Pindar Lei-
sure Centre, they moved
on to the Humber Premier
League before folding at
the end of 2012/13.
Above: Comparison views of Seamer Road showing the ground
when in use as a Football League venue and how it is today, cov-
ered by a Lidl supermarket and housing Photos: Colin Peel & Vince Taylor
sequently transferred to
the geographically more
suitable North division),
but until such time that
a new ground was
found for them in Scar-
borough the club re-
mained in a state of
limbo.
The Seamer Ground quietly
rotted away in the interim,
the two newest stands
being sold to Featherstone
Rovers RLFC, who reassem-
bled them at their Post Of-
fice Road ground. Despite
the handicap of playing at
a borrowed ground, sup-
porters rallied round the
club, and Scarborough
Athletic made steady pro-
gress on the pitch. Indeed,
in 2013 Athletic were pro-
moted to the Northern
Premier League Division
One South (they were sub-
One of the former stands from Seamer
Road relocated at Featherstone RLFC
w w w . g r o u n d t a s t i c . c o . u k | F a c e b o o k / G r o u n d t a s t i c | T w i t t e r @ g r o u n d t a s t i c
Photo: Colin Peel
5