“Never standing still” is the new mantra adopted by Arbroath Football Club – and they seem to be true to their word.
Each Saturday, the players are looking to kick on from their remarkable Championship season last time round after pushing winners Kilmarnock all the way
But when the ball is away, club chiefs are working constantly behind the scenes to improve the club and its facilities.
A huge amount of investment has gone towards renovating parts of Gayfield, including a new entrance, seating and the Redcastle Hospitality suite.
Fulfilling legacy of fan
The team’s second place finish in the Championship helped boost coffers with an injection of £300k in prize money. But that money has been barely been touched due to a donation from late supporter Thomas Paton.
Mr Paton died in 2017 and left a six-figure sum in his will to the club, on the condition it was spent on improving Gayfield.
Little is known about Mr Paton, other than he moved away from Angus after retiring as a school teacher.
The club was contacted by his solicitor following his death to notify them of his legacy.
Now, they are honouring his wish and are improving the match day experience at Gayfield.
“A few years ago a supporter passed away and money to the club,” chairman Mike Caird explained.
“He wanted it to be spent on improvements to the ground and we are looking to do that.
“Over the last couple of years, we have been doing necessary improvements.
“It’s a great legacy to this gentleman that we are able to do this.
“It’s money well spent; it improves the comfort of fellow supporters and it raises the standard of the ground.
“We’ve had a successful three years in the Championship, which have also helped contribute towards the ground improvements.
“Not just on the park, but off it too. The success we’ve had has allowed us to make improvements to the ground as well.”
Season tickets record smashed
The improvements to the stadium will be welcomed by supporters coming to Gayfield to enjoy a match.
The majority of those to reap the benefits will be a record number of season ticket holders.
On Tuesday, the club announced 1,332 Lichties had committed themselves to the club with season passes.
1️⃣3️⃣3️⃣2️⃣ SEASON TICKETS SOLD!
WE DID IT, but not only did we reach 1320, but we SMASHED it!
1350 is the new target!
It's still not too late, you can buy your ticket here;https://t.co/zPXR5BD8t8 pic.twitter.com/zxe1gyTRgg
— Arbroath FC (@ArbroathFC) August 9, 2022
Caird says the money brought in from those fans helps go towards what they see on the pitch.
“I can’t stress enough, the number of season ticket holders this year is phenomenal,” he said.
“It’s the most we’ve ever had.
“Our season ticket holders are very important to us, as well as supporters who come on a one-off occasion.
“While we’re making considerable improvements off the park, we’d like to make improvements on it.
“There are finances there for Dick and his team.
“We want to stay in the Championship or beyond and we want to help the management team get the best players.”
Fans can have say
While the majority of the work inside Gayfield is almost complete, there still is a large section of the exterior wall to be finished off.
The club is soon to announce plans on how that space can be used – and fans will be able to have a say.
“There is a gap site where we haven’t finished the wall off,” Caird said.
“We are going to speak with supporters to find out what they would like to see at that area.
“A function suite, a fans’ hub or something like that.
“With the boundary of the club, it would cost too much to build up the wall, then knock it down again.
“We’ve left that as a gap until we can finance it and take a fans’ view of what they would like.”
VIDEO: Take a look around Arbroath’s new six-figure Gayfield upgrades
Conversation