Hamilton Academical supporters are set to be handed the power to block any proposed move away from New Douglas Park in future following productive talks between fan representatives and directors about creating a “golden share”.
Followers of the South Lanarkshire club were outraged in May last year when their former owners announced they would be relocating to Broadwood Stadium 15 miles away and many of them boycotted the matches they played at the Cumbernauld ground in protest.
Accies were taken over by the Morley Sports Management Group, which is run by London-based entrepreneur Rob Edwards, in January and the new hierarchy agreed a two year lease with an option to extend with the owners of the Hamilton Community Stadium in April.
Hamilton’s home attendances have increased significantly this season and they are currently in first place in the William Hill League 1 table after winning three and drawing one of their four third tier games.
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However, the members of the Accies Supporters Association [ASA] are keen to ensure they remain at New Douglas Park long term and they are in advanced discussions about a “golden share”, a mechanism which will give them the ability to veto any major decisions.
“The club are keen to grant fans some access to the board going forward and we are in talks about how that would look,” said ASA treasurer Colin Hamilton. “The possibility of creating a golden share, a heritage share, has also been discussed.
“A golden share is something that a lot of clubs across the United Kingdom have got. Rob and his team are very open to it and we are certainly keen to progress it. We are hopeful that something will be formalised soon.
“It will obviously be subject to their approval. It will have to be legally sound for it to carry any weight, but we have looked in to that and believe it is achievable. There is nothing that Rob has said he will do that he hasn’t done.
“If there was ever a prospect of, say, the club leaving the town again or the colours of the strips being changed, the fans would have the ability to block that. It would also entitle a fans’ representative to attend and contribute to certain board meetings.
“If a member of the supporters association could go in to the occasional board meeting it would be a step in the right direction. There is certainly a recognition at the club that their relationship has to be strong with the support.”
Edwards has been keen to work conjunction with the ASA and other fans since buying a controlling 97.5 per cent shareholding from previous owner Serif Zengin at the start of this year and understands the importance of providing safeguards about their future in the wake of the existential crisis they experienced last year.
“It's crucial that we get a clear understanding from those outside the club, not just those in the association, about how they want the club to be run,” he said. “We're still fairly new to the club and are getting to know the landscape, the area, the demographic, the people, the culture, as we go. So we’re definitely taking a collaborative approach.
“The golden share is very important to the association and is something we're completely on board with. Given what's happened over the last few years, it's important to fans that the identity of Hamilton is maintained and where the club plays, the colours, the logo, the history, are all protected.
“We think it's important that supporters have a say and can stop the club falling into the positions it's been in during the past few years. It's been an ongoing discussion and we're looking to formalise the arrangement over the next few months.”
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Edwards added, “It's a fairly straightforward document. In the articles of association of any business there are certain things and can't do without certain permissions. Other clubs have done it. York City were one of the first because they fell into a really difficult position a number of years ago. It's a fairly standard practice now.
“It's just a case of making sure that we incorporate it in the right way. We've already outlined the key aspects of what a golden share would do. It's just a matter of formalising that. Hopefully we will be in a position to do it before the end of this year.”
Edwards, who also owns Cymru Premier club Haverfordwest County in Wales, has been pleased at the positive impact that returning to New Douglas Park has had on attendances and the overall mood among the Accies fanbase.
“Being back in Hamilton has been massive for us,” he said. “I was at the Airdrie game earlier this month and I walked around the town afterwards. It was the first time that I had seen people standing outside pubs with Accies tops on laughing and joking and having a good time. That was a nice feeling.
“We’re still dealing with a couple of lingering legacy issues and we don't know how they're going to work out. But they are nothing we need to necessarily be concerned about at the moment.
“We've brought in Harry Thomas from Haverfordwest as our head of community and he’s in the process of putting together a community and schools delivery plan in conjunction with South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture. That's something we're looking to really push on with a view to relaunching the academy as soon as possible.”
Hamilton has been pleased to see fans return in larger numbers to New Douglas Park and the team perform well on the park, but is keen for the ASA, who are now the back of shirt sponsors, to try to increase turnouts further.
“The new owners noticed our efforts in the dark days of the demonstrations and contacted us early on,” he said. “We have really hit it off from there. They have built a strong relationship with us. It is very positive considering where we were at the end of last year, a huge turnaround.
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“I think they are still dealing with a lot of legacy issues, but we trust these guys. They want to have a connection with us. In turn, we are doing a lot of things a fans’ association should be doing.
“We have put up a billboard in a prominent location in Hamilton and are looking to do other initiatives in the community and with local business. There is a long way to go and a lot of issues still to sort. But everything is heading in the right direction.
“The challenges they have faced would have tested anybody. But we don’t have a transfer embargo, we have put together a very good team and, perhaps most importantly, budgets are being closely watched.
“The main issue for us now is to get more fans through the gates. The turnouts have been very encouraging. There have been well over 1,000 at our home games. That is probably three times as many as we got at Broadwood.
“But we believe that we still have work to do to get people back to games. I still know Accies fans who haven’t returned. We want to get them back in to New Douglas Park on Saturdays.
“We do have a relatively small fanbase, but we still want to try and get old fans back and attract new fans in. The club are working with schools and community organisations and we will try to help them with that as footsoldiers on the ground.
“We have sent out emails, we are planning events, we have produced literature, we are engaging with the local businesses, we have an online presence. We want to tell people we’ve got a good team, we’re back in the town and getting in to games is a good price.”
