Oban Lorne Rugby Football Club reveals plan to redevelop clubhouse
Oban Lorne Rugby Football Club has revealed £10m plans to redevelop its clubhouse and pitches into a sporting hub.
The club’s committee came up with the idea two years ago when players asked for a dugout to stay dry during games and when a staff member couldn’t access clubhouse’s bar and toilets, which are upstairs, when on crutches.
The club realised the current clubhouse was "out of date" and needed to be refurbished.
Its ambitious plans will mean the new clubhouse will be fully accessible, with disabled access to all facilities, and separate changing rooms for men’s and women’s teams and referees.
But improved accessibility is not the only opportunity the new clubhouse presents as Oban Lorne RFC wants to create a community sports hub, available to everyone.
These plans began with a 50-year lease of the land for the pitches, which the club intends to eventually buy from the council within the 10-year option to buy period.
The refurbishment has been under discussion with Argyll and Bute Council for 18 months and plans are now nearing completion.
The current clubhouse will be completely refurbished inside, with extensions added to the lower floor. A function hall will be on the ground floor, available to be booked for events and there will be a 24-hour gym available to club members, whether players or not.
And the rugby club wants to bring in other local sports clubs to use the facilities.
"It’s about getting the whole community involved," said Ronald Gordon, the club’s sponsorship convenor. "We want to pull in other clubs to use the facilities."
Oban Lorne wants to offer their facilities and pitches at an affordable rate, to grow local sports to be the best they can possibly become, so, even with new facilities, they plan to keep their membership fee as close to the current prices as possible.
As well as the changes to the clubhouse, floodlights, a running track and a 4G pitch will be installed in the first phase of the project meaning the club can train at their own pitch, regardless of the conditions.
This will ensure the club can run as a business and help raise the funds to continue the rest of the development plans. These include building of an accessible grandstand, the purchase of the grounds from Argyll and Bute Council, the expansion of the car park and getting the second pitch up to league standard size.
The initial developments will cost £1.5million with the whole project costing £10m.
Oban Lorne RFC players and staff will be holding fundraisers in the coming months, with the aim of raising £150,000 to be able to obtain grants for the full development.
Club president Shaun Sinclair said: "This upgrade has been long overdue. We’re enthusiastic about it which is driven by the team’s success. They’ve seen good results over the last two seasons. Now we’re trying to catch the club up to the team and give them the clubhouse they and the town really deserve."
There will be informal public consultations in future for the community to find out more about the sports hub project.
The plans are in the final stages and will be submitted for planning permission in the next few months.
It is hoped work will start next May. It will be phased to allow for the season to be played and will ideally by completed by mid-2026.
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