Yeovil Town sell Huish Park to South Somerset District Council for £2.8m
- Published
Yeovil Town have played their home games at Huish Park since 1990
Yeovil Town's £2.8m sale of Huish Park to South Somerset District Council has been completed.
The deal, which sees the Glovers lease back their home ground, had been controversial with some supporters.
It was approved in December 2020 but delayed as fans' group The Glovers Trust put up an alternative bid.
But the deal with the local authority has now been concluded as Yeovil prepare for a fourth season in non-league football.
The Glovers spent 16 years in the English Football League and won promotion to the Championship in 2013.
But back-to-back relegations saw them end up in League Two in 2015 before finishing bottom of the table four years later.
The money raised by the sale will go to pay off costs incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic - such as deferred salaries as well as improving infrastructure around the club and investing in new manager Chris Hargreaves' playing squad.
"The deal provides valuable funds to the club, in what has been a very difficult period financially and operationally," Yeovil Town chairman Scott Priestnall told the club website. , external
"We utilised all government schemes available to us during the pandemic, but unfortunately those funds did not meet our ongoing cash requirement, never mind allow us to grow.
"There is and has always been a massive opportunity to develop the club's infrastructure, but over the last 30 years the custodians of this club have never been able to put a plan together that works for all related parties."
South Somerset District Council leader Val Keitch commented: "This is a significant deal, and it is certainly not a decision we have taken lightly.
"However, we strongly believe it is in the best interests of South Somerset and its communities.
"Yeovil Town is the only professional football club in Somerset, and it makes a significant contribution to both the local economy and, more widely, in terms of community, education, and local civic pride."