Staying at Hamilton stadium 'could have finished Accies'

Buying New Douglas Park instead of moving to Cumbernauld next season could "almost certainly have finished" Hamilton Academical, chairman Jock Brown has claimed.

The Scottish Championship club have been relegated after receiving a 15-point penalty for various breaches of Scottish Professional Football League, including giving incorrect information to the governing body about stadium ownership.

Accies subsequently announced that they would be moving to Broadwood Stadium next season after deciding to stop renting their current ground from a company controlled by Colin McGowan, one of the club's former owners.

"It became impossible to stay at New Douglas Park and there is no other location at the moment available in the town which could house the club at this time," Brown told his club website.

"We tried for many months to purchase the company which owns the stadium, which was the seller's preferred method of completing the transaction. The funds were in place, but the seller refused to provide all the normal information about the company – a standard, required procedure."

Brown said Accies would have had to "buy the company without knowing what liabilities it had" and with no redress if there were any.

"That would have been irresponsible in the extreme and would almost certainly have finished the club," he said.

Brown disputed a claim made by the seller that the club owed him rent in excess of £500,000, saying they owe "absolutely nothing" and that the terms of a two-year rent-free lease were "unacceptable".

League 2 club Clyde will continue to rent New Douglas Park while looking for a permanent home in Glasgow as Accies say they are looking for a new arena site in their home town.

Brown recognised that moving to Clyde's former stadium in Cumbernauld would "affect our home support".

However, he also stated that the experience of being tenants for the last two years were "totally unsatisfactory for the club in respect of players' facilities, hospitality, catering, cost, and general management of the stadium".

Meanwhile, Brown promised to clarify soon what the future holds for their youth academy.