“It was all worth it,” was Alloa Athletic Chairman Mike Mulraney’s response when asked to reflect on the considerable effort put in to get their match against Peterhead played on 11th December. It was the only show in town as the Wasps managed to make Recreation Park the only ground that hosted football that weekend north of Blackburn in England.
The list of what went on to make it happen is impressive with Mulraney saying: “It was a huge effort involving 35 members of staff from the company I run away from football and from one of the other Director’s firms. There were four small mini-diggers, a standard pitch plough amended into a snow plough and a specialised snowplough with flotation tyres. It is so sophisticated that the snow does not even compact underneath it. You could run over someone in it and they would not be crushed but we did not put that to the test!
“Local contractors helped as a gesture to the club with Marshall Farms giving us the use of the specialised snowplough. One of them costs £135,000 so it is not something a football club normally has access to and it was important that throughout it all we did not do any damage to the playing surface.”
The plan to get the game on began on Wednesday when the snow outside of Recreation Park was lifted and that was worked on until Friday.
Mulraney said: “The snow on the pitch was not lifted until Friday morning and when we did, it was great to see the pitch in impeccable condition. There was two and a half feet of snow underneath and that had acted as an insulator against the cold.
“We lost a game last season when the pitch was frozen and we learned from that, although I have to say there was a lot more snow this time out.”
With all the work that was going on, there was one major thing to ensure and that was that Alloa’s opponents from the north-east wanted to venture to Clackmannanshire.
Mulraney said: “We called Peterhead on the Thursday and they were a bit shocked to hear that we reckoned the game would go on. We told them the work that was going on but we said it would be understandable if they were not comfortable with travelling down.
“They said ‘well if you are doing that, then we will travel down.’ There was some money being spent but Peterhead’s confidence in Alloa was great and their desire to get here was fantastic and gave us more confidence in what we were doing.”
The team involved in clearing the pitch worked from 7.00 on Friday morning with many still going at 10.00 at night when it was decided to put the shovels away and turn the lights off at Recreation Park.
Mulraney said: “Most of the guys working could not work in their normal businesses but they gave a huge amount to Alloa that day.”
There was a pitch inspection by referee Eddie Smith at 8.00 on Saturday morning and that got the thumbs up as did a visit from the local police to check on the condition of the surrounding areas such as access roads and car park.
Blue Toon fans were offered the chance of a lift from a local train station if they made it down and whilst no-one took Mulraney up on his offer, there were fans supporting blue and white colours at the game with the Wasps Chairman saying: “There were a few supporters in the ground for Peterhead and they also had some exiles in the central belt that came along as well.”
There was a crowd of 601 fans in attendance with a higher number of press tickets given out as well as representatives from clubs in the SPL, First, Second and Third Divisions including St. Mirren’s Danny Lennon and Hamilton Academical’s Billy Reid, who were taking advantage of an idle Saturday to watch their Second Division Scottish Cup opponents.
“The number of fans was secondary to us,” said Mulraney before adding: “We did not do it to attract a whole lot of one off fans and the weather was so bad beforehand that a substantial increase or a crowd of 2,000 was always unlikely.
“It was more important to get the game on as we do not want a backlog and we were also able to satisfy 65 corporate guests who had paid £70 to be at the game.
“The attendance was more than 100 up on the last visit of Peterhead and it was 250 up on if the game had been rescheduled for a Tuesday night. When you look at these factors, it was a no-brainer to get the game on.”
Sky Sports, who do not normally dive into the SFL for League coverage, gave great prominence to the game throughout Saturday afternoon with the BBC and STV also highlighting the work the club carried out to get the game on.
Mulraney took a phone call from family in Wiltshire telling him he had been on their local BBC News with the Chairman saying: “It was all good publicity for Alloa, Peterhead and the SFL and I suppose it was fitting that it ended a 2-2 draw.”
Ironically, the game started in bright sunshine with the only legs covered by tights belonging to whistler Smith with Jamie Ewings in the home goal and visiting goalkeeper Jon Bateman the only two players that donned gloves.
“It was a good game on a good surface and the fans that were here were entertained,” said Mulraney before adding: “There was also three penalties and if you speak to Alloa fans they reckon there should have been four.
“After the match, the Peterhead Directors all got a dram to warm them up before they left and their players got a huge Indian Buffet to eat on the way home from one of the restaurants that we work closely with. That is what the SFL should be about.”
It is not just about having games played when no-one else can for Mulraney and Alloa as the club has seen gradual positive process over the past few years.
Mulraney said: “Along with three SPL clubs, Alloa Athletic have our own indoor training centre which is at a site next to the ground. There are also two 3G 5 a side pitches there that are outside at the moment but we have plans to remove their boundary wall and have fences and a roof put on them. The surface there is the same as the main pitch and that will help the players.
“This club has made progress on the fabric of Recreation Park as well and there is more to come with substantial investment planned. We are a club that wants to be at the heart of the community and are taking steps to do that.”
One future development could be the creation of a Hotel adjacent to the ground with Mulraney saying: “We have outline planning permission for a hotel and restaurant complex on the ground close to Recreation Park. It is kind of Holiday Inn Express and Beefeater idea that has been successful elsewhere in Scotland.”
Mulraney is keen for others to copy his approach and he has called on other SFL clubs, Banks and the Government to get together to allow football to deal with the wintry weather for years to come.
Mulraney said: “The benefits of a 3G pitch for SFL clubs across Scotland is a no-brainer as far as I am concerned. Not only did it help get our game against Peterhead on, it also ensures that Alloa are at the heart of our community.
“I firmly believe I have identified a way that other clubs in Scotland can benefit in the same way we have and also see that football gets played every week.”
The Recreation Park chief said: “There is a win-win situation that can achieve a network of artificial surfaces across Scotland. Clubs should be encouraged to lay the pitches with funding from Banks underwritten by the Government. It would allow clubs to generate revenue to pay for the installation and lenders would have the confidence that should any club fail, the Government would pick up the tab. The pitches usually pay for themselves so there is little risk.
“I believe it is a way of allowing clubs to be at the centre of their community whether they are in Annan or Elgin or anywhere in-between. It can also be low cost if the Government underwrote everything as the one transaction as better terms could be negotiated. If they are serious about supporting football in Holyrood, they should be looking at such schemes.”
Mulraney continued: “We lost a game to the weather last season but we learnt from it and got the Peterhead game on. Can you imagine how much we could learn if there were 20 such clubs operating in a similar way?
“You cannot run a business when six to eight weeks of income can be lost and although you recoup some when matches are held, it is never the same as a Saturday at 3.00pm.
“A network of 3G pitches across the country would keep the game getting played and it also generates income as people pay to use the pitches.
“We have Sauchie Juniors training with us and they may well end up playing some games here to help with the backlog so that is an example of how we are helping out in the community as well.”
There is one thing still puzzling Mulraney at the moment and that is what to do with the snow as he explained: “It was calculated that we moved 3,500 tons of snow and the key there is that we moved it. We have it banked up along the side of the pitch and also a 20 foot deposit on a part of the ground that has no foot traffic.
“If there is more snow, we are running out of places to put it. That is my next challenge and similarly as we learned from the game that was called off last year, we will learn what to do with the snow.
“However, if there were a few of us trying to solve the problem it would be solved quicker.”
“If our winters are going to be like this and we are going to keep playing in the winter, then we need a strategy in what to do with the snow.”
With nearly two weeks having passed since mountains were moved, Mulraney was asked how it felt for Alloa to have had their day in the sun and he said: “I have a feeling of pride to be honest. As well as the coverage in the UK, we have had communications from Canada, Australia and all over Europe basically just saying wow – well done.
“The Chief Executive of the local Council was proud as were the people at the club and the people of the town.”
“It was a risk but it paid off.”
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