Club’s new HQ to open at last
A FOOTBALL club’s three-year battle to rise from the ashes of a devastating fire will reach its conclusion next week with the opening of a new clubhouse.
The fire at Desborough Town FC on December 15, 2008 destroyed the 40-year-old clubhouse as well as a host of irreplaceable memorabilia.
Thieves added to the misery just days later, when they raided the fire-hit premises and stole more than £400.
But just over three years on, the club, at Waterworks Field in Braybrooke Road, will celebrate the opening of a new clubhouse.
Chairman of the Northamptonshire Football Association, Bob Cotter, will cut the ribbon on the new building on Friday next week, February 24.
The evening event will feature a short dedication ceremony by Minister John Taylor.
There will also be presentations to John Lee by the Football Association and the Northamptonshire Football Association, to recognise his service to the club as committee member for 50 years and club secretary for the last 21 years.
Members past and present will attend, with guests expected from as far afield as the USA.
The future of the club, known affectionately as Ar Tarn, looked bleak after the fire, which was accidentally caused when repairs were being made to the clubhouse’s bitumen roof.
But members quickly rallied round to organise a host of fundraising events, including auctions, fun runs and football matches.
Members have been meeting in the club’s wooden former ambulance station but will now be able to enjoy the luxury of the new clubhouse, which includes a bar and lounge area as well as a new entrance leading directly from Braybrooke Road.
Mr Lee said: “Although the club’s artefacts were destroyed in the fire the club have been able to replace many of the photographs of the old teams which will be on show in the new clubhouse along with rescued trophies which are displayed in a new area.
“Many of the members have contributed to the new building with the purchase of memorial bricks.
“Many of these have been dedicated in memory of their lost ones who have served the club in the past.”
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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