Bodog-sponsored Ayr United FC may have received an early Christmas present after word broke that Glasgow-based property financier Brian Gilmour is preparing to inject a massive amount of capital into the team. On Friday, the Daily Mail reported that Gilmour was holding talks with Somerset Park chairman Lachlan Cameron on a plan that Gilmour hopes will elevate the Scottish League One side to the Scottish Premiership within six years.
The Mail claimed Gilmour was prepared to inject £45m into the club over a six-year span if he’s allowed to assume majority control. The cash would go toward a new 10k-seat stadium (pictured right) and family entertainment complex to replace the aging Somerset Park. The venue would be located in the Heathfield area and would be funded by the development of 320 private homes in the vicinity. The club would move to the new stadium by 2018.
Gilmour told the Mail he believed he’d “offered a good price for the business” and that the parties were “pretty close to the terms we want to lay out.” Cameron confirmed that he’d spoken to Gilmour but said there was “really nothing to report on it. There is nothing to talk about.”
Gilmour said he wanted the new complex to be “a place where people want to go. Ayr United need to be an intrinsic part of the community.” Gilmour claimed the project would generate “900 full-time, permanent jobs and will benefit the local economy to the tune of £110m.”
Earlier this week, Ayr United sacked manager Mark Roberts after six years with the club. Roberts’ assistant Andy Millen is filling in as manager until a permanent replacement can be found, hopefully by Jan. 6. Current frontrunners for the job include Hurlford’s Darren Henderson and Stranraer manager Stephen Aitken.
The club has won just one of its last 11 matches and are hoping to avoid relegation to League Two. But Gilmour insists there was “no reason why Ayr United should not be playing in the top half of the Premiership.”
