FOR the good of the community, the Glasgow Clan must be allowed to stay on the ice.
In the interest of fairness let me start by saying I am not a season ticket holder, nor am I someone who attends every month, but I do go to games often and would consider myself a fan.
The club recently announced they are looking to become the new operating company of the Braehead Arena and have entered into negotiations with the new owners of the shopping centre, Global Mutual, following the collapse of Intu Braehead Leisure in November.
READ MORE: Outpouring of support from around the world as fans urge clarity on Glasgow Clan arena situation
A decision is expected this month with a petition calling for the arena to be handed over to the club gathering just under 10,000 signatures in the last few weeks.
No agreement has been reached for the ice, impacting the Clan’s plans for the future as well as impacting local ice hockey teams such as the Paisley Pirates and junior team the Braehead Peewees.
If they are unsuccessful and unable to secure a rink to play on, it could be curtains for them all.
Clan matches frequently sell out with thousands often attending multiple clashes over the course of a weekend.
The team being based in Braehead pumps tens of thousands into the economy via spending at shops and eateries in the centre with some fans ‘making a day of it’ before catching a game.
And all of it is at risk.
There is more than an economic concern over the future of the team.
While the situation at Braehead has an impact on Clan fans, it also has a risk for the entire sport in the UK. Indeed, we have seen it happen before.
I was a journalist at the Edinburgh Evening News the day that the Edinburgh Capitals went under, with locals devastated that their club was gone. Yet worryingly, it feels that history may be repeating itself in the west coast if the Clan are forced off the ice.
READ MORE: Glasgow Clan future in doubt over Braehead Arena ownership, claims CEO Gareth Chalmers
The Clan being off the ice will have significance for the growth of the game in the country, with a host of amateur clubs impacted.
They say that ‘hockey is for everyone’ but in reality, it has never been more apparent that everyone does their bit for the sport in Scotland. Now is the time.
With potentially no guaranteed facility what will happen to the game in Scotland?
Surely we owe it to young people who have lost so much in the last year to have facilities available to them that can help them reach their potential.
In a time when we are being asked to shop local, build our communities and protect each other, how can we stand idly by and watch an ice hockey club that means so much to thousands be potentially run off the ice?
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Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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