Camanachd Cup holders Fort William are to be forced out of An Aird stadium to allow for a year-long £120,000 drainage programme to tackle the ground’s long-standing flooding problems.
Fort will start the season in March at their home ground, but An Aird will be closed in May as Highland Council, along with sportscotland, have agreed to invest in a long-term solution.
“We hope to play as many home games as we can early on, then we will relocate to Black Park,” said club chairman Richard Gall. “It will obviously be a big disadvantage to us but we’re pleased the funding has been found to finally solve the drainage headache.”
History could be made next season with the early rounds of the MacTavish Cup, Celtic Society Cup, Strathdearn and Bullough Cups all being played in midweek.
The Camanachd Association has begun consultation with clubs on such a proposal, which is seen as a way of freeing more Saturdays for league matches to counter problems in completing the league fixture schedule on time.
The cup competitions have a high proportion of localised matches which lend themselves to midweek scheduling. But ties such as Kingussie v Skye or Kinlochshiel v Newtonmore would not be played in midweek. A travel limit of a round trip of 120 miles is likely to be implemented.
Gall, who is the association director responsible for fixtures, said: “We need to actively consider playing north and south cup competitions in midweek. Clubs, quite rightly, want the season to end more promptly while at the same time the climate is getting wetter. It’s difficult.
“This is what the board feel is the way to ensure we get more league games played in the first half of the season, to avoid piling up problems at the later stage. We’re asking the clubs for their views.”
The season will end tomorrow if Mossfield Park is playable for Oban Camanachd to host Bute. If the visitors win, following their victory against Inveraray last weekend, they will complete a remarkable escape act by staying in the Premier Division.
They would do so on goal difference and in the process relegate Lochaber, who at one stage seemed relatively safe. Manager Ally Ferguson and his Spean Bridge players will be keeping their fingers crossed that Oban win or draw and thus force Bute over the precipice.
But Hector Whitelaw has been an inspiration in the Bute revival and it remains to be seen if Oban can match them in motivation.