BOWIE PARK… FULFILLING A DREAM

Many decades ago when my schoolmates scurried up chimneys to earn a bob or two and Killie was kebab-free I used to finish school, run home to chuck on the Killie strip and head to the Bellfield estate for a game of “10 half 21 full”. It was all I ever wanted to do and with my best pal Dougie we spent most of our life knee deep in muck but as happy as a pig in a blanket (that makes it a Xmas article).

Like every Killie kid I dreamed of playing for Killie so you can imagine my excitement when Dougie, whose dad coached Killie under 17’s asked if I fancied heading along to watch them training one night. That may seem pretty boring until I tell you that in those days the training pitch was at the back of the Frank Beattie stand and the lads changed in the home dressing room.

It was absolutely amazing as Dougie’s dad told us to bring along our kit and we could do our own wee training on the pitch, we were probably about 13 years old at the time. We were one of only a few clubs who had the training facilities within the grounds of our stadium and we were the envy of most others. There was further excitement when the Mauchline Killie Supporters Club donated funds to ensure we could have floodlights on the training pitch……state of the art or what?

It was a fantastic time for a youngster and if it hadn’t been for my complete lack of ability and sprinting ability of a sloth who knows where my career could have gone. Sadly the training pitch had a limited time span and as ambitious plans for hotel, car park etc was introduced it soon became clear that our players would be jumping on a minibus rather than crossing a car park to go training.

In the years since there have been many false dawns when it comes to Killie having an all singing and dancing training ground away from the Theatre of Pies….here is what I can remember:

In the Fleeting days there was talk of moving to the Scott Ellis where we would have the stadium but also a top quality training facility. It would have been a “team Killie” type place with rugby, cricket, basketball etc all being hosed there too. It didn’t happen and I remember one of the stumbling blocks was the road links…..I hope we don’t have the same issues this time around.

The club has trained downed at the Kilwinning Sports Club over the years and there was talk at one time of that becoming a permanent arrangement. Again it never happened and I’m happy about that as it seems right for any Killie training complex to be within the town. Other proposed sites that never came to fruition were:

Olympic site out at Dundonald, one of the sites out there was owned by an ex director and the story was we were heading down there. That was a rumour on more than one occasion but didn’t get over the line.

There was a horse riding facility out near Symington that was touted when Bill Costley was at the club. I think that was seriously looked at but deemed unsuitable at the time. There was also a mention of land off the M77 next to Fenwick and of course a super Ayrshire Nou Camp near Prestwick where we joined up with the scum (that’s a joke) however we now have a proposal that looks realistic.

When I was on the Killie Trust committee we held talks with the rugby club about this very same piece of land. There was a proposed deal from a supermarket (Sainsburys I think) to buy he rugby club land and the KRFC would them be relocated to this “mushroom farm” site. The Trust were looking at getting a piece of the action and renting facilities that could be used for training for the football club. The supermarket deal subsequently fell through but it appears BB owns the land now and our dream may become reality.

I feel like I spent decades fighting a chairman who was there for one reason only so to now have the main shareholder go out his way to plan and finance our future should be applauded by all Killie fans….our only criticism is he needs a bigger board!!

Here is what the club announcement said (without the drawings):

KilmarnockFootballClubandThomsonHunterAssociatesarehereto consultwithyouontheproposedBowieParkTrainingFacility.Thisis thefirststageoftheplanningprocess.Thepurposeistolistentothe communityto,positively, progresstheplanningapplication.Wehave developedavisionforthesiteandKilmarnockFootballClub’sfuture. Yourcommentswillinformtheproposalandplanningapplication.

Thefacilityisthefuturefortheclub’smen’s,women’sandjuniorteams, providinganewspaceforalllevelstotraintogether.Thisfacilityhas designatedspaceforthesquadsandcreatesahomeforthewomen’s team.

ThenewfacilitywillallowKilmarnockFootballClubtogrowfrom grassrootstothefirst-team,toimproveandprogressthroughScottish andEuropeanfootballcompetitions.

Site And Context

ThesiteiseastoftheA77betweenKilmarnockandCrookedholm. Itisaccessed offLondonRoad(B7073).Approximately4hectaresin sizethisiscurrentlyvacant land.TreesshieldthesitefromviewofLondonRoadtothenorth,andthetrain lineontheeastofthesite.Ahedgeseparatesthesitefromthelocal accessroad whichrunsalongthewesternboundaryofthesite.Struthers Farmislocatedto thesouthofthesite.

ThesiteisclosetothecentreofKilmarnock,justashortwalkfrombusstopson LondonRoadandaccessiblebycarandbikewithLondonRoadfeaturingaspart oftheSirChrisHoyCyclewayfromKilmarnockTrainstationViaCulzeanCrescent toLondonRoadanddirectlypast theproposedfacility.On-siteparkingisalso provided.

ThismakesthesiteanideallocationtoimproveKilmarnockFootballClub’s integrationintothecommunitymakingthemtrulytheheartof ourhomeland. Thiswillensurethattheproposalhasthegreatestbenefit toboththecommunity andtheclub.