Aberdeenshire Cricket Club have called an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of members in an attempt to secure their future financial stability.
The EGM has been arranged for 7.30pm in the Bradman Suite at Mannofield on Thursday, February 27.
Club members have received correspondence notifying them about the meeting.
The letter – which has been seen by the Press and Journal – states “the committee members all believe that we need to make changes to secure our financial stability for the future”.
Aberdeenshire was formed in 1857, and were Scottish champions as recently as 2014, but club president Stuart Grant revealed there are issues they need to address.
Aside from cricket, Shire offer bar, restaurant and function suite facilities at Mannofield, and Grant said: “The club is facing challenges which we need to overcome.
“I think everyone in the licensing and catering business is facing challenging times and we’re no different in that respect and we’re also a cricket club.
“I’m not worried about the future of the club or the ground – in a cricketing sense, we’ll have a strong team on the pitch again this summer and our junior section will hopefully flourish even more this year.
“Away from that we’re facing challenges financially, but I’m not in a position to say too much more at this stage.”
Tough decisions
Their financial challenges have resulted in Aberdeenshire deciding they can no longer afford to employ Calum Howard as their full-time groundsman, while the club’s bar manager is also moving on.
Grant added: “Our bar manager is leaving for her own personal reasons, which is purely coincidental.
“But we took the decision that we had to employ a groundsman on a part-time basis this year. It’s not a reflection on Calum or how he carried out his role.
“It was simply a decision we had to make.
“We know not having Calum in the role full-time will be a huge loss to us.”
Grant is also set to stand down as president of Aberdeenshire next month, but he is hopeful the club can prosper in the future.
The 73-year-old became president in November 2022, and said: “I’m too old and I have personal reasons which mean it’s the right time for me to stand down.
“There are people better qualified than me to take on the role of president and move the club forward.
“Anybody who wants to help the club or support us in any way will be welcomed with open arms.
“Right now we receive a lot of very good support from different people through sponsorship and things like that.
“We’re very grateful to people who do support us, but we would also welcome more people who are keen to help us.”
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