Peebles Rovers facing final whistle within two years unless new home ground can be found

Their 2,000-plus-capacity Whitestone Park ground of almost 120 years is no longer deemed to comply with EoSFL standards and can’t be upgraded to meet them due to planning issues, leaving the club, founded in 1888 as Greenside Rovers, facing an uncertain future.

They face the threat of being relegated to the EoSFL’s third division next summer regardless of their on-pitch performance and kicked out of the league all together a year later if they can’t find a new home in the interim, prompting them to issue a plea for help in tracking one down.

“For several years now, there has been increasing pressure on the club from the EoSFL to upgrade our facilities,” said a Rovers spokesperson.

“Since the elevation of the EoSFL to the Scottish football pyramid, these minimum ground criteria have become significantly more stringent, to such an extent that the club have been forced to actively seek an alternative ground to play from.

“Whitestone Park has been the home of Peebles Rovers for almost 120 years but as it is not possible to make the necessary upgrades to this area, it has been deemed necessary that we find a new home.

“Over the last few years, we have engaged with several senior figures at Scottish Borders Council in the hope that we could find a workable solution.

“Multiple promises have been made and broken, leaving the club in a seriously precarious position.

“If we do not have a compliant ground by March 2026, we would be demoted to the lowest division of the EoSFL, and if by March 2027, we do not have the necessary ground, we would be ejected from the league.

“Clearly, this scenario severely impacts our ability to sign and motivate players going into next season, when all they could be playing for is relegation from the outset.

“What a shame it would be to see a 132-year-old club potentially go to the wall due to a lack of sporting facilities in the town that are commensurate with the 21st century.

“Many people over the years have worked tirelessly for this club but its very existence is now threatened.

“Whilst time is very much against us, we are far from giving up and, if necessary, will continue to work behind the scenes to help ensure the club come back better, stronger and in a facility that will inspire future generations.”

One solution proposed by Rovers was to share the town’s Arnold Clark National League Division 2 rugby club’s Gytes ground but that’s been kicked into touch, leaving them back at square one and running out of time.

“What appeared to be our last hope of survival, a ground-share with Peebles Rugby Club at the Gytes, has met with both opposition and funding issues,” said the club spokesperson.

“Whilst, from our perspective, it is clearly disappointing that there is opposition to sharing the Gytes, it is perfectly within the rights of the rugby club to want to retain sole ownership of the lease, so we just need to live with the consequences of that, no matter how damaging it is to our future and to the local sport community.

“The only alternative would now be to find somewhere to start completely from scratch, and even if thats became a possibility, should anyone local have suitable ground they could lease to the club, the timescales involved would not be consistent with our continuous participation in the EoSFL.

“Clearly, if there were potential to relocate somewhere else, we would then be able to fundraise for a specific project and hopefully be able to re-enter the EoSFL in a compliant facility in the future.

“If anyone at all feels they can help the club in any way, whether it be potentially with land which could be leased and developed, financially or just with any advice or help at all, please get in touch.”

Rovers – the only Borders club to have played in what is now the Scottish Professional Football League, in the old Scottish Football League’s third division from 1923 to 1926 – ended what they fear could be their penultimate season as an EoSFL second division side with a goalless draw away to third-placed Bathgate Thistle on Saturday.

That fifth draw of the season, accompanied by ten wins and 13 defeats, leaves them in tenth place, on 35 points from 28 fixtures.

That’s enough to earn them top-dog status among the Borders’ three teams in the division as Coldstream ended up 11th, on 34 points, and relegation-bound Vale of Leithen finished second from bottom, on 28.

Rovers’ top-ten finish was their third on the bounce after ending last season in sixth place, on 46 points from 30 matches, and winding up ninth in 2023, on 41 from 32.