Wick Academy counting the cost of floodlight pylon collapse
Officials at Wick Academy FC are counting the cost of a collapsed floodlight pylon at the club's ground.
The 14-metre pylon – one of eight surrounding the pitch at Harmsworth Park – came down overnight on Wednesday during strong gusts.
Club chairman Pat Miller said he was horrified when he encountered the damage on Thursday morning.
Safety inspections will now be carried out on the other seven pylons. If it emerges that all need to be replaced, Mr Miller reckons the cost could amount to £60,000 or more.
It comes after the club invested £30,000 in pitch improvements last summer.
The floodlights are at least 50 years old. They were transferred to Harmsworth Park from the former ground of Inverness Thistle FC when Academy joined the Highland League in 1994.
Mr Miller said his reaction had been one of “shock and horror” when he saw that the pylon had toppled over onto a grassy area away from the pitch, to the left of the main stand. Glass from the three lighting units was smashed by the impact.
“We will get the other stanchions assessed to make sure they are in a fit state," Mr Miller said.
“We were thinking we'd moved on and we were going to have a good season. After spending £30,000 on pitch improvements, it looks like we're going to have to spend double that on light replacements in the worst-case scenario. That would be a low estimate, £60,000 plus.
“If we were going to change everything we would go for the updated LED lights, which people have been recommending anyway, but this is not the time we wanted to be doing it.
“We're in discussion with the insurance company.”
Mr Miller said it was a relief that the collapse occurred at a time when there was no-one inside the park. “Thankfully the safety of the supporters wasn't in jeopardy.”
Academy have away matches for the next two weekends. Their next scheduled home game is against Fort William on February 12.
The club will look at having temporary lighting installed in the affected area of the ground to ensure fixtures can be fulfilled. Earlier kick-off times on a Saturday could be another option, with the agreement of the league management committee.