By Democrat reporter
The owners of Dumbarton Football Club have revealed plans for a new stadium have been scrapped for good.
Cognitive Capital director Clive Hyman said “there are no plans to relocate” but said that developing housing on the club’s current Castle Road site is vital to the Sons’ future.
He rejected claims by Dame Jackie Baillie MSP that the group – who bought the club in May 2021 – were chasing a “get-rich pipe dream”, saying “it is in nobody’s interest that the football club should stagnate”.
He also revealed plans for an artificial pitch at The Rock as part of a community sports base.
However, Dame Jackie, pictured left, appeared not to be totally assured about the club’s new position.
She told our editor Bill Heaney: “I am on record as dismissing the plans of Dumbarton Football Club’s owners, Cognitive Capital, for a new stadium, as a pipe dream.
“I am glad to hear that this idea has now been cast aside. However, I remain concerned about plans for development at the existing site, which is largely opposed by fans, including the Sons Supporters’ Trust.”
Mr Hyman said that the new plastic playing surface would be funded by a housing development on parts of the club’s ground currently used for car parking. Something opposed by the Sons Supporters’ Trust and the MSP
Mr Hyman, a corporate finance specialist from London who was appointed to the board of Cognitive Capital in October, spoke out after Dame Jackie raised concerns in the Scottish Parliament about the ownership structure at the Sons. She received the backing of the Sonstrust.
Calling for an independent regulator and greater fan-power in Scottish football Ms Baillie said: “The introduction of an independent regulator to scrutinise governance, finance and transparency should be considered in order to give fans a much louder voice and ensure good governance in the game.
“Reportedly, they have stalled possible community development because of a get-rich pipe dream. Instead of treating clubs such as Dumbarton with the respect that they deserve, they have been treated like development opportunities to get rich quick.
“That would have meant moving the club from its existing ground to release it for an upmarket housing development. There were real concerns about the club’s future and whether this was a case of asset stripping.
“We must come together for our communities and clubs to guarantee that public interest is at the forefront of football ownership, that Scottish football is run for the benefit of the people and that accountability can flourish.”
In 2021 the Sons were bought by Cognitive Capital, an investment group headed by Norwegian businessman Henning Kristoffersen.
At the time, the group said they had ambitions to transition to full-time football and make the Sons “a stable Championship club.”
They also said they aimed to revive controversial multi-million pound plans for a new stadium at Young’s Farm, near Renton, that had been rejected by West Dunbartonshire Council in 2018.
The Lennox Herald contacted Cognitive Capital about the debate, with Mr Hyman and club chairman Dr Neil Mackay issuing a joint statement.
In it they admit a lack of communication with supporters and say that they will be working to launch a community trust based at The Rock, with plans for a new ground at Young’s Farm scrapped.
The statement explains: “We acknowledge that there has been a lack of communication in the past between supporters and the ownership group, but we are surprised at her accusations of “venture capitalists seeking to asset strip.
“This is most certainly not the case. Cognitive Capital is made up of football fans and includes shareholders who have strong family ties to Dumbarton. It has been our genuine hope and intention that we can bring the stability and certainty that the fans seek.
“It is in nobody’s interest that the football club should stagnate, and it is therefore being led in new directions – we, as owners, are very supportive of this.”
It added: “Dumbarton Football Club’s chairperson and vice chairperson have made the Sonstrust aware that there are no plans to relocate and have told them of the plan, in partnership with a new community trust, to develop facilities which will improve access to fitness and sport for all, with particular emphasis on disadvantaged groups.
“Integral to this is the replacement of the current playing surface with an artificial one which can be used seven days a week by the whole community.
“The funding of this project will necessarily be pump-primed by the proceeds of the planned housing development adjacent to the stadium.
“The proceeds from a successful property development will go to the club and enable development of the stadium’s facilities.”
Permission was previously granted for a smaller development on the same site, albeit on the basis that it would help the club raise funds for the move to Renton Road.
The plans have seen formal objections raised by the Sons Supporters’ Trust and Dame Jackie.
At the time Sonstrust chair David Brownlie said: “Bluntly, were this application to be granted it would almost certainly result in a very damaging outcome for the future prospects of Dumbarton Football Club.”
Dame Jackie’s concerns at Holyrood were shared by the Sons Supporters’ Trust, who urged the club board to push for more transparency on the ownership situation.
A Trust spokesman said: “Last November trust board members had a private meeting with the principal individual in Cognitive Capital.
“We proposed that a multi-party approach with a business plan based on financial transparency represents the best future for Dumbarton Football Club. We currently await a response to that.
“Cognitive Capital, with no previous known involvement in football ownership, appears to have identified our historic club situated in an attractive location as a vehicle for property development, and the Trust will require much more than repeated warm rhetoric to allay our concerns.”
He said: “The chaotic and destabilising ownership situation at Dumbarton is one of a number which would not have happened if there was independent scrutiny of who owns and runs Scottish football.”
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Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and his deputy, Dame Jackie Baillie, at a Dumbarton match.