It’s been a few weeks since Glasgow Clan announced there would be “exciting and positive” news regarding the future of their home at Braehead Arena and fans are still on tenterhooks over whether they’ll see in the inside of their favourite venue again.
While teams are now gradually announcing their teams, in preparation for the new season, Clan’s silence remains a cautious one as they continue to work on the legalities with asset firm Global Mutual.
While the finer details are yet to be agreed, let alone announced, the inclusion of Clan in the recent EIHL fixtures meeting gives clear encouragement that they will be involved in 2021/22 and at the heart, should be the biggest positive from the whole thing.
Gareth Chalmers, the organisation’s Chief Operating Officer, has had to contend with two parallel battles in the last 17 months, not only the effect the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the income of the club, but its very future because of the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the arena.
Glasgow Clan Chief Operation Officer Gareth Chalmers (right) with former head coach Pete Russell (PHOTO: Al Goold)
Intu’s bankruptcy threw everything up in the air and only now, are we starting to see how things are landing with the real possibility Clan will be in charge of their home.
They’ve called it a “game changer” if it were to go ahead and that’s not something that should be underestimated. Clan running their own home would be akin to Cardiff Devils when they moved into Ice Arena Wales and it’s no coincidence their success has been built from that arrangement.
If (this is important as nothing has been confirmed yet) and when the announcement comes, it will be as significant, if not more so than the one that declared their arrival to the UK ice hockey scene in 2010.
Impatience among the desperate fanbase is perfectly natural and understandable as time goes on and as the Purple Army see the other team stock up on their roster.
That’s not to say “Clan Towers” is sitting back and waiting for the call to go ahead. You can rest assured there is work going on to prepare for the new campaign.
Clan fans are desperate to see their team in action again, but the operation of the arena is still in a legal process (PHOTO: Al Goold)
The most important aspect to that is the appointment of a head coach. Who that could be is shrouded in secrecy at this time, but candidates have been identified and even interviews have taken place, from what we understand.
There’s no doubt their return will be a huge one for the fans, having to go through the emotions of whether or not their club will even see a new season.
For many of the Clan faithful, some of them were Ayr Eagles fans and had to watch helplessly when they slipped out of existence back in 2002. The circumstances between the two clubs may be very different, but the feeling of potential loss was very much the same.
For now, it’s the preverbial waiting game and once the lengthy legal process is completed and all parties are in agreement, given the size of the deal, you’ll see a lot of public activity from the Clan and you just know they’ll announce their return in a very noticeable fashion.
