Harrogate Town's latest round of ground improvements show club to be 'relentless' in pursuit of off-field progress

February saw Harrogate Town install more than 600 new seats in the Black Sheep Brewery Stand at its Wetherby Road home. Pictures: Matt Kirkham

That is the view of first-team manager Simon Weaver following confirmation from Harrogate Borough Council that it has given the League Two Sulphurites the green light to begin work on redeveloping the end of its Wetherby Road home which currently comprises the Myrings Terrace and 1919 Bar.

The new ‘South Stand’ will comprise a new standing terrace and 264 additional seats, increasing the EnviroVent Stadium’s seated capacity beyond the 2,000 mark, to bring it in line with Football League (EFL) stadium requirements.

EFL criteria states that member clubs’ grounds must have a capacity of more than 5,000, with at least 2,000 seats. Town recently added 603 seats to its Black Sheep Brewery Stand, with the next installation set to take the total number inside Wetherby Road to 2,060.

The overall capacity of the stadium, which is already in excess of 5,000, is however not increasing.

“It’s great and it’s an indication that no matter what, no matter what people say, or whether people doubt us, we are just having it and we are relentless in terms of becoming a proper football club,” Harrogate boss Weaver said of the planned improvements, scheduled to be completed in time for the start of the 2023/24 season.

"The efforts of Sarah Barry, Abbey Smith, Jo Towler, the chairman [Irving Weaver] and then the football side of it, everybody is doing it for the badge.

"We’ll all leave eventually, but we just want to leave it in a better place and it will be better still having these seats in the ground.

"It just makes it a better ground for supporters to visit.”