Waterloo hopes are raised
Shropshire bowlers have welcomed the latest update on the future of the spiritual home of the sport – even though it’s not all good news.
Completing structural repairs to the stadium at the Waterloo green in Blackpool are the key to it being open this year, and that’s why entries for competitions are still not being taken.
Gary Ellis, the spokesman for the committee trying to secure the site’s future said: “We are making progress, but we are now into February and the season isn’t far away, and it’s fair to say it’s slower than we hoped.
“The freeholder has, in principle, offered us a 10-year lease. But before bowling can take place in 2020 and the lease agreements can be put into the hands of solicitors to sort out, the freeholder wants confirmation on how all the other recommended jobs (at the stadium) will be dealt with.
“We are in the process of getting those jobs assessed and costed, at which point we can go back to the freeholder with a plan. We are, therefore, not taking entries until this is ironed out.”
But Ellis warned there is a chance that the early season tournaments at the Waterloo may have to be taken out of the programme and a slight risk that there may not be any bowling there until 2021.
“Although that would still secure the long-term future of bowling at the Waterloo – not playing there this year s is something we all want to avoid,” he added.
