The SMFC 1877 Club opened on the 16th April, 2016, opened by Saints legend Tony Fitzpatrick.
The club was established on a membership basis to help fund the build cost which was a joint initiative led by The Fans Council and supported by the Saints Board of the time with special mention to Fans Council Chairman Alan Wardrop and club board member Ian Henderson for driving the project forward.
When the new stadium was built and opened in 2006 the area had lay undeveloped and was referred to as “the void” highlighting it was just an empty space being used as a storage area for memorabilia which had not found a home at the new stadium. Sadly trophies lay in boxes gathering dust.
With no bars or pubs in the local area since moving from Love St there was demand for a gathering place for Saints fans on a match day selling alcohol and where buddies could mix with other fellow Saints supporters both pre and post match.
A test case pilot was carried out in December 2014 in a temporary marquee at the stadium car park and established the demand for a full blown club.
Memberships were advertised with a max of 243 available based on the club capacity and 200 Saints fans took up the offer paying a £50 joining fee and £10 per month subscription.The members raised £10,000 to start the work and this was then proof of concept for the board to support it .With the clubs support and the help of brewer Heineken the club was established.
The club was opened in April 2016 at St.Mirren’s home game v local rivals Morton and the Saints won 3-1.
It was a great way to open the club !
Here are some pictures from before the club was established:
Here are some after pictures of the new facility on the opening day:
