By Aiden McKeown

Bonfire Night is one of the major events of the year for sports grounds. For some teams, it has been a tradition to hold yearly fireworks displays on their home ground.

These displays can be used to rally community spirit behind the local teams as they give back to their supporters. Tonight, and the weekend, will see many clubs around the country act as host to these events.

Hamilton Academical, who hold an event yearly, will be putting on their show at New Douglas Park from 7:15pm, with a fair running from 4:30pm. Elsewhere in Lanarkshire, Uddingston Cricket and Sports Club will be hosting their fireworks display on Saturday.

In the wake of the new Firework Control Zone scheme, the areas in Glasgow that can hold these displays have been restricted. This has led to only three venues in Glasgow hosting an event on their grounds.

Last year, there was a notable instance in Dublin, where hooligans opted to use their local pitch as an area to light bonfires. This led to considerable damage making the area impossible to play on.

Glasnevin FC were the team that felt the consequences of this incident, but it is not alone. In recent days, Sheriff YC, also in Dublin, has seen its pitch badly affected by intruders who broke in and took their car for a joyride which has rendered it playable for the foreseeable future.

While these groups provide spaces in the community as an outlet for young kids and teenagers, they are consistently met with disrespect from groups that are looking to cause trouble. Last year, the Hamilton Palace Sports Ground was wrecked by hooligans who launched fireworks onto the pitch.

Despite all this adversity, these sports venues continue to push on and try their best to provide a space in the community where people can come together, either to play or to watch a game being played.

This bonfire night is an opportunity for the community to gather and enjoy the displays that these sports venues provide while also being respectful of the grounds.

Sports Venues brace for Bonfire Night