|
REDCAR SUPPORTERS’ FUND
THE Redcar Supporters’ Fund has been set up by a group of fans including the club’s commercial manager Steve Harland and supporter Brian Nunn primarily to help raise money to go towards the club’s off track activities.
Explaining the reasoning behind the fund, Steve said: “We are not in competition with any other organisations that raise money for the club. The Bears Supporters Group and Jason Pipe & Yvonne Matthews do a great job raising funds for the riders, this isn’t raising money for the riders it’s raising money towards the expenses of running a speedway club. There are a lot of hidden costs that mount up such as maintaining the tractors, buying the diesel to run them or even something trivial as buying toilet paper. Alternatively we could look at paying money towards a billboard poster in a convenient location or helping purchase road signs directing people to Redcar Speedway.”
The first priority for the fund will be to purchase a portable building to host guests/sponsors which brought valuable revenue into the club last season. The Hodgson Lounge, named after three generations of family who all rode speedway on Teesside, was pivotal in hosting meeting sponsorship in 2008. 31 of 35 meetings attracted sponsorship which was mainly down to the efforts of Harland. The club had been renting a facility and paid nearly £9,000 in hire charges during the past three seasons, whereas he believes that by purchasing a permanent building will save the club a considerable sum of money that can be better spent elsewhere on the club.
The fund which is in its embryonic stages is staging its first fund raising event with a pool evening at Riley’s Snooker Hall in Stockton on Thursday 11 December @ 7.30pm and has already attracted 53 competitors willing to pay a fiver each. A darts evening is to be held in the New Year and plans for a ‘community day’ have been discussed.
“We hope to be in a position to raise a considerable sum of money to go towards the purchase of a 32ft x10ft portacabin in March 2009 and have already shook hands on a provisional deal with G.E.R. Cabins of Skippers Lane Industrial Estate in Middlesbrough. The refurbished unit will have heating, electrics and a sink unit installed for £2,000 including delivery. In return Gary Roberts of GER Cabins will receive a free half page programme advertisement.”
Harland has already attracted interest from local companies wanting to advertise on the portacabin with two deals already clinched and hopefully more to follow: “We are grateful to both North East Bearings & Transmission of Middlesbrough and Hartlepool Autoparts for pledging their support to us and it is my job to attract further advertisers.”
The fund are awaiting the outcome to see who the new promotional rights holders are and will be seeking a meeting with them as soon as they take over.
For Further Information Contact Steve Harland: sm.harland@googlemail.com
|
