It was great to see the Platinum Lounge full of loyal committed Boro fans last night for the Fans Forum evening. It was certainly 'standing room only'! I think there were around 120 people there.
The evening was very positive and gave Simon the chance to fully and candidly explain to fans the problems associated with running a football Club at our level. They are legion! The expenses, leaving aside the player budget, to simply open the doors for a season running at around £160K which includes £36K on electricity alone.
Gate money for crowds of around 600 falls around £65K short of meeting these costs so when you add in the playing side there is a need for considerable takings from the bar, from sponsorship any other revenue streams that can be found. You do not have to be a mathematical genius to decipher the financial contributions Simon has made already over his 3 seasons at the club.
Simon explained that the recent winding up order, which gained publicity far more than it deserved, was a situation we could have done without. He pointed out that this was front page news in the local paper when the Firework evening attended by 3000 people did not even merit a mention. When he inquired why, the reponse was that the event was not newsworthy!
There was a spreadsheet available, which Simon had sent to Ian Whatmore (then of the FA!) highlighting the financial plight of non league clubs. He constrasted their position with the vast sums on money available to clubs in the higher echelons of the game.
Against this background Simon identified that he is in discussions with the local council to establish if they can assist in planning the way forward for the Club. He believes the Club has massive potential with the Football League a possible long term goal, but the way forward needs to be managed and embraced by the local authority. He made the point that Woking's stand cost £1.3 million and was fully financed by the local council. There is an expectation that the council will improve the car park in the near future!
Turning to the PRE stand development Simon stated that there is an £86K shortfall in funds needed to complete the building phase. He has budgeted a £100K contribution to come from Boro fans. FaST on behalf of the fans has passed over £25K to the Club so far but has made it clear that on the basis of existing fund-raising rates it will take a considerable time to raise the sum needed. At present the development is halted but the hope is that sufficient funds will be raised by the end of the season to allow the addition of the sheeting rails to take place. Simon remains commited to the completion of the stand but this will take longer than was originally hoped.
The three main action points that where identified at the meeting where:-
1. Please volunteer to help the Club wherever you can. If you have any skills which you feel may be useful to the Club then let Steve or Simon know - they will welcome you with open arms. Many hands make light work.
2. Please support the fund-raising initiatives run by FaST, the Club and the events and facilities of the Clubhouse. Every pound passed though these routes while help the Club to meet its costs.
3. Keep positive and encourage others to use our Club.
To avoid re-inventing the wheel and hopefully not infringing copyright rules the links below will take you to the Forum reports of others already posted:-
http://www.farnboroughfans.co.uk/forum.mpl?id=128598
http://www.farnboroughfans.co.uk/forum.mpl?id=128601
http://www.farnboroughfans.co.uk/forum.mpl?id=128591
http://www.farnboroughfans.co.uk/forum.mpl?id=128600
http://www.farnboroughfans.co.uk/forum.mpl?id=128606
http://www.farnboroughfans.co.uk/forum.mpl?id=128613
Dave Workman.
