Dear BPA supporters,
This past season has seen a big turnaround for the club, just missing out on promotion. The first team has been competitive all season and this is a massive improvement from recent years. Also, the support for the club is growing and the last few home games have shown our potential to attract bigger crowds. This is a key factor as we will not be able to move up the leagues without increasing the attendance in lockstep with our promotion ambitions. These ambitions are as follows,
- Average attendance in 26/27 of 800 per game and win promotion. Anything else will not suffice.
- Win another promotion in two years, increasing attendance each year to match clubs in those higher divisions
There are a host of challenges to achieve these ambitions, and to help tackle these challenges we have added two new directors to the board. The first is Matt Rogers, a successful local businessman who is going to spend a significant amount of time at the club to help with day-to-day management. The second is Rob Hicks who many of you might know from his role at the RFL. He will be able to bring his considerable knowledge of professional sport to help us grow the club and meet the goals we have set.
These two gentlemen will help me to reduce my commitments to the club which are limited due to my age and being 5,000 miles away. Being on the ground is absolutely essential to good decision making especially in the current uncertain economic environment.
There are many people responsible for this excellent season starting with our manager, Craig and his squad of coaches and players. The club has shown its confidence in our manager by extending his contract for the next season and you will see many of our favourite players come back next season to finish the job of promotion. Thank you all for your efforts.
Behind the scenes, Thomas McStravick has done a magnificent job despite being shorthanded and having to perform multiple roles. All the staff and volunteers deserve a big thank you working sometimes in difficult circumstances as our stadium facilities are not yet where we want them to be.
The improved attendances are mostly down to the community engagement by our Foundation, led by Mat Everett. The BPA Foundation is growing and will be a very significant part of our club strategy to serve the local area.
To everyone at the club, thank you for all you do.
Gareth