Four members join management committee
the role of CEO at Sligo Rovers last October, thanked everyone for a warm welcome as he settled into his new position and highlighted some of the early projects he has been involved in since taking up the role.
He highlighted that tiered system has been introduced for corproate partnerships which is broken down into four categories – Main, Diamond, Platinum and Gold.
AvantMoney were listed as the club's main sponsor. AbbVie, ATU Sligo, PHD Access and PetStop are now Diamond partners, Avenue, Clayton Hotel, Porter Ford, Martin Reilly Mazda and Storm Fitness are Platinum partners and SIS Pitches, OSD Digital Agency and O'Connor Cabins are Gold members.
He highlighted new revenue streams which have already been visible including Revolution Laundry at
The Showgrounds, an LED screen on match nights, a link-up and the Rio Ferdinand Foundation, which proved to be a major success in reaching wider and potentially new audiences.
The relocation of the merchadise shop has also seen a reported increase in match night sales while the return of Benny the Bull has also been warmly received.
Looking ahead, he said plans for the near future include having the LED screen at 18 home games, identifying further partners for the new tiered corporate partnership system, assessing the possibility of creating a corproate hospitality area with the parameters of the existing facilities and developing contacts within the FAI with the aim of giving Sligo Rovers greater representation at this level.
STADIUM UPDATE
Mark Cummins offered a detailed report on where the Masterplan for the redevelopment of The Showgrounds currently stands.
He explained how the design of the development has been tweaked to facilitate necessary upgrades to become a UEFA Category Three venue.
The biggest changes will occur on the Jinks Avenue side of the ground where new player, officials and media facilities will be situated in accordance with UEFA guidelines. He said this also means additional seating and toilet facilities will be added to plans for the stand.
He went on the describe the Church Hill Stand as the potential “jewel in the crown” of the development.
This stand will be the central hub to activity in the ground on match nights and non-match nights with plans for a cafe, gym, conference rooms and hot desks all being available on any nonmatch day.
He revealed that the club's application for LSSIF funding will receive a response in the coming weeks.
He outlined that a detailed report increased and improved social participation, improved high performance and increased active participation in sport for people with disabilities were some areas that needed to be covered in their application.
The Showgrounds also must have at least 20% non-professional use of the ground which prompted discussions with local football and community groups and schools.
Discussions are also being sought with Sligo Rugby Club and Connacht Rugby to explore their potential use of the ground.
Tommy Higgins further elaborated on the need for The Showgrounds to “be different” if it is to keep pace with the growing reputation and interest in the league and changing attitudes which have created a greater demand for a full match night experience as well as a need to make The Showgrounds a community hub in every sense.
“Our average attendance is 2,600. Clubs around us are averaging 4,500. The difference on the gates is half a million.
“Weed to do something different and hundreds of hours have gone into this.
“We have a wonderful facility that is used 20 times a year, it really needs to be used 100 times a year. That’s the trend we are seeing in Europe.
“We visited a club in Finland who average 5,000 attendances in a 10,000 seater stadium with a €12 million turnover, while ours is €2 million., and lots of that money is coming from ancilliary means.”
SLIGO Rovers formally welcomed four new members to the club’s management committee at Tuesday’s AGM.
It was announced on the night that two members - Conor Rushe and Roddy Murphy - had stepped down during the year due to personal reasons while David Rowe and Michael Clancy formally resigned from the committee at the AGM.
In accordance with membership rules of a third of the committee resigning at the annual general meeting, two further members voluntarily resigned but were eligible to seek re-election - they were Anthony Quinn and Marcus White.
The four new members nominated for election to the committee were Donal Kelly, Thomas Casserly, Shaun Dunne and Michael Doddy.
All four, along with Anthony Quinn and Marcus White, were elected to the 2024 management committee.
It was confirmed on the night that Thomas Casserly would be succeeding David Rowe as treasurer at Sligo Rovers.
SLIGO ROVERS MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 2024: Tommy Higgins, Thomas Casserly, Mark Cummins, Brendan Lacken, David Conway, Martin McDonald, Shona Heffernan, Martin Heraghty, Paddy Houze, Michael Toolan, Kathy Burke, Anthony Quinn, Marcus White, Michael Doddy, Donal Kelly, Shaun Dunne.