Challenges remain Training ground plans are put on ice
CHIEF executive Lance Bradley says Gloucester continue to face “considerable challenges on the commercial side” as a result on the Covid pandemic.
In a statement to supporters, he said that the club has submitted details of the impact of these restrictions to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), who have in turn made a recommendation to The Treasury for a package of support for Premiership Rugby clubs - and Gloucester expect to hear from them before the end of this month.
Bradley revealed the Cherry and Whites have been forced to push back plans to build a new training ground, and have launched a three-year season ticket in a bid to bring in much-needed cash.
They are also urging fans to buy signed training kit and tickets for special events.
“We continue to face considerable challenges on the commercial side of our club, due to the restrictions around being unable to invite you back to Kingsholm to watch games and attend other events,” he said.
They added: “We do believe that the difficulties we are currently facing will be overcome by the start of next season.
“Our challenge, therefore, is to get through this season as best we can - and this is where your support will be invaluable.
“We thank you again for your support, including those of you who have donated from last season’s Club/1873 membership, those of you who continue to pay for next season’s memberships and those of you who have offered to contribute in other ways.”
Bradley said that the club is planning to offer three-year season tickets, on sale from December, and covering seasons 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24.
“The benefit of buying one of these will be that you will get three seasons with no price increases,” he said.
On the training ground delay, Bradley said: “Many of you were kind enough to donate towards the costs of our new training ground, and thank you again for that.
“The money that was donated has been ring-fenced for use on the new facilities, but the financial impact of not being allowed fans into Kingsholm has meant that we have had to revisit the timings of our development plans.
“We do still intend to build a fantastic new facility, and we have identified a site, but financial constraints mean that we are not in a position to proceed with the development within the time frames originally planned.
“We will therefore develop an interim training facility at Kingsholm, which we will use until we are able to move into the all-new facilities.”
Bradley also addressed matters on the pitch, where Gloucester finished seventh after the arrival of new head coach George Skivington.
“We had always said that the final post-lockdown games would provide a great opportunity for our new coaching team, under George Skivington, to get a good look at our squad and see what we needed to do to get where we all want to be – challenging for trophies,” Bradley wrote.
“It’s fair to say that some of our results were very pleasing, while others were certainly less so.
“But I can tell you that we learned a lot, and this has given us a clear view of where we need to improve.
“It also meant that we made full use of our whole squad, including some of our Senior Academy players.
“There were a number of players who may not ordinarily have had such a good chance to show what they can do who have most certainly made a strong case for their inclusion in George’s future squad selection.
“With the 20/21 season kicking off in only two weeks’ time, games coming up every weekend throughout the season and our international players away for a significant period of time, squad depth is going to be an important factor.
“There’s no doubt that George and his new coaching team have already made some noticeable improvements.
“Our pack has looked significantly better, and while pre-lockdown we were one of the worst teams in terms of giving away penalties, post-lockdown there was only one team who conceded fewer penalties than we did.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day, but these are good signs.
“Jack Clement, Stephen Varney, Lloyd Evans, Tom Seabrook, Todd Gleave, Ciaran Knight and Alex Seville have all come through our Academy and committed their futures to our club, as have Chris Harris and Matt Garvey, who have been immense for us.
“We have also signed Jack Tyack and Kyle Moyle on loan from Cornish Pirates, and Jamie Gibson on a permanent deal.
“There are a couple of other signings and re-signings I can’t tell you about just yet but which I’m sure you’ll be as delighted about as I am.
“We are not expecting any departures (other than short-term loan players), so we will be fully ready for the challenges of the new season.”