As the off-season period is only a number of weeks old, work behind the scenes has been moving apace with stadium improvement, pitch re-development, and a whole host of other aspects being prepared for the club to go again when the season begins again in late-July.
Neil Sears has outlined his latest summary below to keep supporters up-to-date.
Hello to all Bury fans,
I hope you’re all enjoying the close season and getting a bit of a breather before we dive into another exciting year of football. The disappointment of missing out on promotion hasn’t halted our progress in many other areas and I wanted to touch base with you and share some updates from the club.
3G Pitch Installation
First off, the installation of our new 3G pitch is progressing well. It’s a big project, but things are moving along nicely. We expect to have a more detailed update from our partners at McArdle next week, so keep an eye out for that.
Season Tickets
I know many of you are already looking ahead to the new season and with pre-season fixtures released, and league allocations coming together we can outline plans around season tickets. Season ticket prices will again need to be linked to general matchday pricing, so the confirmation on the number of teams in the league guides this process.
The good news is, for the most part, we won’t be raising season ticket or matchday prices. Plus, we’re introducing more inclusive options for hospitality, making it accessible for all our fans.
We’re currently working through seating plans with our ticketing partner TicketCo, to allow supporters to pick their seat for the season in the Main and South Stand areas. Season ticket purchases will open once this process has been completed.
Catering Update
We would like to say a big thank you to Quirky Catering for their time at Gigg Lane. They’ve been fantastic to work with, and we wish them all the best.
As announced yesterday, we are in the process of selecting a new catering partner and will make an announcement in the next few weeks. This change is part of a wider review of our operational activities over the summer.
Reception Opening Hours
Listening to your feedback, we’re adjusting our Reception opening hours to better serve you. Starting from next week, times you can contact club will be as follows:
- Tuesday: 12:00 – 16:00
- Thursday: 13:00 – 17:00
- Friday: 13:00 – 17:00
The phone number to contact is 0161 537 9253.
Outside of these times, you can email us at enquiries@buryfc.co.uk, and a member of our volunteer team will get back to you as soon as possible.
This change comes directly from your feedback on how we can improve communication with the club.
Player Retentions & New Additions
Last weekend, we released our retained lists to give you an update on our squads – across both Men’s and Women’s sides.
We did this to make sure that supporters were up-to-date on the management team’s intentions as we head into the new season. This is generally out-of-step with other non-league sides at this level, however we felt it was important to outline this.
Now is currently the time where football rests, with players and management heading off for well-earned breaks. However, rest assured on how much work is going into next season’s recruitment. We ask for your patience as we work through this process.
We’ll announce new signings as soon as agreements are reached with each player. Please note that formal confirmations can only be made from 1st July, when new player registrations for the season open. If we do sign a player under a contract (most likely within the Men’s squad), we can announce immediately. However, there is a strategic decision when it comes to offering contracts during the off-season and in-doing so, not impacting on the overall budget.
Fans Forum – Fri 28th June
Tickets for the upcoming Fans Forum in Starkies were made available last week, and I am pleased that these are now sold out. Myself, Dave McNabb, Chair Marcel de Matas and Jon Newby look forward to welcoming those with tickets.
The floor will be open for questions on the night but we do ask that advanced questions are emailed in by the 10th June. We can then collate these and answer these fully and concisely on the night.
To email your questions, please click below.
The event will be filmed and will be available for supporters to watch after the event.
I have received many challenging questions which I have been happy to respond to, and a lot of messages of support in my short time in position already. The response to our previous Q&A sessions, available on YouTube HERE, have also been well received. We look to keep doing these on a monthly-basis during the season.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all those who have been in touch. The strong theme is one of wanting the club to succeed and for us to continue pushing forwards. This is a message I share with you all in this regard.
We’re all looking forward to another great season together.
Up the Shakers!
Neil Sears CEO
Bury Football Club
