I am pleased to report that things have started to progress with the new floodlights this week with the electrical circuits and pylon bolts having been inspected, next week the pylons themselves will be thoroughly inspected in the hope that the new lights will be in place by the time of our first home pre-season friendly against Hemel Hempstead Town on Tuesday 26th July.
Prices have been set for our two home friendlies this summer (the other being against Wycombe Wanderers on Friday 29th July) with an extra discount available for purchasing tickets for the matches in advance. Pre-booked prices will be £6 adults, £5 concessions and £3 for 12-18 year olds. Advanced tickets sales will be available up until 6 hours before the game, after that they will be available at the turnstiles as normal at £8, £6 and £4 respectively. Under 12’s can attend all games free of charge.
Tickets will be available from Monday 4th July, at both games the clubhouse and outside bar will be open to serve refreshments and I am delighted to say that Bill’s Diner will be back for the season ahead selling what are surely the best burgers in the league.
Earlier this week you may well have seen that we announced our new kit and shirt sponsors for the forthcoming season, which sees a return to a predominantly claret & blue shirt, which I know is a popular decision.
The front of the shirt will carry the name of Castlemore – the clubs preferred choice of building surveyors, designers and builders for the proposed new ground. We have been liaising with Castlemore since August last year and have been impressed with what they have to offer and their commitment to the project already, both financially and in time.
The away kit for the club remains yellow and black with a revamped design for 2022/23 season. Replica shirts are expected to be available from the club and the club shop in time for the start of the new campaign. But in the meantime, to make sure you get your shirt in time for the first league game we have ordered nine extra shirts which we will have for sale at £37 with pick up from the club in both home and away colours with sizes up to 2 x XL. Get your orders in now to retail@cheshamunited.co.uk. There is no postage charge but be quick – we already have some registered interest.
This week also saw the first monthly draw for the Claret Club business members with local solicitors Coyle White Devine being the first out of the hat and winning the right to have their name on the reverse of the kits for the forthcoming season. We are delighted to be able to promote our local sponsors – the name on the back of the shirt is just the first of our monthly draws for our Claret Club members, later this month we will be carrying out the next draw for a free perimeter board at The Meadow for the season ahead.
I would like to say a big thank you to all twelve of our Claret Club members that have signed up nice and early, we look forward to working with you more throughout the season ahead. Likewise a big thank you to all our sponsors that have renewed so far, you have been keeping the commercial team busy which is fantastic news!
This week I have been having conversations about having our main club website revamped ahead of the new season, I want us to be able to use the site to not only promote the football and matchday activity, but it should also be a platform to be able to give more visibility and support to those local businesses that have been kind enough to support the club. I have now given the go ahead for a new site to be built and I look forward to seeing that progress over the coming weeks.
We are also having an increasing number of enquiries about using our facilities at The Meadow as we look to extend the appeal of the club beyond just football supporters. This week I had a Zoom Meeting with the producers of Taskmaster, discussing the possibility of filming a full show at The Meadow later this year, and next month we will be hosting the National Film School from Beaconsfield as part of their end of year plans whilst they are making a short 15-minute film in the local area.
In a win-win situation we were also delighted to host the local fire brigade at the club this week as they ran a training session for what would happen in the event of a fire at The Meadow. It was an awesome site watching these local professionals in action with their hose runs and spraying practices, it is reassuring to know that these people are on hand for any fire that may start in the Chesham area.
The timing of the practice could not have been better either, after a very hot and dry week, 10,000 additional litres of water being sprayed on the pitch did wonders for the grass! On that subject, a huge thank you to everyone that has helped with the moving of the sprinklers throughout the week, the pitch is looking so much better than it did at the end of last season when it was effectively “dead”. Let’s hope it sees some entertaining football on it this forthcoming season.
Football for the 2021/22 season has now officially ended with the Academy year coming to an end. It has been a pleasure to have these young people at our club and for those that are moving on we wish you the very best for the future.
Weeding party at the club this weekend on Saturday from 9am. Tea and coffee will be supplied so if we get many in with your own bucket, hand fork or trowel the ground will start to look like a Football Stadia again. More hands make light work. We also need a strimming party out the back of the club as it is starting to look like a hay field! Come on peeps let get it done before too long.
Have a great weekend and thank you for your support.
Peter Brown, Chairman
