Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊

Why not buy a share in a football club.



andybaha

Active member
Jan 3, 2007
736
Piddinghoe
It seems most of the talk on here is of the Championship, the Premier League, or La Liga, or Serie A, or the Bundesliga, etc. etc. yadda yadda yadda. But clearly, the most exciting league around is the Ryman Premier Division, the southern based 7th tier of the English football tetrahedron. Last year, Wealdstone (of “Wealdstone Raider” infamy) were triumphant, and the year before that the champions were Whitehawk (the team who’ve “got no fans”). Additionally, who can forget the 2007-08 Chelmsford City team who stormed to the title? Who, I ask you?

But the real action is at the bottom, or 6th from bottom to be exact, where the mighty Lewes FC (affectionately known as “The Rooks”) reside, scrapping with the likes of AFC Hornchurch and VCD Athletic for survival in this esteemed division. Lewes were formed in 1885, making Liverpool and Newcastle relative babies (1892? Pffftt), and have played in the same deluxe sporting “stadium” ever since: the wonderfully named “Dripping Pan” (capacity 3,000). This ground (sometimes referred to as the “Pan Siro”) is possibly the finest ground in the land, with beach huts instead of VIP boxes (not a joke) and a Portakabin for a board room (the “Board-akabin”). The hallowed turf has seen a whole host of stars turn out for the Rooks over the years, including Jason Puncheon of Crystal Palace and shitting-himself fame, Russell Martin of Scotland and Norwich, and Rufus Brevett- who had awesome hair.

However in 2010, it looked like it was all over, with the club 24 hours from ceasing to exist due to financial issues. But the club was saved by a group of fans, and is now a community club owned by the supporters and run by the supporters. And here I get to my point. Are you fed up of the wealthy owners out of touch with the fan base, sucking the passion out of your team? Would you like to own your own football club?

It costs a measly £30 to be a shareholder of Lewes FC. Thirty quid to be able to say “I am an owner of a football team”. You even get a badge and a weekly e-newsletter in addition to your share certificate! I imagine if you were on the fence before then you have been firmly tipped over now.

I realise that no-one has probably even read this far, but if you have then I both thank you and commend you for indulging in my waffling. If by some miracle my humble words have managed to persuade you to join me as an owner of this wonderful club, simply go here and prove yourself to be a truly awesome person.

As well as me you would be joining such illustrious names as Steve Coogan, Nigella Lawson and the bloke who does the voiceover on Come Dine With Me! Get your name on the list and be part of something special!

Full list of owners is here

P.S. we currently have two brothers playing for us with the surname Crabb- allowing the opportunity to chant “We’ve got Crabbs! We’ve got Crabbs!”- although this hasn’t caught on yet, for some reason
 

StonehamPark

#Brighton-Nil
Oct 30, 2010
9,752
BC, Canada
Just seems a bit of a novelty to me.

£30.00 p/a for a 'vote', 25% off at Spec-Savers and a nice pin-badge.

Nice idea for a Lewes FC fan's Birthday or something though.
 


jackanada

Well-known member
Jul 19, 2011
3,141
Brighton
£30 pa? That's not buying a share that's leasing a share.
And for that reason I'm out.
Though I shall visit the dripping pan art least once before the end of the season.
 


Fef

Rock God.
Feb 21, 2009
1,727
Lewes FC is a wonderfully quirky club - the thirty quid shareholdings, the corporate beach huts, and the utterly amazing match day advertising posters.
I might just be tempted - although I'd never turn up as I'll always be a Brighton lad.
 

andybaha

Active member
Jan 3, 2007
736
Piddinghoe
Unashamedly copied and pasted from a previous Reddit post where it generated an extra 30 owners from all around the world. The original writer has encouraged its duplication if generates more interest in ownership of Lewes FC.

If you fancied owning a share for a mere £30 then just go to the Lewes FC website and sign up from there, it's straightforward enough.
 


bn1&bn3 Albion

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2011
5,623
Portslade
Try get along to as many games as I can when Brighton aren't playing.

They should have a new artificial 3G pitch up by May of this year and they have plans to start upgrading the Dripping Pan within the next couple years.
 

Rooks & Seagulls

New member
Aug 21, 2014
46
Work starts on the 3G pitch on Monday. It's in the Priory Field - within the school grounds - adjacent to the Pan. It will take 14 weeks to build at a cost of £850k, made up of various grants and share offers. Phase 2 is to build a new clubhouse & changing rooms,(sometime in 2016), then restore the original pavilion (where the Rook Inn is now, and within four years, re-develop the Mountfield Road/ car park corner into a performing arts school, with recording studio, theatre & drama space and meeting rooms/ network space, under the title of the Sussex Youth Network Centre.

It's a bold plan, and one that has the community at it's heart. As a not-for profit community club it's essential that clubs of our size can generate income off the pitch as on it.

Everyone who buys the £30 share gets one share of the club (from the Chairman down), have a chance to elect themselves onto the Board, and is fully aware of the plans that we have put in place - in fact it was the 'owners' that voted to take this course of action.

With the share certificate comes a discount card, that offers discount in over 65 retail outlets in and around Lewes - anything from 5% off Harveys shop, 10% off Bills Restaurant, 15% off Caffyns servicing etc. Its a real testament to the way that the town interacts with the club that they offer discount to the owners - it keeps the money in the town and creates a real sense of loyalty on both sides...

As for the team? With the revenue from the 3G and the other planned activities, there's a not unrealistic ambition to push the team up the pyramid - an established Conference South, even mid-table Conference side is not unrealistic, and there's no time limit - too many football clubs work on their 'five-year-plan', pump money into the team, leave the infrastructure behind and see it tumble from the top down, as one South London club has done. Twice...

So the £30 ownership works on many levels - yes it connects the town with to the club, but it also a bit of fun for those who don't live here; in the last few months we've set up a 'Melbourne Rooks Fan Club', there's a 'Scandinavian Rooks' Facebook page, and the US thing? One fan on the Lewes Terraces writes a really positive peice on his hometown club on Reddit, and suddenly we have 35 new owners - that's over £1,000 - from Ontario, New Mexico, California etc. from people who probably have no idea where we are, but buy into the community angle - something that in the franchised world of 'Soccer' in the States, they're obviously looking for.

The Beach Huts and the posters all add to the publicity, and keep the club in the spotlight, which generates interest and ultimately new owners...

So thank you 'Swerve' who posted the piece, and for anyone else who wants to become an owner of a football club, enjoy a pint on the terraces and watch some good honest football, here's the link;

http://www.lewesfc.com/become-an-owner/

Cheers.

By the way, if any of you fancy helping us finish off our Beer Festival beers this Saturday before you demolish Forest, we're opening the Rook Inn at 12:30pm for the BT Live game between Tottenham & Arsenal... All ale is just £3, and it should finish in time to catch the train to Falmer well before kick off! (entry is free for all Brighton fans).
 

Albion and Premier League latest from Sky Sports

Paying the bills

Latest Discussions

Paying the bills

Paying the bills

Paying the bills


Top
Link Here