CEO delighted to have raised the funds for Safe Standing
Shrewsbury Town CEO, Brian Caldwell, is delighted that the Safe Standing Project has taken a step forward.
The £62,500 fundraising target was met today thanks to a considerable contribution from FansBet.
“It’s fantastic that we’ve eventually got there”, Caldwell told ShrewsWeb.
“Thanks to FansBet, with their donation, we can now plan ahead with trying to get the certification and everything else we need to have a safe standing area here at Shrewsbury.
“I think we’ve got to thank everyone. Nearly 1,000 fans have donated to the cause – not just Shrewsbury fans, but fans from all over the country – as well as sponsors who have put money in and backed the campaign.”
The club itself have supported the cause in a number of ways over the last few months and Caldwell is pleased to have got this done for the fans.
“There’s been quite a bit going on from the club”, admitted Brian.
“There’s been a lot of signed balls and signed shirts, but we have been happy to support it. We obviously donated £20,000 to the cause as well.
“I think from day one we always wanted to support the Supporters’ Parliament to make sure that we got this over the line and we’re delighted that we’ve got that today.”
Despite the funding now being raised, there are still a few holes to jump through and Brian explained the process going forward.
“We’ve been working behind the scenes with the Safety Advisory Group (SAG) to make sure we have all the certification in place”, Caldwell said.
“We are working towards January/February to have that all in place, so that we can hopefully have it installed this season.
“We’ve had a couple of meetings with the SAG and we have a further one scheduled for this week with both the group, the Supporters’ Parliament and Ferco seating, because I think we are all keen to make sure we do this properly.
“I think from the Safety Advisory Groups point of view, they have to make sure that everything is done in the correct manner and I think it’s important, when they are the first SAG group in England and Wales awarding the certification, to make sure that they get it right.”
However, Caldwell was quick to point out that this is a big step in the right direction and he is excited about the future.
“It’s great news and a huge step forward”, Brian continued.
“We’ve now got the funding in place and it’s a case of getting the certification in place and getting some installation dates.”