Harrogate Town chairman on life without fans

The chairman of Harrogate Town has warned the club faces financial difficulties as fans continue to be banned from grounds.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said current Covid restrictions could last for six months.

For football clubs like Harrogate Town, this means having to face up to the prospect of empty stadiums for the foreseeable future.

This presents a big financial challenge for Town chairman Irving Weaver.

Mr Weaver said the uncertainty meant Town and other clubs faced a “cliff edge scenario”.

He said:

“When crowds mean 30% of revenue that’s a black hole. The furlough scheme was a big help but in the next six months we are looking at a problem that all clubs need help with.

“The subsidy grant we received was really helpful and the income from our games on TV wasn’t budgeted for so these two things have got us on our way. Our streaming figures are growing too, which we also didn’t budget for. All of this has helped make up for a loss of crowds.”

Harrogate Town AFC

The club has has raised its concerns about the impact of playing without fans for a further six months.

The club’s recent promotion to the English Football League was its second in three seasons. But fans have only been able to celebrate the club’s recent successes at home or socially distanced in pubs, and missed out on a trip to Wembley.

With no idea when fans will next be able to attend, Mr Weaver is concerned some may not return.

He added:

“We need to grow our fans, especially if we want to attract players who want a big crowd.

“We are probably worrying more than most, but missing all this excitement is a big loss for fans. I think the solid fans will stay but we also want new people, which becomes difficult when they can’t experience the roar of a crowd at a match.”

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Mr Weaver assured fans that these tough times will be overcome. He said:

“I want to say that ‘we are still kicking and we really want you to come back!’

“We will keep going and keep the atmosphere. We want to maintain our desire to succeed”

Harrogate Town fans ecstatic after Wembley promotion

Harrogate Town fans were left ecstatic this afternoon after the club secured Football League status for the first time in its history.

A 3-1 win over Notts County at Wembley saw the club win their second promotion in three seasons.

Fans flocked to pubs across Harrogate to watch their side make history and were left delighted come five o’clock this afternoon.

Chris Thorpe celebrates Harrogate Town securing Football League status for the first time.

Chris Thorpe watched the game at a packed Harrogate Cricket Club and said he hopes Town can build on the promotion.

He said:

“I’m so delighted with the performance. We were the best team by far.

“We should have been two or three up by half time and were unlucky to concede inside the second half.

“We were absolutely class and were the best team by a mile. I can’t wait to play league football.

“Unfortunately we won’t be able to watch the guys next season, but we will watch them on TV maybe and we’re looking forward to pushing onto League One.”

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Town’s victory leaves them in league football for the first time in their history and 10 years on from facing relegation to the seventh tier.

Goals from George Thompson, Connor Hall and Jack Diamond ensured Harrogate will host League Two football next season.

For the fans, they have trips to Bradford City, Bolton Wanderers and Oldham Athletic to look forward to, should social distancing guidelines be relaxed.

Town are going up! pic.twitter.com/O25P92ppgr

— The Stray Ferret (@thestrayferret) August 2, 2020

Mike Burrett, who also follows Leeds United, said the win also means a lot for the town.

He said:

“I think it’s brilliant, because when I was a kid I went to Harrogate Town and they had crowds of about 300.

“Obviously it is different now and I think they can go from strength to strength. 

“It was always said that Harrogate could not sustain a league football team, but I think that has been disproved.”