Following another busy summer of commercial deals and events, our Commercial Director Steve Coakley has asked us to express his sincere thanks to all of the club partners, sponsors and supporters for their continued backing...
Good afternoon everyone,
With the club having such a busy summer across the commercial department, I thought it would be appropriate to pen a column of notes to thank those involved in the many new and extended agreements that we have signed since the end of our Sky Bet League One campaign.
There are so many reasons to be excited as we head into another season in the second tier and the level of backing from our many partners and sponsors over the last few months has certainly reflected that.
Alongside releasing three new Puma Teamwear strips which have already proven very popular with our supporters – I always try not to but end up finding myself on social media to see the feedback when they’re released! – we signed a significant commercial deal with Asura Financial Technologies who we have welcomed as the main sponsors of our Change and Alternate strips. I think Puma have really excelled with the designs for this year’s kits, particular the Primary strip which we feel brilliantly commemorates 10 years of football here at our AESSEAL New York Stadium home. On the topic of our Primary strip design, I’d also like to place on record our thanks to the Graphic Bomb, who were responsible for the bespoke illustrations that you will see have been sublimated into the shirt design and look – in my opinion anyway – absolutely brilliant.
Appearing on the reverse of a Millers shirt for the first time are Garner Construction UK, whilst, long-term trainingwear sponsors Guardian Electrical Compliance have renewed terms and we’ve also had significant new commitments from IPM Group, E4H, Hodge Clemco and KCM Waste Management over the summer.
Of course, we’ve had a number of other non-first team events which have raised the club’s commercial profile, most notably the Women’s EUROs which we were incredibly proud to stage here at AESSEAL New York Stadium. I think if you speak to anyone that saw any of the matches, either in-person or on television, the feedback we’ve had has been overwhelming positive. With that, we’ve been able to retain a number of the improvements made to the stadium for the tournament, including the in-stand floodlights. As I mentioned earlier, I can’t keep myself off social media and as a club, we do try and take note of supporter feedback. It was good news for us to see so many people clamouring for the club to have the LED perimeter boards kept for next season because, before the tournament, we had already set the wheels in motion on that. We haven't 'kept' the ones used by UEFA, but instead, we have installed a system from SPORTFIVE which was in-situ for the season opener against Swansea City on Saturday and provide an even more striking form of exposure for our commercial partners
The 2022 Rotherham United Golf Day was also a fantastic opportunity to welcome sponsors and club partners to take on our Chairman Tony Stewart, Paul Warne, his staff and a number of players up at Wath Golf Club. I’d like to say a big thanks to Wath and everyone who participated in what was a brilliant day in some South Yorkshire sunshine.
Finally, I want to thank my commercial team here at Rotherham United, from the simply irreplaceable John Breckin to the hospitality team, Andy and the team in the Red and White Shop, John Bird who heads up our ticketing operation, and most notably, Mark Hitchens and Lizzie Sowter who work closely alongside me. A lot of the effort that they put in goes unseen by the public, but is so crucial in us generating funds which helps to keep the good work carried out by Paul Warne and his players going.
Thanks again to everyone who has supported us be it with a hospitality booking, a stand sponsorship or even a Season Ticket purchase. Your backing is always appreciated and never taken for granted.