A note from the Chairman

I would like to begin these notes by congratulating our Under-23s who have progressed to the Professional Development League final following their play-off victory against Charlton Athletic on Tuesday evening.

A huge congratulations must go to David Lee, his staff, the players and everybody involved in their success this season, especially as they finished top of the northern group.

We of course wish them well in their final against Nottingham Forest this Friday evening at the City Ground.

A special mention must also go to everybody involved with our Under-18s who reached the play-offs too, but were unlucky not to reach the final. Well done to everybody involved!

It was great to see such a fantastic turnout for Burnden Leisure’s AGM on Tuesday morning and I would like to thank everybody who came. It was the first such meeting held in four years and I feel it is crucially important that we continue to provide regular opportunities for all our stakeholders to meet with the club’s officers.

We also had time to field a somewhat impromptu Q&A session for all the shareholders in attendance which I hope shed more light on matters.

As I mentioned in my last set of notes, I’ll be holding a more general no-holds-barred-Q&A for all our season ticket holders and supporters. I will of course update you all on the date and time of this.

Ticket, hospitality and sponsorship sales are going very well for Sunday’s Sky Bet Championship game against Nottingham Forest with our opponents selling out of their allocation of just over 2,000 tickets.

We still need the entire Bolton Family to come along and cheer on the team for this crucial match. Tickets are available now and can be purchased by clicking here.

Keep your eyes peeled later this week for Bolton Central’s end of season sale which will see big reductions on selected lines throughout the store. Now is the time to bag a bargain and wear your colours with pride for one final time this season.

Next week, we shall also be announcing our season ticket pricing for the 2018/19 campaign.

As always, being a season ticket holder will guarantee you the best prices for each of our league fixtures as well as providing you with many other benefits. I really hope that you all renew and encourage your family, friends and colleagues.

The EFL is currently encouraging supporters to take part in a survey in relation to safe standing at football stadia. I would like to encourage as many of you as possible to share your views, while more details can be found here.

The EFL are also putting to a vote, among the clubs, about whether or not to continue with the traditional match day programmes.

Currently, it is a mandatory requirement that all clubs produce them. However, some clubs would like to move away from this. It is our intention to continue with programmes for the foreseeable future but the club would really like to hear your thoughts and suggestions for them going forward.

Please email your feedback and thoughts on safe standing and the matchday programme to our Head of Marketing and Communications, Paul Holliday, via pholliday@bwfc.co.uk. Your views are really important to us.

Throughout the summer, and before next season gets underway, we have a number of events in the stadium including the Sam Sexton v Hughie Fury British Heavyweight Title fight in the Premier Suite on Saturday 12 May. 

Both boxers will be holding a public workout in the Premier Suite prior to this Sunday’s fixture against Nottingham Forest, details of which will be confirmed on the club's channels.

I had a pleasing and encouraging meeting with the hotel management team who are continually working on bringing in other high profile events and conferences which bring in vital income for our business.

On Monday 28 May at 6:30pm, there will be an exclusive preview screening of football comedy film ‘The Bromley Boys’ ahead of its general release on June 1.

It is a funny, feel-good, coming-of-age comedy, and as well as the screening there will be a Q&A session with some of the cast.

This weekend meanwhile, the Premier Suite will be hosting the Inspire Women’s Awards, which celebrates the huge wealth of outstanding contributions women have made to the wider Bolton area.

In June, there will be a Thai boxing tournament, while the Premier Suite will be holding a very special evening with former England footballer Paul Gascoigne on Saturday 2 June.

It will be a very busy summer indeed with The Killers and Little Mix concerts also taking place in July.

The hotel has had a great 12 months and is in line to attract some major international conferences over the next few months. The coming year is set to bring in record revenues and we are looking forward to making some exciting announcements over the coming weeks in regards to new events.

It is testament to our stature as a leading multipurpose sports and entertainment venue that we are now well and truly back on the map.

Please visit the Bolton Whites Hotel website or follow them on social media to keep up to date with what’s going on.

As always however, let's be loud, be proud and get behind the boys as we aim to get the three points that may secure our place in the Sky Bet Championship.

Kind regards,

Ken

 

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