More than 200 Raith Rovers supporters have now signed up to Club 1883, according to CEO Andrew Barrowman.
That’s well on the way to an initial target of 350, just days after the scheme was launched.
Club 1883 allows Rovers fans to sign up and pledge one of two different monthly amounts in return for a range of benefits.
Funds will then be used by Raith to boost two main areas: stadium development and football operations.
It is the Kirkcaldy club’s latest move to bring fans closer to the club.
“It’s fair to say that with all of the things we’ve tried to do so far, the fans are really getting behind us,” Barrowman tells Courier Sport.
“There’s a real wave of confidence and excitement around the club at the moment and I think this is another example of that.
“Hopefully, over the next few days and weeks that continues to keep growing and we can really push on with it and give people what they signed up for and put what we’ve been talking about into practice.”
New Raith website ‘a game-changer’
Some have expressed an interest in pledging more and a decision has been made to retain the existing Raith Supporters’ Fund.
During his recent Raith TV interview setting out the details of Club 1883, Barrowman said a forthcoming new website, which will integrate their ‘Fanbase’ e-ticketing system, would be a “game-changer”.
“Even the guys at Fanbase are really excited about integrating it,” adds the Raith CEO. “It’s a game-changer for them, I think it would be fair to say.
“Just because of the way the website is set up with their system in terms of purchasing tickets, memberships, anything else that goes on there.
“It’s really streamlined, it’s really easy for the fans, the customers, to use.
“And we get a benefit from that one-stop shop as well.
“The website that we’ve got coming is a game-changer for us and I don’t think there’s many of that type in Scottish football.
“So it’s really important to us and why it’s taken us a bit longer.
“When it does come there will be a lot of innovative features on it that will really help us.”
Football operation funds explained
As for how the money pledged will be used, Barrowman recently gave an example of seat repairs to explain things covered by ‘stadium development’.
With the average home attendance up significantly on last season and another large crowd expected for Saturday’s Fife derby, this type of expense will cost more.
‘Football operations’, on the other hand, is a more broad category that Barrowman describes as pretty much anything that will help to improve the experience for players.
“There are things like the players’ gym downstairs that is nearing completion but still need a bit of work to get done,” he adds.
“Anything around software, in terms of data analysis – any of these sorts of things.
“Basically anything that involves making the players better and making their job easier.”
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