Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries: Early ticket sales may help Howe
CHAIRMAN Eddie Mitchell could hand boss Eddie Howe an additional transfer war chest if Cherries were to break through the 3,000 season ticket barrier.[LNB] Mitchell is urging the club's supporters to buy now rather than later in an attempt to give Howe every opportunity to bolster his squad ahead of next season.[LNB] Around 1,300 fans took advantage of an early-purchase scheme in January, an initiative Mitchell believes may have saved the club from going under and one that certainly played a part in promotion.[LNB] Mitchell told the Daily Echo: We would like to think that if we could get in the funds from season ticket and pre-season friendly sales, we could offer Eddie a bit more support by way of new players.[LNB] The more revenue we can get in, the more we can support the team. We have got to be hell-bent on staying in League One. That is going to be a hard job in itself because it is a much better standard.[LNB] We would rather sell tickets today than towards the start of next season. The transfer window is open and we would like to take advantage of it now.[LNB] Although Mitchell says the club's debts are a lot more manageable than they were, he also admits there are still two considerable hurdles to overcome.[LNB] We have still got the liquidation payment to clear and we have still got to catch up with the rent, said Mitchell. We have still got money to find and we need it as soon as possible.[LNB] At this moment in time, they are the only two obstacles and we need help to clear them because we have got no matchday income until our first friendly.[LNB] Asked whether the early-purchase scheme would leave the club short during the close season, Mitchell replied: At the time, we had to do what we had to do. The money went on paying debts we were carrying.[LNB] We can only thank the supporters for buying their tickets early because the club benefited from the scheme. We cleared an outstanding tax bill, we kept on top of the wages and we won promotion.[LNB] By the start of next season, I would like to see the club free of its old debt. It would be a great achievement to start with a clean slate.[LNB] Although the club's income streams decrease during the summer, Mitchell said they would still generate funds from various sources including renting out the stadium.[LNB] Mitchell also confirmed he would be meeting 40 potential advertisers to discuss selling space on the roof of the East Stand, which he hoped would bring in around £30,000.[LNB] He also said the club had now banked £10,000 from Notts County following the Sky Sports-televised clash in March, while another £10,000 was due in prize money for finishing the season as runners-up in League Two.[LNB]
