Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries: Mitchell hopeful of Russian investment
CHAIRMAN Eddie Mitchell has revealed that the EC Group Cup is set to become an annual event and that it could lead to further investment from the Russian sponsors.[LNB] Energy Consulting Group stumped up around £250,000 in prize money and expenses to fund the inaugural pre-season tournament at the weekend.[LNB] Mitchell reported that the company had already indicated a desire to do the same next summer, with the aim of attracting bigger clubs in 2012.[LNB] The Cherries chief also suggested the visiting businessmen were interested in what other links they could forge with the League One outfit.[LNB] And Mitchell believes the success of the cup competition means there is a possibility that the EC Group will look at other ways of becoming involved with the south coast club.[LNB] He told the Daily Echo: The sponsors loved the weekend and are anxious to do another tournament next season and I think they might try to get bigger teams over.[LNB] They are more than pleased to put up the prize money again which is very good. I think it will be an annual thing but we might get a couple of higher-profile clubs.[LNB] They thought it was really professional and I think one or two of them were very interested in what possibilities and links they could have with the club.[LNB] When asked if there was potential for more than just the tournament and possible investment opportunities, Mitchell said: I think there is actually, quite strongly.[LNB] They were pretty taken aback with the way the tournament was organised, how the ground appeared to them, how the staff addressed everything and how they were hosted.[LNB] They were impressed and were very interested to find out what we were doing at the South End, and seemed very interested with all of the club and wanted more details.[LNB] I think there is every chance of taking it further.[LNB] Asked if he would like to get them involved in the club, Mitchell replied: To a degree, yes.[LNB] If you are encouraging somebody to invest, you have got to give them some sort of return. But I don't think they are really looking for the return financially. They just like the hospitality and I think they would like to come over more often.[LNB] It is only about a four-hour flight and 90 minutes from the airport.[LNB] It is not the end of the world to get here and I think they fell in love with the place.[LNB] They certainly fell in love with the accommodation where they stayed and the venues they went to in the evenings.[LNB] Giving his verdict on the inaugural tournament, Mitchell added: The tournament itself went fantastically.[LNB] From a commercial point of view, it was great. There were a lot of new faces at the club, where we had given out free tickets to the schools, so a lot of youngsters came to the tournament.[LNB] With regards to the prize money, we were disappointed not to get the first prize but we ended up getting £45,000.[LNB] The bars and shop were busy and season tickets were going well, so it was all good.[LNB]
