The news of the club acquiring the lease for The Rose pub has certainly stirred up mixed emotions for me.
On one hand, our home fans deserve a social drinking space to meet at before and after matches.
On the other hand, the club is currently on the precipice of relegation and the theme park has finally been killed off – leaving us with an uncertain financial future.
The Need for a Meeting Place
There’s no denying that the club has been lacking a proper meeting space for some time. The bar in the ground is not quite for me – and the Rose could well solve that issue. Having a place where we can all meet over a beer and chat about the game is something that all fan bases deserve. And whilst I would normally head into town for a swift half after the game to catch some of the late kick off, I do recognise that these things work better when they’re close to the ground simply because we’re likely to get more fans together. With it being just a stone’s throw up the road, it’s an ideal spot for pre- and post-match. Maybe some of the more depressing losses would’ve been eased with a pint amongst fellow sufferers.
Timing an Issue?
However, the pub clearly brings some financial risks to the club. We’re already pretty much certain to drop down a league (though Damian did address this eventuality in a recent interview) and some might rightly ask if the proper response to that is to invest in a pub. I don’t think this was really done with money making in mind, but running a successful pub requires a lot of time and a lot of cash – and we could realistically be looking at having a lot less of both in about 6 months’ time. If The Rose can’t find enough punters, it could become a financial sink for the club.
Owner’s Vision and Challenges
Our owners have shown ambitious plans for the area before. Many would speculate that the initial investment in the club perhaps had more to do with the theme park than anything else.
Regardless, the fate of the club and its funding seem to be tied to the success of projects off the field. With the London Resort now officially dead, I would assume that means an awful lot is now riding on the rapid delivery of the Northfleet Harbourside development project.
While these long-term projects are essential for the club’s future, they also come with their own set of challenges and financial risks – so failure could have a knock-on effect on us. Whether it’s sustainable or right for the club to exist on the whim of something entirely out of its own control is also a big question – but its not a problem unique to Fleet.
How likely we are to see continued support if everything goes wrong with the off-field ventures, I don’t know. But it does worry me!
Either way, with the planning application/decision having met some vocal opposition, The Rose could help to smooth over issues with local people and generate some community buy in – meaning it could be an important step in the right direction.
Conclusion
Overall, I’m pretty excited to see how the pub turns out. If it’s packed on matchday and viable long into the future, that’s great for all involved. But at the moment I also struggle to shake the financial risks.
