Rugby Club Is Aiming For The Premier League

It's Not Just Hatters Putting The Town On The Map Corporate Entertaining At A Top Flight Sporting Venue In Luton Is Not Just About Watching The Hatters Trying To Score A Goal At Kenilworth Road. Luton Rugby Football Club Claims It Can Do Just As Good A Job In Providing A Sporty Backdrop To A Spot Of Networking. And In Rugby Playing Terms, It's Already As Big As Luton Town Fc. Sales And Marketing Managing Clive Pearce Says The Newlands Road Ground Has Everything To Make It The Town's Premier Venue For Business, Beer And A Live Game. "We've Got Fantastic Facilities And We're In A Wonderful Position For Advertising," He Said. "And It's Not Just The Match, As It Seems To Be With Football. It All Really Starts After The Match In The Bar." Four Years Ago The First Team Was Booting A Ball Around The Amateur Midland East League Two -- Something Akin To Football's Vauxhall League. But The Club Saw The Dawning Of The Sport's Professional Era And Seized The Moment. They Were Soon Promoted To The East Midlands League One And Last Year Entered League Three In The Professional Leagues -- Equivalent To League One In Football And The Same Level The Hatters Now Play. "We Could Have Ended Up Becoming Nothing More Than A Social Side," Clive Said. "The Difference With Us Is We Grasped The Professional Era And Raised Sponsorship By Getting Two Or Three Local Businesses To Back Us. "Rather Than Just Get One Big Sponsor, Which Is The Easy Way Of Doing Things, We Were Concerned That If That Sponsor Were To Pull Out For Any Reason We Would Be Left Struggling." Clive Said Everyone At The Club, Including The Players, Works Hard To Bring In Sponsors And Then Make Them Feel Part Of The Scene. "We Insist That The First Team Players Always Mix With The Sponsors -- Although The Players Are So Professional Now They Don't Drink Before Or After A Game And Are All On Diets," He Said. "It's A Different Environment And You Get More Than Just A Name On A T-Shirt." Luton Businesses, Such As Specialist Cars, Premier Computer Supplies And Your Move, Are Among Those Now Supporting The Lutonians And Making Use Of The Club's Facilities, Which Include Two Conference/ Dining Areas. The Newlands Suite, Overlooking The Pitch, Has Space For More Than 100 People While The Marquee Has Capacity For 250. In Contrast To Many Sites Around Town, Clive Added, It Also Has Adequate, Convenient Parking Away From Busy Streets And Within Easy Reach Of The M1. As Many As 500 People Watch The Weekend Games And There Are Plans To Build A Stand Along One Side Of The Pitch -- Estimated At £30,000. It's An Opportunity For A Sponsor To Secure A Prime Advertising Location Next To The M1, The Marketing Boss Said. "Every Week 140,000 Fly Overhead To And From Luton Airport And 1.1 Million Drive By Along The Motorway -- The Potential Is Huge," He Added. On The Field, The Team Aims To Maintain League Status For This Season, Build From There And Work Its Way To The Top. "I See No Reason Why We Can't Go To The Premier League," Clive Said. "At The Moment, We've Got Luton Town Who Everybody Seems To Be Backing And They Don't Realise They've Got A Rugby Team Here Trying To Put A Stand Up And They Could Back Us -- Just As People Back Their Rugby Clubs In Bedford And Northampton. "I Don't Think A Lot Of People In Luton Realise We're In Such A High Position -- The Highest A Luton Team Has Ever Been." Words: Andy Gaylor Video: Natalee Hazelwood Last Updated: 07 November 2007 9:49 Am