Referring back to my original posting, adopting a moniker isn't just for the fans to dress-up etc....
It envolves the wider issue of promoting the club to the wider business community and making the club more marketable.
If the club can appoint a "Business & Marketing Manager" whose sole responsibility is to promote the club and generate additional income, then a more marketable brand would help their cause no end.
Next year Halifax are going full time. If we all want Haven to be competitive in NL1, never mind gaining a franchise in Super League, then realistically the club would need to go full time, which costs a lot of extra money. Next year, whoever comes down from Super League, plus Leigh, Castleford, Widnes & Halifax will be full time (obviously if it isn't Whitehaven, one of these clubs will be in Super League).
Yes, we are holding our own this year, but the gap between Full Time teams and Part Time teams will widen over the years.
So, additional income must be generated for the club, through both increasing attendances by improving the matchday experience and getting the wider Business Community on board. So far, B&H Motors and the Nuclear Industry have been very generous in supporting the club, along with all of the other smaller sponsors.
However, with the television exposure we can offer potential sponsors, the club needs in place a marketing strategy to gain financial sponsorship from the National Companies to allow the club to go Full-Time. The sponsorship need not be just on our jerseys, but also sponsorship of the stands, floodlights etc..
I agree with Des in that the Pow Beck scheme for the development of the Popular Side is a long-term project, which may or may not happen. But in the meantime if the club can move forward with the rest of the ground, redeveloping either side of the current Grandstand and also both the Kells End and the Railway End, together with a new clubhouse, then the push for a Cumbrian Super League team should be back at the forefront of the wider Rugby League Communities agenda. After all with our local Amateur Clubs and the passion in the area for Rugby League then Cumbria has much more to offer than some of the other proposed bidders for a SL Franchise.