Rescue mission

Oct 18 2007 by Alex Turner, Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News

TWO parties are putting together bids to take over Widnes Vikings after the club went into administration last week.

Board member Lol Ogburn has brought together a consortium that includes former directors Alan Gregson and Graham Ashton, who both left the board in June 2006, former general manager Harold Lynskey and sponsor Jason Brown, who runs JB Maintenance Electrical Services Ltd.

The identity of the second consortium is not known.

Both parties are pressing ahead with plans, knowing they are up against a tight deadline.

They have been asked to produce business plans for the administrator, although neither party had done so by yesterday morning.

The plans will also have to meet with the approval of the Rugby Football League (RFL) and the stadium landlords, Halton Borough Council.

An RFL spokesperson was reluctant to be drawn on whether there was a deadline for the Vikings to have resolved their financial difficulties.

While the club will be given huge latitude by the RFL, it is paramount a deal is concluded quickly to enable players to be signed and for the new owners to be able to maximise revenues in the run-up to Christmas.

Mr Ogburn will present his plans at a fans’ meeting tomorrow when he will unveil more details of the bid for the club.

His plans include:

An identified squad of 24 players for next season.

Sponsorship deals worth £200,000.

New ideas to move the club forward commercially.

Even before the negotiations with the administrators and the Rugby Football League progress, it is necessary for plans to be finalised for the 2008 season.

Mr Ogburn said: ‘There are players waiting in the wings, a squad of 24 players.

‘It consists of quite a few of last year’s squad and some new blood.

‘If our bid is successful we will be asking Steve McCormack to continue.’

The consortium have already sought out sponsors who would be able to boost the club’s finances.

Mr Ogburn said: ‘We have got two or three big sponsors lined up, one is a national newspaper.

‘There are sponsorship deals of £200,000 on the table.

‘We have put a business plan together and are meeting with the council on Monday.’

Mr Ogburn is keen to distance himself from the previous board and stress the energy and enthusiasm among the investors.

‘The ideas we have got are go-forward ideas and we are not living in the dark ages.

‘Now things can move forward and it’s time the club got some new blood in with fresh ideas right across the board.

‘We are businessmen, but we have been fans of the club all our lives.

‘We will run it like a full-time business although the club will be part-time.’

And he offered some hope to Vikings fans that the Super League bid is still alive – just.

He said: ‘We are still not ruling out a franchise bid.

‘But we will need an answer in the next couple of weeks about whether we have been successful.

‘We have got to firm up a team, we need season tickets on sale, we need replica jerseys on sale.’

Tomorrow’s meeting will be held at The Village Social Club in Appleton Village, starting at 8pm.