SWINDON Town Football Club and Swindon Speedway today announced a new sporting partnership.
The two premier sporting clubs in the Town have joined forces and will be co-ordinating a number of events over the coming months, which will be mutually beneficial for the two clubs and their respective supporters.
Benefits to each include advertising in the other's match day programme, advertising within the County Ground and Blunsdon, public address announcements at each others matches, joint publicity ventures, joint ticket offers, matchday promotions as well as ticket offers for each club's respective season ticket holders.
Swindon Town director Mike Bowden said: "Swindon Town and Swindon Speedway have for many, many years been part of the heart and soul of the town and I have spent many hundreds of hours being wonderfully entertained at both the County Ground and Abbey Stadium.
"It would be a memorable 2007 if Swindon Town FC gained promotion to League One and Swindon Speedway won the Elite League. I look forward to many joint activities between our two very proud clubs."
Swindon Speedway commercial manager Paul Oughton is highly delighted with the sporting partnership between the two Robins' camps.
"Basically I have been working on the idea since the middle of last year," Oughton said. "I am very pleased that the two high profile clubs in the town have now linked up.
"I met with Town officials before the end of the last speedway season.
"Then Martyn Starnes and his staff came up to our last match of the season against the Rest of World and they all had an enjoyable evening.
"Since then Mike Bowden joined Swindon Town and we have both worked on the sporting partnership and today it is officially launched.
Oughton continued: "The partnership will be of mutual benefit to both clubs and their fans as they are not in competition with each other and the seasons are different.
"Some fans go to both speedway and football but a great deal do not so hopefully the awareness will be of benefit to both clubs."
Robins co-promoter and team manager Alun Rossiter is an avid Town football fan and can be seen regularly at the County Ground for home matches.
"I am very pleased with the link-up, Paul (Oughton) deserves a great deal of credit for it," said Rossiter.
"I go to the Town home football games as reguarly as I can as I am proud of my home roots. I may support Liverpool but Swindon are my first club.
"The unique partnership is good for everyone. Swindon Speedway had over 60 hours of coverage on Sky Sports last year and anything we can do to promote the Town will be beneficial.
"I am passionate about both my speedway and football so I think it is a good sporting partnership. Hopefully both Town and Robins will be successful this year."
Rossiter added: "During the Lou Macari era at Swindon Town we knew most of the players and some came to speedway. Also Kevin Morris used to treat some of our riders as well so it is good to have a tie up again.
The sporting partnership may have been launched today but the first big promotional link-up will be on Saturday, March 10 at the County Ground when Swindon Town face League Two side Accrington Stanley - five days before the tapes rise at Blunsdon for the start of the Swindon Robins 2007 speedway season.
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