Last Saturday's season opener in the Capital One Cup against York City saw the opening of the Belle Vue Bar, Doncaster Rovers fan's own supporter's bar.

As part of the stadium rights the club now enjoy under the new management agreement, the former "Lakeside Bar" on the stadium's West side has had a new "Rovers" theme and a new name, which the club asked the VSC to help with.  After many suggestions from supporters on the Viking Chat forum, the Belle Vue Bar was selected as the winner, which the club were delighted with. The bar was officially opened by John Ryan and Terry Bramall to the cheers of the gathered supporters.

Gavin Baldwin, the Rovers' Chief Executive said, "It's great that we can work closely with fans through the VSC on things like this.  We recognised that it's important for supporters to have a "home" to come to before games, and we hope the fans feel that the bar is now theirs".  The VSC also appealed to supporters to donate Rovers memorabilia to make the bar more homely and Rovers-orientated than it was when the Stadium Management Company ran it.  This appeal has resulting in many fantastic pieces of clothing, programmes, photos and documents being donated, and the bar now looks like a Rovers museum!  Gavin added "We are really pleased that supporters have donated their treasured Rovers possessions. Some of these items are wonderful and will undoubtedly stir great memories in Rovers supporters when they see them".

If you didnt get opportunity to visit the bar at the York City game, why not call in before a game and take a look?  And remember, all profits from the Belle Vue Bar now go directly to the club, not the Stadium Management Company, so help the Rovers by having your favourite pre-match drink at the Stadium.

John Ryan and Terry Bramall prepare to reveal the new bar sign

 

The Belle Vue Bar is now open!

As a further celebration of the bar opening, the club positioned fifty Rovers scarfs around the ground which fans could find and have for free.  These were all located, so hopefully there are 50 fans with nice new scarves for the coming season, courtesy of the club.

Even these two scarves managed to be grabbed by lucky fans.

Today sees the VSC launch the Tomorrow's Rovers project, a new fundraising initiative aimed at supporting the development of youth players.

As I'm sure all supporters are aware, six of last season's excellent u18s squad are now signed on as professionals with the club - Jordan Ball, Liam Wakefield, James Husband, Patrick Mullen, Andrew McCormick and Jonathan Maxted.  James Husband was given his opportunity in the first team towards the end of last season and turned in some impressive performances, not looking out of place on a field of players with combined career transfer fees well into the tens of millions of pounds.

This development of local young players is, in the view of the VSC Board, vital to the future of the club - a steady stream of players developed in the Doncaster Rovers way, who understand the way we play because that is the way they have been taught, and are able to come into the first team and be comfortable, prepared and excel.

This summer the VSC has been speaking to the club about supporting the continuation of the successful youth development programme, and has decided to sponsor one of the youth squads.  The club have introduced this sponsorship for this coming season, and have ensured that sponsorship money is "ringfenced" to be spent only on youth development projects.

This is where you, the fine members of the Viking Chat forum, come in!  We spoke with the club about barriers to the young players' development, and the resounding response was transport.  The club need a dedicated minibus to take young players to away matches, training opportunities, development days, etc, and these are opportunities that some squads are missing out on, so we have decided to run a fundraising drive to sponsor a second youth team to assist the club in securing that minibus for the benefit of all the young players at the club.

The Tomorrow's Rovers project gives us all a chance to invest in the future of our club and the future of Doncaster's talented young players.

We know times are hard, but see this as a very worthy cause with a tangible payback.  Many supporters tell us that seeing local lads come through and pull on the iconic red and white hoops gives them an enormous sense of pride.

Please support this cause by donating via Paypal using the button below, or email chairman@drfc-vsc.co.uk if you would like to donate via an alternative method.  As little or as much as you can give will be gratefully received, and move us closer to securing that minibus.

This pre-season sees the Rovers take on a number of Yorkshire rivals in what promise to be stern tests for Dean Saunders' squad, culminating in three derbies at The Keepmoat Stadium against our neighbours from Sheffield Wednesday, Hull City and Barnsley. 

Adult tickets are priced at just £10, with under 17s attending for just £1.  Tickets are available now from the Stadium Ticket Office, online at the Keepmoat Stadium website or by calling 01302 762576.

Be there to support the team and give the lads a boost in their preparation for this season in League One.  Come on you reds!

Tonight sees Doncaster Rovers hold their Forum for the Future event at the Keepmoat Stadium.  The Rovers Chairman, John Ryan, will address the supporters on the future plans for the club, and there will be opportunity for supporters to ask open questions. 

The event has proven to be so popular that a second meeting has had to be scheduled to enable access to all supporters wishing to attend.  The events are free to attend, but tickets must be obtained from the ticket office first.

The "sold out" first event kicks off at 6.15pm, and the VSC will be tweeting live updates for those fans who cannot attend.  Follow these on Twitter using @VSCOfficial or the hashtag #fftf.

Tickets are still available for the second event, which starts at 7.15pm, so if you are able to attend you will be made more than welcome.

The evening will also provide fans with an insight into the results from the recent "In Rovers We Trust" questionnaire, which is a collaborative project between the club and the VSC.  This programme of activities and consultations will enable the club to shape its services, products and experiences to benefit the enjoyment of fans, and puts the fan experience at the heart of decision making.

Its an interesting question.  What makes a match day special, and does the club regularly meet those expectations?  What does the club do that you especially like?  What does it do that you don't particularly like?  And more to the point, just how do you let the club know about these things?

Today sees the VSC and the club together launch a new exciting fan engagement initiative to let supporters....

The "In Rovers We Trust" survey aims to present Rovers supporters with the opportunity to give the club open and frank feedback on all aspects of the matchday experience.  The club recognise that the expectations of supporters vary and there is no single formula which will work for everyone, but by giving your feedback you are helping the club shape the way that it engages with supporters and provides the conditions to ensure a day at the Rovers is a great experience.

The survey does not focus on on-pitch performance, and instead places the emphasis solely on you as a customer of the club, asking a comprehensive set of questions centred around your experiences, views and expectations.  This is a fantastic opportunity to influence the way that the club engages with supporters on matchdays, and I urge all Rovers supporters to be part of this initiative.

Simply click the button below to take the survey, which should take around 15 minutes to complete.

This is the first of a number of activities the VSC has been working with the club to progress over recent weeks, so please keep an eye out for more fan-focussed events and activities over the coming months.