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.