Keepmoat Stadium becomes Eco-Power Stadium as Doncaster Rovers sign record commercial deal

When chief executive Gavin Baldwin promised last week there would be “significant investment” in the squad during January, it was presumably safe in the knowledge of the sponsorship deal on the horizon.

Caretaker manager Gary McSheffrey might have put a positive gloss on the squad which lifted itself off the bottom of League One at the weekend but even he acknowledged reality.

What their home ground is called is a side-issue for Rovers fans, what is in the kitty for the next manager is what matters because the team is badly in need of money spent on it.

Around 130 people - including, at the club’s request, 39-year-old McSheffrey - have put their hats in the ring to replace Richie Wellens as manager and one wonders how many were persuaded by Baldwin’s promise of mid-season funding.

The plan is to draw up a shortlist, then an even shorter one after interviews to put three candidates into a second round.

“When there’s a few more additions, even if it’s not everyone being fit, for me it’s not a relegation squad,” said McSheffrey, but those first six words were a huge caveat.

As it is now, it looks light on leaders, experience and goalscorers.

The spending Rovers could not stretch to for Wellens is essential.

Rovers have signed a sponsorship deal which will see their home renamed the Eco-Power Stadium until the end of the 2025-26 season. They replace Keepmoat Homes, sponsors since the ground opened in 2006.

“We’re doing new commercial deals all the time,” said Jon Warburton, chief commercial officer at Club Doncaster, which also takes in Doncaster Rovers Belles and Doncaster RLFC.

“This is just the latest in a long line but certainly the most significant we’ve ever done.

“It’s not every day you change your stadium name and we were looking for a company that shared our values and what we were looking to achieve from a commercial point of view.

“There are lots of different ways the club spend their money but all I can do is keep on bringing in commercial agreements and it stands to reason it’s going to be beneficial.”

Group commercial director Louis Calders describes Doncaster-based waste management and recycling company Eco-Power as “a very community-based organisation,” with a charitable foundation in the pipleline, and Warburton says a sense of unity has been vital in getting Rovers through the pandemic.

“We’ve been very fortunate we’ve got a lot of partners who have supported us through tough times,” he stressed. “They could have decided supporting their local football club wasn’t the thing they needed to be doing at the moment.

“When we went into lockdown I’m not going to lie and suggest I wasn’t a little bit worried from a business revenue point of view. In terms of ticket revenues and all that type of thing it was difficult but our season ticket holders were extremely good to us and a lot did leave their money within the club which we’re eternally grateful for. From the business side we were really fortunate we had a lot of businesses who said they were here to support through the good times and the bad.”

A rallying-round is needed on the field after an awful 2021. At least the new name on the stadium should leave them better equipped to achieve it.