New Sheffield Wednesday chairman and backer David Storch says he is putting the building blocks in place at Hillsborough to one day end the historic club’s long exile from the Premier League.

The American businessman and his consortium, Arise Capital Partners, completed the takeover of Owls on May 2, dragging them out of one of the darkest periods in their history and filling fans with hope again, even despite their relegation to League One.

He has got to work quickly, appointing a new chief executive in David Bruce and just this week, a sporting director in Simon Wilson.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” Storch told a Hillsborough hospitality suite full of corporate sponsors on Monday night.

David Storch wants to bring the good times back to Sheffield Wednesday.

placeholder image — David Storch wants to bring the good times back to Sheffield Wednesday.

“A period of tremendous exhilaration, excitement, and just a really happy time. The period up to that was anything but. Since then, one of the greatest highlights of my life has been meeting all the people and the community.”

But he is not promising them the world without putting in the hard yards to prove it.

Already the new ownership group - which consists of his son Michael and Tom Costin - have committed £6m to upgrades to the long-standing stadium and the training ground.

“The training grounds are not where we want them to be,” he admitted. “We’ve recently acquired the underpinnings of a gym.

New Sheffield Wednesday sporting director Simon Wilson.

“It’s a great stadium, we want to bring it to life. There’s a lot of space in the stadium that could be utilised better.”

Wednesday have also announced new premium experience packages for hospitality clients that celebrates their famous players as they look to embrace their history while building for the future.

Storch stopped short of any rhetoric about the Premier League, knowing full well results on the pitch are the greatest barometer.

He added: “I am a believer that you build a strong foundation and a strong infrastructure.

“The strength of this club will come from the leadership. With the steps we’ve taken I believe we have ingredients to carry us through a couple of divisions from where we are.

“This infrastructure will allow us to move at a pace and a level that we want.

“This is about quality, a search for excellence and greatness, that’s what we’re building here.”