Come on you Stones!

Maidstone United’s rapid rise through the lower leagues into the Vanarama National League has astounded many people, but the last five years have seen fantastic success for the club 

and Gullands is delighted to be a major sponsor during this period
and beyond. 

The club has recently unveiled its brand new 1,760 capacity safe standing terrace, the second only of its kind in the country and we paid them a visit, to see how it will make a difference to the club and its future.

Simon Daniel Commercial Manager MUFC comments: “Home crowds are already increasing by an extra 500 per game plus there is extra capacity and facilities provided for visiting fans. There is a different atmosphere in the ground – ten times better and we are seeing more families coming into the new stand.”

It is hard to believe that all this progress has taken place in just five years with average crowds rising from an expected 800 to a possible 4,290 now. This additional income will enable the club to continue growing, with a further two stands planned in the future.

Simon continues: “We are one of the best supported clubs in the division and we are doing all we can to ensure that we maximise revenue for the club from every opportunity. The investment into our facilities means we can hire them out for many different activities, for example there are 67 local cup finals booked on our new £200k pitch, including schools, Saturday and Sunday leagues and with our regular bookings, the pitch is booked six months ahead till September. We would like to hire out our lounges for more events, we have fantastic facilities with the Gullands Lounge and the Spitfire Lounge. There is also the chance for other local businesses to show their support with the advertising boards in the new stand, although these are selling fast.”

Paul Mannering practice manager at Gullands comments: “We are delighted to have watched Maidstone’s progress and we hope this continues year on year. They have worked incredibly hard and are maximising every opportunity to turn the fortunes around for the club and there is a real buzz in the town about having a successful local team again. We wish them well for the remainder of this season, it looks as though they have secured their place in the Vanarama National League for 2017/18, which is a fantastic achievement.”

Gullands is teaming up with Maidstone United to offer season ticket holders of the club a special discount card which will be available from this July.