Buy a Brick fundraising initiative launched for Upgraded Clubhouse

Bangor Rugby Football and Cricket Club having embarked on an exciting stage of the Club’s journey with planning submitted for significant works to upgrade the Clubhouse and are now looking to embark on the Clubs first major fundraising initiative in over 25 years with the launch of their “Buy a Brick” scheme.

The club are appealing to all members and supporters to engage and help raise the target of £100,000 to cover the shortfall in funding needed to deliver their fantastic upgraded facility which will provide new changing facilities and better accessibility including the introduction of a lift.

There are several options which start with buying a single brick for £100 or the ability to purchase several, this will get your name displayed on our ‘Roll of Brickies’ every purchase will also be entered into a draw for 2 tickets for the 2025 Ireland v’s France, 6 Nations game in Dublin.

In addition, we will be offering the opportunity to become a Patron Supporter of Bangor RF&CC by buying a £1,000 brick, Patrons will be displayed on the Patron Supporter Board at the new clubhouse entrance, these are ideally suited to, families, individuals, businesses, or a team from previous years and they will get 10 entries into the 6 nations draw.

The club are also looking for sponsors for each of the new changing rooms for an initial 5 year period and individual packages along with branding opportunities can be discussed with one of the members of the fundraising committee.

Commenting on the launch, Mark Thallon, Club Chairman said “We have been fortunate to secure just over £380,000 of facilities improvement funding as part of the Ulster Rugby Club Capital Improvement Project application to the UK Governments Levelling Up Fund (Round 2) which along will the club committing significant capital resources will go a long way to delivering the project. Since we first embarked on this however there has been a well-documented increase in build costs and we need to raise a further £100,000 to ensure the successful delivery of the project.”

The addition of 2 new self-contained female changing rooms and a series of other improvements has been identified as a key priority by the Club’s Management Committee to sustain the tremendous growth in participation in both sports at the Club in recent years.

Bangor RF&CC prides itself on excellent participation levels. The rugby section fields 4 senior teams, and 4 youth teams, from U12 to U18, and one of the largest mini rugby sections in the province with close to 200 children playing regularly. In addition, they share in running the combined North Down Women’s Rugby team with Ards and Donaghadee Rugby Clubs. The cricket section has 6 men’s and a women’s senior team whilst the youth section is thriving with over 250 children participating and playing competitive cricket in 8 teams at U11, U13, U15 and U17 level and an U11 girls’ team.

Club President, Jim Lacey commented “I would appeal to everyone with an interest in sport to consider sponsoring our ‘Buy a Brick’ scheme in whatever way they can, this can be members and friends who currently used the facilities of former players that have happy memories for time spent at the club and want to help leave a legacy for future generations.”

The wider Ulster Rugby Levelling Up Fund Club Capital Improvement Project will assist in the delivery of targeted projects in 29 locations across Northern Ireland. These schemes will help provide access to sport and physical activity opportunities as well as investing in energy efficient measures to bring old, inefficient rugby club facilities in line with modern requirements.

There are several ways to pay, this includes completing the form and either making a bank transfer or paying by cheque, we have also set up a Crowdfunder page, please note that Crowdfunder automatically add a discretionary 10% tip which goes to cover Crowdfunder providing the portal, this can be removed during the sign up process.

To pledge your support and help us reach our £100,000 target, you can visit our Crowdfunder page by clicking on this link or scan the QR Code down below. You can also fill out this form and leave it back to the club or email it in, along with your donation via cheque or online bank transfer, all instructions are on the form.