Welcome back to another TTTONLF meets, a series of interviews with some of the biggest and brightest people within the world of non-league football.
This time we are sitting down with the team at Elite Stands, a company who excel at providing stadium structures and facilities to non-league clubs at all levels of the pyramid. This is an area of football in general that has always fascianted me personally, the stadium is the home of the team and nothing makes a home feel more special and complete than a football stand or two.
Non-league football have some weird and wonderful stands scattered around, yet for those clubs who are looking for their first ever stand or are looking to upgrade their offering for their fans, where do they start?
Well this is where Elite Stands come in and we are about to find out a little bit more about some of the work they do and also how some of the clubs fund the work they carry out.
Lets dive right in!
Name – Nathan Jones
Age – 30
Favourite team – Chelsea
Occupation – Company Founder
Thing I love about football – 90’s Football Knowledge from hours on footy manager as a kid
My football pet hate – Playing out from the back
What inspired the creation of the company, and what needs in non-league football were you looking to address?
There was a need for someone to come and disrupt the market. For too long Grassroots and Non league clubs have been overcharged for stands and infrastructure, just because its grant-financed. What started out as a hobby and building a stand for my local club, has turned into a full time business that now employees a dozen people.
Who were the key people involved in starting Elite Stands, and what backgrounds did they bring to the company?
I’m lucky to have a good group of staff who’ve known for years from various background. Dan, our site foreman is in charge of day to day activity in the workshop. Justin, a top welder who I worked with for years. Colin, who looks after customers, sales and marketing and Andy, who runs the back end of the business and accounts.
What were some of the initial challenges you faced when launching the company, particularly in the competitive market of spectator stands?
We blow the competition out of the water by being up to 30% less than them in terms of cost, but offer standard items such as colour schemes and badges that our competitors charge extra for!
Initially we started by refurbishing shipping containers, but these are tough to find in good condition, and we couldnt offer warranties on them, so instead decided to fabricate from scratch, and its the best thing we’ve ever done
How has the vision for Elite Stands evolved since its inception? Are there any core values or principles that have remained unchanged?
Owing to the way the football foundation and PLSF award grants, it’s important to us always remain the cheapest on the market. So the vision remains the same. To provide Grassroots clubs with the best, most competitively priced stands on the market. We’ve now moved into other markets.
Can you walk us through the process of how a non-league football club typically engages with Elite Stands, from initial consultation to installation?
Its really simple – the clubs either get in touch via our website, email or social media, and we go from there. Build it and they will come!
We get daily enquiries. These mature over a course of weeks and sometimes months, until the build is underway. Owing to reliance on the FF approving grant requests, it can sometimes be a year in the making from initial enquiry to the start of the build. Once underway, a stand can be build either on-site or in our workshop in under 1 week.
What are the key factors you consider when designing and constructing stands for different football clubs, especially considering the diverse requirements of non-league teams?
We are governed by the sports ground authority and the green guide to produce compliant and safe stands.
How does Elite Stands ensure that the products meet the safety and regulatory standards required in the sports industry?
The Green Guide!
Could you explain how Elite Stands manages logistics and supply chains, particularly when working on multiple projects simultaneously?
We’ve got an excellent haulage partner who have a large fleet of vehicles and cater to all our needs. They have a license to carry standard and abnormal loads across the UK without escort.
What are the rough costs of a stand to a club and how much customisation can they have in the product?
Starting from £10,000. As i say, we pride ourselves on having added extras “as standard” – however clubs can choose to add things like advertising brackets etc.
Could you provide insights into the financial structure of Elite Stands? How do you balance costs with quality to deliver affordable yet durable products to non-league clubs?
We’re lucky, in south wales, to have an excellent supply of local materials and labour that mean we can keep our prices down and everyone looked after.
How does Elite Stands finance its projects? Do you rely on partnerships, external funding, or is it mainly self-financed?
We’ve never borrowed a penny, and have taken zero investment. We’ve been wise growing at a sustainable rate, adding capital items only when finances allow.
What are the biggest financial challenges your company faces, especially in a niche market like non-league football?
We’re diverse enough to cope with the worse case scenario that if the FA Pull the plug on grassroots funding, we’ll still be able to continue in business with our large range of cost-effective products.
What have been some of your favourite moments since the company launched?
We have some pretty “exciting” weather down here in South West Wales, so waking up to my workshop flying away in a hurricane was quite fun! It gave me the excuse we needed to build a new state of the art workshop for the boys, and haven’t looked back!
What would you say is the most special stand you installed and why?
We did a bespoke build last summer for a rugby club in the midlands. They wanted it vandal proof, so we added electronic security shutters that looked great. They also wanted it elevated on a mound, so the groundworks were interesting to say the least!
But our favourite was probably Stockport Rugby Club. We were really looked after by the club, and it looks stunning in red white and green. Look it up!
Looking forward, what are the financial goals for Elite Stands in the next 5-10 years, and how do you plan to achieve them? Are there any new markets or products you’re considering expanding into?
That’ll be telling 😉
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Thanks to the team at Elite Stands for their time in answering and letting us all peek behind the curtain on how some of these modern stands are sourced and fitted from concept to installation.
Any clubs out there reading this, I would highly reccomend reaching out to the team and discuss some options available to you.
sales@elitestandsuk.com
Until next time!!
Through The Turnstile of Non-League Football 
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