Gillingham chairman Paul Scally says the huge demand for Wembley tickets has again demonstrated the potential of Kent’s only Football League club.
The Gills will make their first appearance at the newly rebuilt national stadium in the League Two play-off final next Saturday, with promotion to the division above at stake.
But despite an average home attendance of just 5,307 this season, the club has been allocated a whopping 38,000 tickets for the make-or-break showdown with Shrewsbury Town.
In comparison, Gillingham’s opponents have been handed just 21,000 despite a higher average attendance of 5,664.
Mr Scally told Kent on Sunday he expected the club’s entire allocation to be sold.
He said: “I’ve always known there’s great potential at this club. We’ve just got to get the team back into as high a division as we can and build a stronger base.
“I’ve believed that Gillingham can be a Premiership side since the first day I came here because there’s such a wide fan base to draw from. Kent is a far bigger conurbation than Wigan, Hull and Stoke so there’s no reason why we can’t do what they have done, although we do need a new stadium first.
“I think Kent needs a Premiership side. It’s a big county, there are a lot of football people here and I think as time goes by people will become less interested in travelling to London to watch a team play.”
Mr Scally purchased the debt-ridden Gills in 1995 for just £1 and took the club out of administration shortly before it was due to be liquidised.
The team enjoyed tremendous success for the first seven years of his tenure – including two promotions and two appearances at the old Wembley Stadium – but it has been on a downward slide ever since.
Today Mr Scally lives in Dubai and spends much of his time meeting potential new investors in the hope they will help finance his club back up the football ladder.
He said: “I’m talking to a lot of interesting people who are watching with interest at what we are trying to achieve at Gillingham, but I’ve also met a lot of people who I wouldn’t want to be involved with.
“Just because they’re wealthy, it doesn’t mean they’re right for this football club.”
Gillingham’s appearance at Wembley on Saturday comes just a week before the tenth anniversary of the first time the club had ever appeared at the national stadium.
On that occasion they lost on penalties to Manchester City in the Division Two (now League One) play-off final after throwing away a 2-0 lead in the final minutes of normal time.
Their fortunes a year later were far improved, defeating Wigan Athletic 3-2 in extra time to reach the second tier of English football for the first time in the club’s history.
Mr Scally said of the Shrewsbury showdown: “I’m nervous at every game but even more so at Wembley. I’ll probably be feeling quite ill and exhausted on the day, but I’ll be there with my family so I’m sure they’ll help me through it.
“Hopefully the team can produce the goods on the pitch and help us on the road back to where we want to be.”
POSTED: 17/05/2009 11:00:00
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