Ambitious Chairman Steve Neale wants Barrow Raiders to fly the flag for Cumbria in Super League and he is looking for investors to back his plans for sustainable progress.
The county hasn’t had a top-flight presence since Workington Town featured in the inaugural summer season in 1996.
Former Barrow player Neale has been at the helm since 2018 and, under his watch, the club has won promotion to the Championship as League One winners and established a Women’s Super League side.
And a two-year contract extension has just been agreed with prop Carl Forster, who is also part of the coaching set-up.
Paul Crarey’s men’s team currently occupies the sixth and final second-tier play-off position. And while promotion this season for a club that last played in the top-flight in 1990 is against the odds, given the strength of the competition, Neale firmly believes there is potential to push on over the forthcoming years.
However, he accepts that there is work to do to ensure the club has a ground that satisfies Super League guidelines – whether through upgrading their current Matt Johnson Prestige Stadium (Craven Park) or moving to a new one.
“The mere fact that Super League is a topic for discussion, together with a possible league restructure on the horizon, means we must start to seriously consider improvements to our facilities, be that at Craven Park or elsewhere,” he told supporters in an open letter.
“It is unlikely that we will gain promotion this season, but the boardroom is ambitious.
“We shouldn’t be shy in saying that we want to be Cumbria’s representative in Super League, just as our ladies currently are.
“We want to make it clear to the Rugby League world that we are serious in our ambition to reach and maintain a formidable team in Super League.
“It would be cruel if the lack of investment in our facilities over a period of decades was to halt our progress.
“We intend to put plans in place and we would like to offer an open invite to partners who would like to support our progressive club.
“The journey we are on is exciting, the progress visible and this could be the perfect vehicle for the right investor to gain real-life satisfaction and quicken the process.”
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