As attendances at Champion Hill have continued to increase over the last year so too has the demand for merchandise with a 66% rise in sales in the mega shed and online recorded which shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. As some of you may have witnessed in trying to purchase items at the mega shed it’s not ideal and the truth is, we’ve simply outgrown it!

The size and construction of the shed prevents us from functioning as professionally as we might like to and it also restricts us from being able to leave stock inside in between games and is an inconvenience both in terms of time wasted transporting the stock from storage to the shed and the amount of stock that we can have at the ground at any one time. Ultimately we’re not realising the full potential of merchandise sales which, as we move towards the aim of fan ownership of the Club, is not a position we want to remain in.

The Trust Board have been in discussion since the summer about finding a solution to this issue and are proposing to purchase a shipping container and convert into the new mega shed or mega container as might be more appropriate now! The design work is virtually complete and we are aiming to purchase the container and get in delivered to site in the next few weeks with the aim to have it up and running by the end of the year.

We’re extremely grateful to the owners of the ground, Hadley Property Group, who have agreed to fund half the cost of the container and its conversion by foregoing their share of profits from merchandise sales until these costs are recovered. In saying this, we could still do with assistance from supporters in a number of areas outlined below:

• By donating materials such as timber or paint.
• By donating your trade skills and time – we could really do with a fully qualified electrician and carpenter. Note: If you don’t think you have any particular skills but would still like to help then you’re still than welcome!
• By contributing to a fund whereby you or business would have their name displayed – full details of how you can participate to be released shortly.

We will release full details of the new container including the location in the ground and the internal layout very shortly but if you have any queries or offers of help please don’t hesitate to get in touch via the contact details at the bottom of this article.

In addition, we are looking for Trust members to help on matchdays in the current mega-shed. We really could do with some more assistance, as it can get very busy on a matchday. Full training will be provided.

If you think you can help with any of the items above then please email us at info@dhst.org.uk or speak to any of the Trust Board members.