On the way up

And the message to the city is, don't let it all come to nothing now.

A massive rise in membership of the new club saw the total in the kitty jump to £62,650 after last night's public meeting of fans at Huntington Stadium.

Just £12,350 more now needs to be with the club by this weekend for the Rugby Football League to sanction its bid to join the league by next season.

That means only 50 more people need to sign up to the cause to set the club on their way.

As reported by the Evening Press, the RFL agreed to let York RL join the new-look league next season on the condition it had £75,000 in the bank before the end of this month.

All the money raised so far has come solely from fans buying club memberships and season tickets - showing there really is a desire in the city to have a well-run professional rugby league team.

And prospective chief executive Steve Ferres is determined to see enough people come on board to help reach the immediate goal.

He said: "Already we've got well over 200 members and that's fantastic. We've got three days now to make that total. We only need 50 more people and we're there."

Ferres - one of the most respected figures in the British game - has already said York had the potential to be a real hotbed for rugby league.

Last night he told fans: "The good thing is things have not petered off. The total is always going up, more people are always coming on board. We're gaining momentum and we're adding more and more credibility to what we're doing."

Last night's meeting saw long-standing fan Eric Deighton gave a presentation on how the people fronting the club had turned things round following the demise of York Wasps, building a new club based on "sound foundations, respected leadership and development".

The club, he said, was now on an upward spiral. "We've been sold a lot of rubbish over the last few years and people needed to see this is not another false horizon," he explained.

"I think we will make it. We've hit the bottom and now we're on the way up and people must realise this is a new start based on good foundations."

Deighton, a BT manager, added: "We've got the right people involved in Steve Ferres, (chairman) Roger Dixon and (prospective player-coach) Paul Broadbent, and providing we keep going we will have a team out in March that the city can be proud of.

"We are building it up from solid foundations, nothing is false or fake."

Dixon himself said: "I want to thank everyone who has worked hard for the new club and everyone who has donated money, bought memberships and season tickets.

"We had planned to thank everyone individually but because there have been so many people it has been impossible."

He told fans: "A lot of people have lost money and faith because of the past, but I have to ask you to have faith in Steve Ferres and the people working to create a true community club."

Updated: 12:15 Thursday, August 29, 2002