YORK City's newly-appointed commercial director Pete Davis is looking forward to delivering his vision of 8,000 gates for the football club.

That is the target the former Nestl public relations and marketing expert has set himself after joining the Minstermen's board on a voluntary basis.

Davis, 34, will be overseeing the work of full-time commercial manager Elliot Stroud and believes that the club can grow off the pitch if it maximises its appeal and provides an "offering" that will be more attractive to potential investors.

The KitKat Crescent director appreciates that only a better product on the pitch will mean his attendance aim is achievable but feels commercial improvements can help match first-team manager Billy McEwan's ambitions.

Davis believes his hometown club Norwich City are a great example of what can be achieved by a team at the hub of its community.

Doncaster Rovers, just down the A19, also plan to fill a new 15,000 stadium less than a decade after dropping out of the Football League with regular three-figure attendances.

Davis said: "We don't have to reinvent the wheel to achieve things at York City. Norwich get crowds of 23,000, which is just over ten per cent of the population.

"York is a similar size, has a similar catchment area and is a similar city so I believe there's no reason why, with a successful team on the pitch, we should not see 8,000 gates within five years. We have to aim for that.

"People will say that's four times what we are getting now but why shouldn't we expect that. It's possible if we get the offering right.

"The city of York is just a bit apathetic at the moment but the Supporters Trust and other fans' groups are not. They've got a lot of passion for the club and I want all of them to work together to help deliver the commercial strategy I have for the club.

"If we can start getting money in and those investors get something back in return it will help on the pitch. We have a chicken and egg situation and we need to equip Billy McEwan financially."

Davis intends to bring all the experience and skills he acquired while working in sales, accounts, brand management and sponsorship at Nestl to KitKat Crescent.

He is currently setting up his own business as a PR consultant and will continue to offer advice for Nestl twice a week.

The Leeds University public relations and marketing graduate will also bring an understanding of what a client requires from the Minstermen, having brokered sponsorship deals for Nestl with several sporting bodies including the Premiership.

He said: "In sales, the most important factor is presenting a product. York City Football Club, first and foremost, has some very good selling points. It's owned by the fans, it's a beautiful city to visit, it has great rail links and, with respect to the rugby league club, there's a catchment area there for a big sporting entity.

"We want to give sponsors a good return on their money so if they invest in us they will get more than they are perhaps used to. I'm thinking about what we have got that's different that we can take to companies with a genuine offer.

"We won't be blagging it because then we would be like a lot of other clubs who don't offer a return on the sponsorship money they are getting."

Davis would like to see the club become the heartbeat of the city and is currently putting together a presentation called Project Heart, which will be aimed at local businesses to give them a valid community-based reason to invest in the Minstermen.

"When you think of Leeds, you think of the football club and the Rhinos, when you think of Manchester you think of Manchester United but when people think of York, they think of York Minster not York City," Davis pointed out.

He believes that hospitality must be improved, as well as branding around the ground, and that the club could make better use of their current facilities, saying: "We have got the space to hold conferences here. There's not many places in York that have a car park like we have."

Davis also hopes more of the city's bigger employers will follow the example of Nestl and support the club financially, as well as become part of a business club, along with other sponsors, which could meet at KitKat Crescent on a regular basis.

Brimming with ideas, he believes City could benefit from the family approach adopted by rugby league in recent years and feels the club needs a greater city centre presence.

Currently, tourist signs point in every direction apart from towards the football club and Davis would like to see at least a couple of shelves dedicated to the Minstermen at the tourist information office, as well as leaflets handed out and mugs, scarves and shirts being sold on matchdays.

Davis also appreciates that the club must compete for supporters with the likes of Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Newcastle United and win back the fans closest to home.

He intends to watch most of the Minstermen's home matches next season, work commitments permitting, and may make the odd away trip but he is more focussed on achieving results off the pitch.