Hospitality a lifeline for flood-hit non-league club

A non-league football club that is regularly hit by flooding says investing in its hospitality offering has been a financial lifeline.

Belper Town's ground sits close to the River Derwent and the clean-up and flood defences have been a huge expense to the club for years.

The hospitality lounge has proved a helpful source of income and was recognised by online reviewer, The Padded Seat, as the best "hidden gem" of the 2025/26 season.

Annette Carter, a club volunteer of 30 years, said the flooding could be "really bad", which was why they were working to raise money for the club and were "trying to do our little bit to help".

"For level eight of English football, the hospitality was exceptional - Annette and Lara were excellent, the service and food was as well," said reviewer, Kyle Mattison.

"We've all got full-time jobs during the week, so we do it for the love of the club. We really enjoy it. It's a passion," added Lara Woodward, another volunteer who works as a nurse in the week.

Belper's Raygar Stadium flooded five times between 2019 and 2024, impacting the club financially and demoralising the team of volunteers.

"It's sad to walk down the road and see the ground when it's flooded and you're thinking 'what's going to happen next?'" said Carter.

But Carter and Woodward said they had worked hard to increase revenue by providing a premium match day experience for sponsors and hospitality guests.

"We do rely on sponsorship to help the club run," said Carter, who is proud to have established a "really good match day experience" for supportive local businesses.

The club's observation lounge is elevated from the pitch, protecting it from any flooding and giving fans a view of the football, the town's historic mill and neighbouring church.

"We've got a beautiful ground and we like to show our club off. As a non-league club, we like to do things professionally, on par with league clubs," said Woodward.

"We have quite a lot of people come here who've been to big clubs, like Derby County, and they come here and say this is fantastic, compared to those. That's really quite a nice honour for us," added Carter.

However, she was still shocked when the club was highly recommended by multi-award winning stadium reviewer, The Padded Seat.

"We were delighted to win the top spot. It's brilliant for a non-league club," added Woodward.

Mattison and his team reviewed VIP and premium experiences at more than 70 sports stadia across Europe last season.

"We've done a lot of top flight grounds in the Premier League, Serie A teams, La Liga, Bundesliga, which is great and there's an audience for it, but we want to try and showcase what's going on further down the pyramid," said Mattison.

He described The Raygar Stadium to his 1.3 million online followers as a "proper old school ground" with "exceptional" hospitality.

"Not that you don't normally get it at that level of football, but it's always a surprise when it is that comprehensive," he said.

"You can tell a lot of effort's been put into it, which was great to see," he added.

He said a "good starting point" for any non-league club looking to learn from Belper Town's example, would be the "really friendly" service from Carter and Woodward.

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