Former England rugby star Mark Cueto has laid out ambitious plans for the Sale Sharks Business Club.
The new Business Club offering, which currently has more than 100 members which can network with Sale Sharks players and management, will include more events.
Sale Sharks commercial director and club ambassador Cueto said a suite purely for Business Club members will also open on Level One of the AJ Bell Stadium on matchdays.
It comes almost 12 months after entrepreneurs Simon Orange of Corpacq and Ged Mason of Morson took over the only Premiership Rugby club in the North West.
Mark Cueto talks at UKFast HQ in Manchester
With them came a new board of directors and the return of front of shirt sponsor UKFast as well as a host of other corporate partners including Printerland, Bentley and Melia Group.
Cueto, who played for Sale Sharks for 15 years as well as England and the British and Irish Lions, said: “2016 saw Sale Sharks enter a new era. With Red Cow Media as the title sponsor of the Business Club, we’ve run a number of successful events throughout the course of this season.
“From September, to coincide with the new season we are planning to take the Business Club to the next level.
“Put simply, there will be more benefits for current members and those potentially wanting to join the Sale Sharks family.”
He added: “Members will continue to get premium season tickets and seats at Sale Sharks home fixtures along with access to the players’ bar, as well as access to exclusive networking events around Manchester city centre and at the club’s Carrington training ground throughout next season.
“Next season, though, we are going to be running specific sector events that will feature prominent people from different sectors of the Greater Manchester business community as well as the traditional rugby related events like the Six Nations analysis event held earlier this year at the headquarters of our main sponsor UKFast.
“There will also be the exciting opportunity for Business Club members to mingle on Level One of the AJ Bell stadium on matchdays – two hours before kick-off – in a new suite that we are now in a position to open.
“There will be a host on the day and members will get a chance to take to microphone over the course of the season and introduce both themselves and their business to an audience.
“We feel there are very good opportunities for Business Club members to do business with each other so are increasing the chances of this happening.”
Over the course of this season Sale Sharks Business Club ran a pre-season BBQ in Carrington, a Six Nations focused event at UKFast, networking events at Neighbourhood Restaurant and Bar in Spinningfields and at the Bentley Manchester showroom in Knutsford. The final Business Club event takes place at Menagerie on Thursday, April 27.
Sale Sharks’ new Business Club offer will start in September to coincide with the 2017/2018 season. Membership to the Business Club is £1,000 a season. Should current members introduce new members to the Business Club, they will get next season’s membership for £750, rather than £1,000.