Workington Town and Whitehaven will be taking on Rugby League’s newest professional club when they get down to business in League One next year.
The owner of the new arrivals Goole Vikings is local businessman Mark Richardson, who has been talking about his ambitious plans for the East Yorkshire club to make it big in League One and beyond.
The Vikings were awarded a League One franchise ahead of other applicants Bedford Tigers and Anglian Vipers and Richardson has already sanctioned 21 signings.
He said his business would support the team, and was delighted that people have been approaching the club – with emails arriving daily from players, coaches and off-field roles with sponsorships.
In terms of potential attendance numbers, Richardson was keen to stress just how well the Vikings have been doing in the amateur game.
He told TotalRL.com: “Games in the past have got attendances between 350 and 500. Look at average attendance in the League One, discounting Oldham and Keighley, the likes of Midlands get around 300 and 400.
“So we knew that us at amateur level competes at the bottom end of League One without any marketing or press. Throwing the media challenge out there to back us, we strongly believe we could be in the top third of attendance within the 20km radius.”
He said he would consider dual registration in the future – but said the club would be careful as some agreements meant five or six players don’t get in a squad and then that reduces the ability to bring in other talent.
There will be a lot of interest in Goole’s fixture list, particularly in who will play them in their first game which will almost certainly be at home.
Fixtures for the Championship and League One are to be released on Tuesday.
