Barry Hearn trying to take 7th-tier team to the top after major investment as he targets new stadium

BARRY HEARN has outlined ambitious plans for Brentwood Town after agreeing a bumper new sponsorship deal with his local club. Matchroom Sport will be the front-of-shirt sponsor for The Blues for the next five years, with Hearn shooting for the stars as he targets a string of promotions AND a new stadium. Barry Hearn has outlined ambitious plans for Brentwood Town Credit: Rex The Matchroom Sport President wants promotions and a new stadium Credit: Courtesy of Netflix. The darts and snooker supremo, now 78, revealed he “can’t hang about” and that “life is about dreaming big… if you don’t have dreams and ambition, what’s the point?” Matchroom broke the £1BILLION valuation barrier earlier this year and while it is unlikely Brentwood Town suddenly starts competing with the likes of Arsenal or Manchester United, there is expected to be investment in the club – from grassroots to the first team and facilities. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Speaking from Brentwood’s 1,000-capacity home ground, The Brentwood Centre Arena, Hearn told SunSport: “It’s not as if I’m trying to make a living. I’m trying to spend a living.” The former Leyton Orient chairman is not expected to be part of the day-to-day running of the club, although says, “I wouldn’t take on things if I couldn’t, or if I wasn’t in a position to put my heart and soul into it”. In their first season in the Isthmian Premier Division, Brentwood defied all expectations, finishing fifth and reaching the play-off final. They got as close to a place in the National League South as they could possibly get, conceding a 119th-minute winner to local rivals Billericay Town. Hearn’s ambitions for the duration of this deal are big but clear. Clubs at this level don’t typically sign deals for more than a couple of years, allowing Brentwood – who had an average attendance of 700 last season – stability and the luxury of medium term planning. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK lkjhjkhjkhjkh Credit: Shutterstock Editorial He added: “We needed stability and we have a plan. You don’t want to run out of money half-way through do you. “Part of that is putting in a financial structure to make sure that you’re not only ready for the challenges ahead but that you can afford to pay your own way. “The dream is to build a sustainable club. There’s no sustainability guarantee. “So we’re building the structure but at the same time will there be access to funds should they be requred to achieve a little bit more progress? “Yes, but it’s a long journey.” Hearn admits there is one large and immediate stumbling block to overcome in the next half-decade – ownership of the stadium, which is currently in the hands of the local council. “My first plan here is we’ve got to get this ground from the council. We need the support of everybody. “I’m handcuffed without the ground, because as much as I love the club and what we’re doing, there has to be justification and we need to create more facilities. “We will need to grow as the club grows. It’s like driving a car where your passenger is holding the handbrake on. “We’ll be looking at that and talking to the council about that over the next few weeks and making that part of the plan.” Hearn wants to put Brentwood on the sporting map Credit: Paul Edwards He cites the likes of Bromley FC, who are now in League One after two promotions in three years Credit: Getty Hearn cites the successes of clubs like Bromley (two promotions in three seasons to reach League One) and Hornchurch (two promotions in three seasons to reach the National League) and says that his aim for the coming campaign is “Promotion, promotion, promotion”. He has also been in football long enough to know that the club’s fortunes will be “governed by results”. While the plan is obviously to see first-team success and promotions – eventually to the football league – Hearn is also keen to see the club grow for the benefit of the local area and create a pipeline of talent into the first-team. “Part of our plan is to make Brentwood more famous,” he adds. “With that comes, hopefully, more investment in the area, more people getting satisfaction and having pride in the area they come from. “This is an affluent area so I can’t see any reason why we couldn’t draw crowds of 2,000. “You’ve got to dream. “We’re not just looking for short-term success. We won’t just go out and buy players. “We’d rather turn around and say we’re going to run a proper business. “Yes, we’re going to need experienced players but we cant to create this factory line of talent where even if you lose a player the next one comes up to fill their shoes.” With the new deal set to run until 2032, there is plenty of time for Hearn and Matchroom to put their paw prints on Brentwood Town. Asked how a dream five years would look, he says: “Brentwood Town has a 3 or 4,000-seat stadium. “We’ll be aiming for League Two or League One – it’s a blank cancas. “It can all happen, lots of things need to go your way. “The most important thing is to enjoy the process, enjoy the journey, especially it’s somewhere where we come from. “I think we can create an identity and do a lot of service to the area. “At the same time we want to create something that’s going to last beyond my lifetime. “Every club starts somewhere, but that may have been 150 years ago, so we’ve got to catch up a bit.” Comment now