Different business model
Main sponsor Vescom has supported the vision and plan. Former chairman Philip van Esch’s company has extended the main sponsorship until 2023, keeping it on the back of the shirt but making the spot on the chest available to Heel Helmond Sport. “We now have a completely different business model. We will initially mean a lot to the community and the region, and then this investment will pay for itself,” says Flemings confidently. “As the value of the club increases, we become more interesting, which means other companies are also stepping up. People want to belong somewhere. A good example of this is the partnership with TopGrass, a company specialising in the construction of artificial turf pitches. Given the social impact of this, they have committed to Heel Helmond Sport for five years, and we will actively share the knowledge with the amateur associations in the region.
According to Flemings, Helmond Sport already benefits from the cooperation with the new partners. “They can help us move forward in other ways. Additional knowledge becomes available on, for example, injury prevention or the vitality of your employees. We can deploy people in our organization, the partners think together and generate ideas. And contributions are made in many ways other than money to the club.”
