Flamboyant millionaire and new East Thurrock United owner Alfie Best wants to see the Isthmian League‘s Rocks playing in the Football League in a purpose-built community stadium.
Named in the latest Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated wealth of £340million, the 50-year-old is pictured being welcomed to the club’s Rookery Hill home by excited juniors last Saturday after landing in his helicopter!
The Essex-based entrepreneur and owner of Wyldecrest Parks, Europe’s biggest static home parks company with over 80 sites throughout the UK, revealed his plans this week after spending a seven figure sum to buy the ground and a half share in the Isthmian League Premier Division club.
Best’s portfolio of businesses also include Barbados VIP Villas, Vaaroom Motorhome Hire, Alfie Best Property Growth and the Sapey Golf & Country Club in Hertfordshire.
https://t.co/VUPcGYTmhN Newly bought Rocks!@1EastThurrockFC hang up the “Under New Ownership” signs#isthmianleague #thurrock pic.twitter.com/nbXCGKjTSr
— The Isthmian League (@IsthmianLeague) July 23, 2020
He told fans in a club statement: “East Thurrock United is a fantastic club with a lot of potential, but what really excites me is the amazing community spirit it has and that’s what I want to build and expand on.
“There is a real enthusiasm from everyone involved in the club to achieve great things here and I want to lay the groundwork with a new stadium that could see us make progress on the field and move through the divisions.
“Obviously, reaching the Football League would be big challenge, but it’s a wonderful goal to have and aspire to. A football club has so much more to offer than a game on a Saturday afternoon. It has the opportunity to be the lifeblood of the community.
“It would be great to be able to build a new community stadium for the club. I am confident we will have the support of Thurrock Council who are a go-ahead and ambitious authority determined to provide the best amenities for their residents.”
He added: “It’s the reason I moved my staff and offices into the borough from neighboring Havering. It was a big decision to uproot in excess of 400 staff, but Havering is an authority that did not appear to want to support the aims of business in contrast to the forward-thinking of Lyn Carpenter, the chief executive of Thurrock Council, and her entire team, for whom I have the utmost respect.”
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Images courtesy of The Non-League Paper, Wyldecrest Parks/Louis Wood & @1EastThurrockFC/Twitter
