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Bristol Post
Sport
Sam Frost

Bristol Rovers CEO explains why club wants to revamp crest and reveals early feedback

Bristol Rovers chief executive Tom Gorringe believes the club can "create something that represents our traditions and identity in a more modern way" as it considers changing the crest.

The current badge has been in use for 25 years, but the club is open to updating it ahead of the 140-year anniversary in 2023 and started a consultation with supporters earlier this month.

Some supporters have strongly voiced their disapproval of the idea on social media, although in his programme notes for Saturday's defeat to Lincoln City, Gorringe said more than half of supporters who had been surveyed were open to the club exploring options. The CEO also explained why the club believes it is time to consider updating the crest.

He wrote: "Prior to the news of Her late Majesty's passing, we had begun a process of gathering feedback and ideas around the possibility of changing the club crest. The reason for this is that, after 25 years, we believe it is time to look at updating the crest with the current offering being non-symmetrical, using old fonts that aren't used elsewhere.

"Furthermore, the current pirate doesn't feel as strong as it could be. Due to all of these things, there is a feeling internally that we could create something that represents our traditions and identity in a more modern way.

"At the time of writing, we have had 2,763 responses to the survey, with 52 per cent of supporters open to a change."

Criticism from supporters on social media after the club announced the consultation was centred on whether resources could be better used to aid Rovers' search for a new stadium, but Gorringe quashed the notion that the matters are linked.

"Following updates from our team internally, I thought this would be a good opportunity to clarify a few themes that came up in the responses which may address some of the concerns raised," he added.

"Firstly, no costs have been incurred in this process. We will not be engaging a fancy agency to charge us thousands to come up with concepts and gain feedback The process will be managed by our in-house team and data partners who will ensure that it is transparent, authentic, fair and efficient.

"Secondly, there is no link to any stadium project. The club's position remains that a new stadium is a priority. This has not changed and no resource that could have been allocated to that aim would be used on this consultation."

Modernisation of club crests across the EFL in recent years have often divided opinion, with Leeds United forced to scrap plans to mark its centenary in 2019 with a new crest, such was the uproar over the design.

Gorringe insists supporters will play a pivotal role in shaping any changes to the badge, should the club choose to follow that path after the consultation.

"We will not be looking to change to any form of 'modern' template crest and any options considered would have to be unique and representative of the club and its history, if it is decided collectively that was the best way to go," he said.

"Since the current logo was brought into use 25 years ago, most clubs within the EFL have made changes to their branding. Almost all of these have been brought in with little or no consultation, so it is important for us to go through a thorough process, gauge feedback, share ideas and see if collectively we can make any improvements in how our identity is portrayed.

"In terms of the next steps, our team will work to get some concepts worked up for further discussion. Initially, this will take place via a follow-up survey and then we would like to hold focus groups to explore further."

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