Open letter: Steve Lansdown, Chris Booy, Mark Tainton and Pat Lam

With increased exposure, record season card sales and more than 16,000 tickets already sold for our opening home game against Bath at Ashton Gate, the Bristol Bears rebrand has, undoubtedly, breathed fresh life into this great club.

We now have a fantastic opportunity to establish ourselves in both the Gallagher Premiership and in Europe, in what really is a huge season for us.

Our vision is to inspire our community through rugby success, while attracting capacity crowds to our world class stadium here at Ashton Gate.

We also want to see Bristolians representing Bristol Bears, so it really is amazing and encouraging to see the likes of Jack Bates and Blake Boyland representing their countries and training with the first team squad this summer.

I’m encouraged about what lies ahead and I look forward to being part of what promises to be a memorable occasion on August 31.

Steve Lansdown

It is fantastic to be back at the top table of English rugby - and what an occasion to kick-off our return to the Gallagher Premiership.

Our record attendance, in 2006, was over 21,000 and we are hoping to beat that when our neighbours Bath join us for the season opener.

The shift in momentum and excitement around the club really demonstrates the enormous appetite for rugby in our city.

It’s the start of a bold new era for the club under the inspirational leadership of Pat Lam and it’s amazing to see local clubs, schools and businesses getting behind us.

Away from the field, we’re making fantastic progress with our infrastructure. Plans for the new, state-of-the-art training ground have been formally signed off and we expect work to commence imminently.

Your support, as always, is extraordinary, and I look forward to seeing you all at Ashton Gate throughout the 2018/19 season.

Chris Booy

Commercially, we have made great strides over the summer, engaging with a number of new businesses and also building on our strong relationships with existing partners.

We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Toogood International as the club’s main sponsors for the 2018/19 season, in the most substantial commercial agreement in the club’s history.

The partnership clearly underlines our ambitions and the positive direction that the club is going, together with a whole host of partners from across the city who want to be part of our journey.

With a record number of season card sales and the small matter of a local derby against Bath on the opening day of the Gallagher Premiership season, it’s already gearing up to be an exciting campaign at Ashton Gate.

We’ve had an eye-catching summer of recruitment, which has seen a host of new players join Pat Lam’s squad, as we aim to build on last season’s promotion-winning season and achieve our vision, to inspire our community through rugby success.

Mark Tainton

The new season is fast approaching and everyone at Bristol Bears is so eager to get started.

I’m so excited by the fact that there are so many people here hungry to be successful – staff, players and you guys, the supporters. I’m most excited, particularly, for our fans. There are some big occasions to look forward to, starting with Bath, then Saracens, then Gloucester - the list just keeps going and it’s great to be a part of it.

We now have a platform in the Premiership, against the best this country has to offer, to perform daily. The thing I love about the Premiership is that there are no easy games, everyone can beat each other on their day.

We’re heading into the final stage of our pre-season preparations off the back of a fantastic camp in Portugal. It was one of the best camps that I’ve been a part of, in terms of venue, the attitude of the players, and the work ethic of the management. Everything was superb, and it’s given us a great launchpad to kick into block three of pre-season, which is the games.

The level of support has been truly phenomenal, from record season card sales to the ever-growing crowd for our season opener against Bath at Ashton Gate, and with just over three weeks to go, the anticipation is building.

What I can promise you is that we are working hard every day to improve as individuals and as a team, and come the first whistle on August 31^st, we will be ready.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and God bless.

Pat Lam

Secure your seat for the West Country derby when Bristol Bears meet Bath at Ashton Gate by clicking here, or by calling supporter services on 0117 963 0600.