University gardeners go from green fingers to claret and amber
Gardening team members at the University of Bradford are known across the city campus for their green fingers, but now they'll be recognised for their claret and amber in honour of their local football club as the Bantams bid for promotion.
With weeks left of the season, the Bantams are still in with a chance of grabbing a play off place in SkyBet League 2.
Bradford City - who last year announced a partnership with the University that saw their home renamed as the University of Bradford stadium - presented the gardening team, most of whom are lifelong Bantams supporters, with new season shirts, which feature the University as the back-of-shirt sponsor.
Bradford City’s Chief Commercial Officer, Davide Longo, said: “It was really heartwarming for us as a club to be able to present gardening staff at the University of Bradford with their 2023/24 home shirts.
“A lot of staff at the University are Bradford City fans, and we want to keep developing our relationship and the University’s support of the club.
“This represents another positive step forward for the partnership, with our colours and brand on show around the University of Bradford, and ties strengthening between ourselves and our friends at the University.”
University of Bradford Vice-Chancellor Professor Shirley Congdon said: “I see the gardening team around often, and I know how deeply they care about how the campus looks and the sustainability aspects of it.
“They take a lot of pride in their work and knowing that there are many years of Bantam’s support in the gardening team, we saw an opportunity to do something to further deepen our relationship with the club.”
Gardener Paul Roper, who has worked at the University for almost 30 years, has clocked up 52 years of visits to the University of Bradford Stadium. He said: “It’s been a really lovely surprise to be presented with our shirts.
“I’ve been a season ticket holder for 20 or more years and obviously I knew about the partnership but didn’t expect a shirt!”