IN many respects, the changes that have taken place behind the scenes at Bury in the 18 months since Stewart Day took charge have been largely cosmetic.

On the pitch, a new management team have completely overhauled the first-team squad to transform their fortunes from League Two relegation strugglers to promotion candidates.

But while the existing facilities at the ground have been completely revamped, including the name, Day’s plan to compete at a higher level goes far beyond a fancy re-fit of the JD Stadium.

“One of the things that attracted us to Bury Football Club was because they owned the ground and the land that it was on,” said the 33-year-old property developer.

“Not because we wanted to sell the ground and the land but there was development potential there to bring an income into the business.

“We had ideas on the ways we have been successful in other businesses and thought we could implement them at a football club.

“I believe you can make a football club profitable - that profit comes from third-party related income.”

Day says the club are in negotiations with a “major European investment institution” to raise capital at “high street rates” to fund a complete redevelopment of the ground and its surrounding land.

At the heart of the plan is to create new function suites, offices and serviced apartments to ensure the ground continues to make money on non match days.

“We would like to redevelop the ground and its facilities to include a 300 capacity function room to host conferences, events, weddings, birthdays and christenings, which is a big income stream,” said Day.

“We would also be putting office accommodation into the main stand as well so the club will get a rent roll off the office accommodation.

“We are looking at staging concerts and events. We are looking at holding one major concert a year, which would bring in substantial revenue to the club, with a profit in the region of £200,000.

“We have looked at the costings to put some serviced accommodation on land surrounding the club (on the site of the social club), which we would look to try to develop, which would bring in a huge income stream and equity to the football club as well.”

A new training complex is a key part of Day’s plan. Initial negotiations to relocate to Bury Grammer School have cooled, but the chairman confirmed they were looking at other plots of land that could house not just the first team and academy but also facilities that could be hired out to the public.

Promotion is also central to the strategy. The chairman is convinced that, if they redevelop the away end to harness the earning potential that larger travelling support would bring, they could boost the club’s coffers even further.

Day also believes the club’s recruitment policy, including renegotiated contracts with key players, will ensure they will continue to be competitive in League One without breaking the bank.

“We have brought players into the football club that we believe are assets,” he said. “We have tied certain players into longer term contracts that are designed, if we win promotion, to give their wage an increase but not a dramatic increase.

“We have looked at what we would earn revenue-wise in League One and we planned for that accordingly.”