Cornish Pirates launch a crowdfunder to help pay for the damage caused by last month's storms.
Cornish Pirates have launched a crowdfunder to help pay for the damage caused by last month's storms.
Storm Goretti badly damaged the main stand at the Mennaye Field, causing about £200,000 of damage, which is insured.
But further damage caused by Storm Ingrid to the club's electronic scoreboard, electrics and another stand is unlikely to be covered.
The club moved their last game to Camborne, and will also play their next home match at their neighbours, costing about £10,000 in lost revenues per game, with total uninsured costs closing in on £100,000.
"I feel really bad going out to people saying 'please help'," Cornish Pirates chief executive Sally Pettipher told BBC Sport.
"So many people offered help the moment the storm hit and I said 'no no no, you know there's insurance, that's what it's for', but we just had not anticipated at the time how much more it was going to cost us than the insurance rebuilds.
"The costs of playing away are £9,000 to £10,000 a go, and that's before loss of income.
"We were not resilient to shock, and so the storm damage and the consequent expenses of having to play elsewhere, and the loss of income because we have to pay back hospitality because people can't come because there's not enough room.
"We are in a fantastic place in terms of building forward, but we just had not anticipated the difficulties with physical damage to things like scoreboards and very boring things like electrics to PA systems and electrics for camera gantries and the things that we're obliged to have because we're a Championship club and the storm just wiped them out.
"So it's just a tricky time and when people said 'can we help' and I said 'no, no, no', and now I'm saying 'yes, yes, yes'."
Having played Ampthill at Camborne's Recreation Ground on 24 January the club were hopeful they would be back at the Mennaye for the visit of London Scottish this weekend.
But with the extra damage caused by Storm Ingrid the club have been forced to play a second match at Camborne, which has been moved to Sunday, 8 February.
However, Pettipher is confident it will be the final home game that will have to be moved, with Nottingham due to visit on 21 February before a friendly with Prem side Harlequins a fortnight later.
"We will be there. If we have to hire temporary generators, run new wires, run new leads," Pettipher said.
"We have these amazing grounds staff and they have repaired to a degree the Microcomms Stand, which was the Storm Ingrid damage, and we've got other contractors lined up who have categorically promised us to be ready for Quins.
"But Nottingham on the 21st we will be at the Mennaye, barring another storm.
"So every part of planning is that we will be there - we might be there in a grandstand with no roof, but we will be there."
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Category: General Sports