John Oates appointed head of commercial
Oates has been working with the club during the past year on commercial and community projects including the 2019 European finals, Newcastle Falcons playing ‘The Big One’ at St James’ Park and Newcastle Thunder rugby league.
Working in professional sport for more than 20 years, Oates began his career with Newcastle Falcons when the club first turned professional, going on to work for Premiership Rugby.
Since then he has forged a reputation as a successful consultant in rugby union, rugby league, football and cricket, with clients including the national rugby unions of England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, Super League rugby league, the England and Wales Cricket Board, Hong Kong Rugby, Queen’s Park Rangers FC, London Wasps, Heart of Midlothian FC, Leeds Rhinos RL and Durham Cricket.
Speaking about his appointment, Oates said: “This is a tremendously exciting time for rugby in the North East and it’s fantastic to be right at the heart of it.
“I have been with the club for a while already working on some exciting projects like the Heineken Champions Cup final, European Challenge Cup final, ‘The Big One’ at St James’ Park and the European trophy tour, all events which promise to deliver from a commercial and community viewpoint.
“I intend to work with existing off-field team to fulfil the needs of our corporate customers in areas such as building their brand, finding new customers, retaining their existing customers and linking with the Newcastle Rugby Foundation to fulfil their CSR needs.
“Last year saw Newcastle Falcons setting new attendance records and welcoming on board major new sponsors, and I will be looking to build on the great foundations here in what I consider to be the most passionate sporting region in the country.”
