Shrewsbury Town at Wembley: Time to put us on the map, says mayor
Join the Shropshire Star team for all the build-up, updates, pictures and video clips from Shrewsbury Town's big promotion showdown
New Shrewsbury mayor Peter Nutting says he is desperate to represent a town with a Championship football team.
He today led the messages of goodwill as Shrewsbury Town prepare for the big play-off showdown with Rotherham at Wembley on Sunday.
Victory would bring second tier football Shrewsbury for the first time in 40 years.
As well as extra revenue for the club, it would heighten the profile of Shrewsbury and bring extra visitors and millions of pounds extra to its economy.
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Councillor Nutting says he has been thrilled with the buzz around the town in the build-up to the match.
“There is a growing sense of excitement building towards the game and it would be fantastic to see Shrewsbury promoted to the Championship," he said. It would certainly help to showcase our wonderful town to a wider audience when visiting teams play here next season.
“I hope that the team makes Shrewsbury proud and those going to Wembley have a great day out.”
Banners have been placed on Lord Hill’s monument and flags flown from Shirehall.
Helen Ball, town clerk for Shrewsbury Town Council, added: “This is a big game for Shrewsbury and promotion would be a fantastic reward for the team who have played so well over the season.
“I have my tickets for the play-off finals at Wembley and I will be an honorary 'blue and amber fan' for the day. I will be there to cheer Shrewsbury Town on and look forward to seeing the team play in the Championship next season.
"As a Sheffield Wednesday fan, it will be great to pop along to the Montgomery Waters Meadow stadium for my ‘away’ fixture.”
More than 11,000 fans will be heading for London for the crunch match.
Whether it is boarding coaches and trains or making their way to Wembley by car, the atmosphere will be electric.
Tickets are now no longer available from the ground but can still be bought online via ticketmaster at eticketing.co.uk/shrewsburytownfc
They will go off sale at 2pm.
Rotherham will bring thousands of fans to the London stadium. By Friday morning they had sold 14,000 tickets.
But Town bosses are confident they will beat the opposition in more ways than one both on and off the pitch bringing with the support of the Barmy Army.
‘Noisy fan zones’ have been created at Wembley for both sets of supporters, but the club is asking for supporters to be as vocal as possible as Town look for inspiration to reach the Championship.
Fans are also being urged to get into he ground early to avoid congestion. The pre-match entertainment will start a couple of hours before kick off.
