Shrewsbury set to benefit from Elton John concert

Elton John will be heading to Munich following his Shrewsbury gig

Shrewsbury Town's staging of an Elton John gig on Sunday is set to provide a major financial boost to the region.

"It's taken meticulous planning, but everyone at the club's pitched in to make it work," operations manager Ian Bebbington told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"The team have employed local businesses in crane hire, forklift hire, and all the stewards on the day, while hotels will benefit too."

The concert will be the first to be held at the Greenhous Meadow stadium.

The club has been looking to maximise revenue at the stadium since leaving the old Gay Meadow in 2007 and the concert is their biggest venture yet.

Income from staging the event and from ancillary sales around the ground will boost the club's coffers on a scale unimaginable at the cramped old ground, and Shrewsbury are looking to make the Greenhous Meadow a regular music venue.

Shrewsbury have shown they're very capable of putting on more events

Venue manager Mark Wooliscroft

"Shrewsbury have shown they're very capable of putting on more events," said venue manager Mark Wooliscroft.

John is using the town as a warm-up before embarking on a European tour that takes in Germany, Turkey and Italy.

A huge stage brought in on six trucks was constructed at the ground, and the pitch was covered by carpeting specially designed for sports venues that allows the grass to breathe.

Extra seating has been installed, and around 17,000 music fans will fill the stadium.

"Shrewsbury Town have done a fantastic job, especially as it's their first go at it," Wooliscroft added.

The Greenhous Meadow is one of three sports venues for John this summer, along with the Sussex and Northampton county cricket clubs.

His love of football is well-documented since he became chairman of Watford in 1976, where he appointed future England boss Graham Taylor as manager and invested large sums of money as the club rose three divisions into the old first division.

That same year, he also became co-owner of North American Soccer League side Los Angeles Aztecs, helping the club to sign superstar George Best.