ALDERSHOT Town fans already have plenty to get used this season with the excitement of playing in the Football League after a 16-year absence.

Throughout that time the loyal fans have packed into the Recreation Ground, dreaming of the glorious return that boss Gary Waddock masterminded so successfully over during the last campaign.

Now, as they head into a new era for the football club, they do so with a new sponsor, and with that, a new name for the ground they call ‘The Rec.’

On Tuesday the club announced a new two-year sponsorship deal with EBB Paper, that will see them plough a six-figure sum into the club.

EBB will emblazen the Shots shirts as they take on League Two, and the name of the The Rec will now become the ‘EBB Stadium at the Recreation Ground.’

Tim Elliott, managing director at EBB and a long-standing Shots fan, played a major role in negotiating the deal that saw current sponsors Ezylet step aside.

“I’m delighted, on behalf of the company, to be a sponsor,” he said. “I have been involved with the club a long time. Back in 1985 I was a director of the football club when we had Ron Harris as manager, in the old fourth division days.

“I have remained involved ever since, and we sponsored the shirt back in Terry Brown's last season [2006/ 2007].

“We are delighted to have a chance to be involved at Aldershot, and having achieved the ultimate last year and getting into the football league we now have to go a step further.

“We feel confident that we are becoming a sponsor at a very exciting time for the football club. Hopefully this deal will raise the profile of Elliot Baxter and also be good for the football club.”

Aldershot Town Corporate Sales Manager Nicky Banger hailed the deal as an exciting one for the club.

“This is a very exciting time for the football club, going into the Football League,” he said. “We are very proud, honoured and excited to introduce Tim Elliot and Elliot Baxter and Company [EBB Paper] as the new ground and shirt sponsorship for the next two years.

“Thanks to Tim we have secured a six figure sum which will give the club security and the foundations to build a very exciting future at the club.

“From now on the Recreation Ground will be called the EBB Stadium, which is something we are all excited about.”

Chairman John McGinty echoed Banger’s sentiments and revealed that he sees the deal as a historic step for the club.

“I have known Tim for a long, long time and I have always admired his loyalty to this football club, and his continuation of that now,” he said.

“He has come in at the right time, as we are making ground improvements that are horrendously costly, and this will help the club in all the ways we need on the financial side.

“It’s exciting for me and we really appreciate what Tim has done. This man has stepped in at the right time for us and he will go down in the history of the club.”

So, the question is, will the new name catch on?

Other clubs have renamed their ground with varying degrees of success, such as York City, who changed the traditional name of Bootham Crescent to ‘KitKat Crescent’ after a sponsorship deal with Nestle.

McGinty accepted that it may take a while before fans stop referring to ‘The Rec.’

“Slowly and surely we hope the name will catch on,” he said. “Old habits die hard, but we have assured Tim that we will make every effort to call the ground the EBB Stadium.”

Elliott added: “It has been called the Recreation Ground for a long time, but I think the EBB Stadium at the Recreation Ground sounds more exciting.”

With a six-figure sum boosting the club’s financial situation as well, boss Gary Waddock will surely be hoping that he gets the chance to invest that in the team.

Coupled with the £130,000 received from Joel Grant’s transfer to Crewe last month, there may well be some money to play with, but Waddock remained predictably non-committal.

“I’ll have to speak to the chairman about that,” he joked. “Obviously the sponsorship deal is fantastic for the football club, but only time will tell if I need to dip into those funds.

“Over the last year since I have been here I have brought in young players and I don’t see that changing over the next couple of years.

“We will have see how we get on in League Two, but it’s an exciting time for us and with the sponsorship deal as well it’s exciting for the club.”

On Saturday the Shots take on a Chelsea XI in their opening first team pre-season game at the newly named EBB Stadium (kick off is at 3pm).