Put simply, we’re trying to return Maidstone United back to Maidstone. After 21 years of ground-sharing (including an unpleasant period going bust and reforming), the future of the club is hanging in the balance with no ground to call our own. We have planning permission and a long-term lease for a ground at James Whatman Way in Maidstone – we’re just short of the funds to build it. The supporters have been set the task of raising £250K and the Virtual Stadium is one of the schemes set up to try and achieve this. For more details, please visit the official Bring the Stones Home website.

Simple. You choose the seat you would like from the Virtual Stadium Seating Plan on the main page (maybe you want a seat next to one of your friends or a supporter of your club – you can search for friends or fellow supporters using the ‘Search Crowd’ link). Then follow the links through to the payment page and fill in the details, including the message you would like displayed on your seat. You can upload a message and image if you like – you can change either of these at any time. If you are an advertiser, just click on any of the 'Corporate Sponsorship' links and send us your contact information - we'll be in touch to discuss the details like logo sizes and website to link to. If your company is able to provide a product or service that could be useful in building the new stadium or promoting the Virtual Stadium, we may even be able to do something on rates. We’ll try and get your company logo uploaded as quickly as possible.

The way we see it, there are four principal reasons:

• a) Financial for you! Give yourself up to 49 chances to win £1000! Every time you purchase a seat you will be asked a simple multiple choice question. Get this right and your seat is entered into the Grab A Grand draw every time we reach a 'Thousand-Seat Milestone'. You get entry into more draws the earlier you join (so if your seat is in the first 1000 sold, you'll get 49 chances if every seat in the Virtual Stadium is sold). If you want more entries, you can simply purchase more seats from your Profile.
• b) Financial for your company. The Virtual Stadium is a brand-new concept which hasn't been seen before. Because of this we are hoping to generate a substantial amount of publicity. Purchasing advertising on the site gives you exposure to all of the visitors to the site (you can see exactly how many by checking the 'Unique Hits Since Launch' counter on the front page of the site (above the stadium image). We have different advertising options available giving different amounts of exposure to suit all budgets.
• c) Interest. As a member of the Virtual Stadium community, you will have access to a whole array of online features, many exclusive to the site. As a taster, we are offering exclusive video highlights, interviews (some live) with Stones names both past and present, games to while away an hour or two as well as the opportunity to chat with fellow members. And we're also running a Referral Scheme where you can win prizes if you refer the most friends to join the site.
• d) Emotional. Be a part of internet (and football) history. Remember, you will be playing a key role in keeping alive a football club for which your efforts will be forever recognised. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Maidstone United regular, sometime away fan, an occasional supporter from the old days of London Road or even if you have no intention of setting foot in a football stadium, your role could be crucial in the survival of the club.

Funds raised from seats and advertising sold in the Virtual Stadium will have a DIRECT impact in building Maidstone United a ground back in Maidstone. From the £6.99 on every seat sold:

• * £1 will go into the 'Grab a Grand' prize pot drawn at every Thousand-Seat Milestone
• * 50p goes into the Referral prize pot for the people who make the most referrals
• * 49p will go to Google Checkout as commission (this 49p will go direct to the Ground Fund instead if you pay by cheque or direct to us in cash - see below for instructions on how to do this)
• * £5 goes DIRECTLY to the The Bring The Stones Home Campaign. This fund will be used to build the new stadium at James Whatman Way, Maidstone.

Advertising monies raised will go directly to the Ground Fund, but please note that 'deals' may be offered to some advertisers depending on whether they can help wth PR/Marketing for the Virtual Stadium or construction materials for the new ground.

Absolutely. In common with hundreds of thousands of other websites, we use Google Checkout as our online payment tool. Google Checkout take a small percentage from every transaction (around 5.5%) but we think this is worth it to make absolutely sure that all payments are totally 100% secure.

Yes. If you don’t want to pay online for any reason you have two other options:

• a) Print off the 'Registration' page and fill it in. Then send it along with a cheque made payable to 'Bring The Stones Home' for the price of your seat(s) to:
  
  The Bring The Stones Home Campaign
  Maidstone United Football Club
  East Malling Enterprise Centre
  New Road
  East Malling
  Kent
  ME19 6BJ
• b) Look out for the Virtual Stadium Roadshow which will be coming live to a number of venues in and around Maidstone over the coming months. We’ll ask you to provide your details and message and you’ll be able to pay in cash there and then. See the Blog entries for details of where we’ll be and when.

Your message and image (if you have decided to upload one) will be displayed as soon as your payment has been processed (typically, within minutes).

As well as being genuinely interested in how you got to hear about us, we are running a scheme where the most prolofic referrers win cash prizes.

We’re hoping to keep this site online for at least 5 years, as an ongoing record. So by buying a seat or advertising, you will be posting your personal or company message for posterity for future generations – think Blue Peter time capsule, though this site will be readily accessible rather than having to be dug up by local school children.

Your seat or advertising is a one-off payment. Though we may approach you about other initiatives the club are running, we won't be asking you to renew your subscription to the Virtual Stadium. So whether you purchase a seat or commercial advertising, the Virtual Stadium is unbeatable value for money!

Quite simply so that we can contact you to discuss company logo size and also which website you would like your advert to point to. We want you to be happy with how your advert looks. We won’t share your Telephone Number (or any other details) with any third-party organisations.

There are a number of options for advertisers on the Virtual Stadiuum site - see the Corporate pages for more details. You can check the popularity of the Virtual Stadium site by looking at the Attendance figure (people who have purchased seats) and Hits Counter (people who have visited the site and may or may not have purchased seats) on the main page. Don't forget to ask visitors how they got to your website so you can keep track of the numbers coming via the Virtual Stadium!

Be our guest! Unfortunately we can’t offer any discounts for multiple purchases, but you can purchase up to 100 seats in one transaction from your Profile page (as long as there are still seats available).

Yes. As long as you go through the usual payment procedure you can buy the seat next to yours for a friend (what a lovely birthday gift..!)

No. However, we are currently compiling a list of those people who are interested in seats and advertising for the real stadium. Please indicate that you would be interested in this via the 'Sponsorship' tick box on your 'Profile' page or send us an email via the 'Contact Us' page and we'll be in contact when the real stadium construction gets underway.

We're doing everything humanly possible to ensure that the club does not go bust - that's what the Virtual Stadium is all about. However, so that every base (however unlikely) is covered and to remove any conspiracy theories, should Maidstone United cease to exist all monies raised will go to the 'Bring The Stones Home' and a committee of supporters has been set up, with an agreed constitution, to ensure all funds are directed to the development of a new ground. Within the constitution there is the following clause which would come into force should the club cease trading:

"If at any time Maidstone United Football Club shall cease to exist the funds or property of the Society shall be applied for the purpose within the terms of section 5 of the Lotteries and Amusement Act 1976 and in particular connection with the furtherment and participation in or support of football. If at any time the Society shall be dissolved any surplus funds or property of the Society shall be applied for the purposes of the Society or if Maidstone United Football Club no longer exists then for the furtherment and participation in or support of football."

Full details of the BTSH constitution are available through the BTSH website.

Absolutely, yes. Google Checkout is fully geared to accept payment in a number of worldwide currencies – just click through to the Payment Page and follow the instructions.

For more details, see the Google Checkout foreign currency advice.

The intention is to release funds for the construction of the new stadium at James Whatman Way as and when we reach critical milestones (for example, enough to build an electricity sub-station). Once the Virtual Stadium itself is sold out and JWW is built, we plan to put our feet up and have a beer.