Neil Holmes to Retire from Castle Park After 21 Years

26th July 2023

The club can announce, after 21 years at Castle Park, General Manager Neil Holmes will be retiring from the business.

Neil has been a part of Castle Park since Doncaster Knights’ days in National Two as the club looked to climb it’s way higher in the English domestic league structure.

He has seen the progression the club has made over those two decades – from the original club building here at Armthorpe Road to the construction and completion of the impressive De Mulder Lloyd Stand and the additional facilities which have made the venue what it is today.

Neil has witnessed promotion from National Two to National One to the Championship – experiencing demotions, promotions and a hard-fought play-off for the Premiership along the way.

He has worked alongside six different Head Coaches or Directors of Rugby in the sporting side of the business as well as being a regular feature in the planning and running of hundreds of weddings, parties, functions, and countless other occasions hosted by the Castle Park events team.

More recently, Neil has been a key figure in navigating the intense procedures of dealing with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and achieving the noteworthy goal of passing the RFU Minimum Standards Criteria for potential promotion to the topflight of English rugby.

Neil has taken the tough decision to step away from the business in order to dedicate more time to his family and intriguing new ventures such as running his own portable gin bar for event hire.

Everyone at Castle Park extends a thank you to Neil for his 21 years of dedication to the business and we wish him the very best in his retirement, alongside his family.