Back in the 1960s, football was still the working-class sport it had been since before the war. Men wore caps and brown overcoats in the terraces and a season ticket wasn't a major investment for your average fan.

But even in 1966, with the England side limbering up to put the nation on a footballing high later in the year, there was already a hint of exclusivity seeping into a certain corner of Bristol Rovers' Eastville ground.

During his 18 years managing The Gas, Bert Tann had brought the club plenty of success – it had been his drive and determination that got the club up into the Football League Second Division for the first time in the 1952-3 season.

But it was his canny head for business that was to give the club a step up during 1966.

Bert had come up with the idea of creating a President's Club – an exclusive membership aimed at wealthy businessmen, who could enjoy watching the match from their own regular seats at Eastville, and be treated to a posh buffet at half time.

In return for all this luxury, the big-wigs would inject much-needed cash into the club.

After the recession of the early 1960s, it would offer a vital new source of income.

So the world of the "hospitality box" was born – and it was an idea that other clubs throughout the Football League were quick to pick up on.

The team may have left their Eastville ground behind for the Memorial Stadium – and now have their sights firmly set on another future home – but the spirit of the side is much the same. And now, with the world in the grip of another economic recession, the powers-that-be at Rovers have decided this would be a good time to relaunch Bert Tann's creation.

Former Bristol Rovers director, Graham Hole, believes resurrecting the President's Club is a clever idea.

"I was there back in 1966 when Bert Tann first came up with the idea," the 68-year-old adds. "Rovers has always been good at having innovative ideas – for example, we were the first football club to have a microwave on our tour bus.

"It's only on the pitch that the team's ever struggled," he laughs. "So it was nice to know we were ahead of the field with things like the President's Club.

"The President's Club has injected hundreds of thousands of pounds into Rovers over the years."

Graham says it's hard these days to imagine how ahead of its time the idea was.

"This is before hospitality boxes really existed," Graham says. "Bert just had this idea that it would be good to have a group of supporters who happened to be local businessmen.

"He was concerned even then that there would be future battles over the future of the Eastville stadium and he wanted to get an influential group of fans together who would be able to help when the stadium company started to make noises about the new lease.

"At that time, it wasn't entirely about raising extra revenue for the club, but it needed a level of exclusivity to maintain the kudos of being a member, so we charged £50 a season to be a member on top of the £30 season ticket.

"We had no idea how successful it would be, but almost immediately we had more than 120 members, and we had to start a waiting list.

"In those days our president was the Duke of Beaufort, who allowed us to use his family crest and shield on the club insignia, which also gave it a bit more kudos.

I was a member of the President's Club in those days, and we had a fabulous time," Graham says. "The hospitality was legendary, and the great thing was the way in which we were able to develop reciprocal hospitality arrangements at other clubs for away matches. Of course, the President's Club has never gone away, but in recent years it's become less high-profile, which is why this seems like a good moment to reinvent it," Graham adds.

The new President's Club will offer a range of benefits, including exclusive use of boxes 17 and 18 at the Memorial Stadium and improved match day facilities including a buffet, tea and coffee facilities and a waitress service during the match. Members of the club will also choose the man of the match.

There will also be all the familiar trappings of exclusivity in the additional benefits – things like a special collectors' tie embroidered with the President's Club insignia, visits to the box from the players and directors, and preferential seating set aside for the new stadium.

It's also likely to offer all the same social perks and networking connections enjoyed by the businessmen of the 1960s.

"It provides a professional environment for match days, but it also develops a real social scene," Graham says.

"There are still lots of friendships flourishing that were formed between those early members of the Rovers' President's Club."

● Membership prices range from £500 to £1,000 a season depending on membership levels. For more information phone 0117 909 6648.