OCFC / OCC / OUFC tie-up

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Kairdiff Exile
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OCFC / OCC / OUFC tie-up

Post by Kairdiff Exile »

I despair of this board a little at times. Yesterday saw a significant announcement of a tie-up with Oxford City Council and Oxford City Football Club, effectively identifying a likely new site for a training ground and a new permanent base for club offices, shop etc - and possibly even paving the way for a partnership that could lead to a new ground. And yet the posts on here have been about players who've left us and who we were playing 20 years ago!

Selected highlights of the announcement below.
Bright future for football within Oxford

Oxford City FC, Oxford United FC and Oxford City Council are delighted to announce that they have agreed in principle, to a new partnership that will support a bright future for football within the city of Oxford.

The partnership will maximise the use of Court Place Farm Stadium and provide a significant contribution to securing the future of Oxford City FC. It will also enable a continuation and development of OCFC's extensive community activities whilst also enabling OUFC to have a permanent base throughout the week.

The plans are subject to formal agreement from each of the three parties but all are keen to support the partnership which will also enable the construction of a 3G/4G pitch as a replacement for the current Court Place Farm pitch.

The partnership will involve the creation of a joint venture trading company which will be owned 50:50 by OCFC and OUFC and will lease and operate the main stadium facility...

From the Oxford United perspective, the club is delighted to help find a win/win solution which helps secure OCFC's future but which also provides a permanent facility from which the club can operate during the week especially in terms of creating a supporters club and retail outlet as well as the opportunity to commercialise the Court Place Farm stadium facility more generally, especially as a potential future home for Oxford United Women as well as expanding our community activities.

OUFC is also discussing, albeit at an early stage, the possibility of creating a permanent training home for the First Team at Court Place Farm. This would provide a significant benefit to the development of the club's infrastructure and all parties are keen to find a way to allow this to happen.
Any thoughts? Anyone?
OUFC4eva
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Re: OCFC / OCC / OUFC tie-up

Post by OUFC4eva »

My thoughts - DE is sticking two fingers up at FK and I don't blame him!
recordmeister
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Re: OCFC / OCC / OUFC tie-up

Post by recordmeister »

How many houses can you fit onto a football pitch, stadium site and car park? I'm sure that's all FK sees when he looks at google earth of Oxford from his house in Monaco...
ty cobb
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Re: OCFC / OCC / OUFC tie-up

Post by ty cobb »

Things do seem to be coming to a head somewhat. Always struck me as a bit odd that DE didn't seem bothered about the stadium situation when he took over as it is so obviously going to hold us back both short and long term. With OxVox seemingly looking to buy the stadium (is this really a realistic option - not just in getting the funds but also getting Firoz to sell) does this mean DE is out the equation in times of setting the timeline. He called for something to happen within 12 Weeks in October but we don't seem much further forward now. Without the OxVox work would Eales be the only show in town in terms of purchasing it? Has this meant that Firoz has a reason to tell him to get lost?

Hopefully all will become clear soon, however, as this is OUFC probably not.

I think OxVox purchasing the stadium is probably a good thing provided it doesn't pi$$ Eales off - if he withdrew support we would be screwed. Be interested to know what this payment is all about - does Eales put own Oxford City now? Who owns their land? Longer term, could OUFC developed their stadium and both teams use it?
Kernow Yellow
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Re: OCFC / OCC / OUFC tie-up

Post by Kernow Yellow »

I don't think anything's about to become clear. The waters are getting murkier and murkier with every development.

I don't even understand why OCC are namechecked in the story as if they've helped facilitate this. The only reason the club has gone for this arrangement is because of the situation at BMW, over which a war of words is still simmering in the Mail between DE and the council. The council's only input in this latest arrangement appears to be a willingness to help OCFC out of their financial predicament (presumably because City are their tenants at CPF - to answer Ty Cobb's question about that). But it doesn't even say that CPF is going to become our training ground. And I'm not sure why we'd want a retail outlet there! We could become the new Coventry City before we know it, playing in someone else's ground, and not using it for any other non-matchday purpose.

As to the wider FK/stadium ownership issue, I'd be amazed if there's any untangling of this anytime soon.

DE's change of heart regarding needing to own the stadium quickly is certainly worrying, if understandable. His programme notes from Boxing Day made very interesting reading, but left me feeling that there's a lot that could potentially go wrong at OUFC in the reasonably near future...
Kairdiff Exile
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Re: OCFC / OCC / OUFC tie-up

Post by Kairdiff Exile »

ty cobb wrote:Be interested to know what this payment is all about - does Eales put own Oxford City now? Who owns their land? Longer term, could OUFC developed their stadium and both teams use it?
In answer to the first question, I assumed his investment is basically covering the cost of the 3G pitch to get the whole thing moving and as a gesture of good faith. As for the other questions, I think if developing CPF into a viable ground became a realistic option, this must strengthen our hand - if a new ground could be shared between City and United on equal terms, it's hard to see who would lose. That's a million miles away from being a viable option - but so too is Eales buying Grenoble Road, so it can't hurt to come to this arrangement which sorts the training ground issue out and potentially allows another avenue to be explored on the ground.

During a [url=ttp://yellowsforum.co.uk/thread/24898/darryl-eales?page=6#ixzz4UzIAe3lo]tediously long and typically vitriolic thread[/url] at the Other Place about Darryl Eales, I was struck by the following post from Charlie Methven (an irascible and pompous sod, but one who often hits the mark, IMHO) about how best to make progress on the stadium impasse:
The right negotiation is to show FK that if the club DO find an alternative site then his site (Grenoble Road) will be worth 30 million quid [for potential housing], which we will happily share with him.
That means that he gets, say, 18 million (5 million more than his current valuation) and we get 12 million to fund a new stadium build.
The one condition of this partnership is that if we fail to get planning within, say, 3 years that he sells us the current stadium for 10 million (3 million less than his current valuation). And, in the intervening 3 years, that he allows us the matchday revenue from the current site as a downpayment on the deal.
That would recognise his interests, recognise our interests, align all parties and enable us all to go to the County and City Council as one to ask for their assistance, to both's benefit as it would mean 700 desperately-needed new homes for the city of Oxford, in turn meaning less overspill being foisted onto the Tory district councils.
In place of all the posturing and willy-waving, you would have a proper negotiation based on mutual interest.
Further on in the same thread, it transpired that such a plan had been put to Uncle Firoz before and been met favourably:
Firoz was actually very keen on it when we presented it to him. Why would he take 18 million for the site rather than maybe 30 million in 9 years time?
1) because he may not be with us then! A decade is a long time for a man in his 60s
2) the Right to Bid, which he is far more aware of than anyone imagines.
3) he knows that there would be a hell of a fight if he pursued the route you mentioned and it's not worth it to him. Unlike 20 years ago, he's worth 300 million now. He doesn't need to endanger himself to make a few more quid.
4) if it does not cost him money, and he is not having to strip naked, he would like to improve his PR locally.

He said all this to me quite candidly. So a plan that launders his reputation, makes him his money plus a little bit and is relatively swift to conclude is what he is looking for. And that is why we came up with a Plan A with Plan B wrap around it.
No idea whether this would be a viable negotiation strategy - but alongside anything we might have in mind for Court Place Farm, it couldn't hurt to try, could it?
ty cobb
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Re: OCFC / OCC / OUFC tie-up

Post by ty cobb »

Don't we already play in someone elses ground which we don't use outside of matchdays?

Very interesting programme notes - basically calling out publicly that Firoz has not made any effort to move the club forward and the oxvox tie up, as far as he is aware, has not moved forward.

Calling for a campaign to get ownership of the ground to OUFC is interesting and suggests he doesn't have much confidence in Oxvox moving this forward - as he says if willingness is there on both sides why the delay? And what's happened to this open meeting?
Kernow Yellow
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Re: OCFC / OCC / OUFC tie-up

Post by Kernow Yellow »

ty cobb wrote:Don't we already play in someone elses ground which we don't use outside of matchdays?
That's what I mean! Except currently we have club offices, retail outlet etc based on site. Looks like that might change with the City tie-up.
ty cobb wrote:And what's happened to this open meeting?
That never sounded like a very sensible idea to me. 'Dear Firoz, would you like to attend an open meeting with OUFC fans' Yeah right! A (not open) meeting with all stakeholders would be a good start though...
ty cobb
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Re: OCFC / OCC / OUFC tie-up

Post by ty cobb »

More interesting programme notes from DE - although choosing a match where no one will buy the thing seems a bit odd!

If he wants to buy the stadium, why have OxVox put in a rival bid - with one show in town surely he would be in a stronger position? Is Kassam using the OxVox bid as a distraction to hold onto the stadium for as long as possible, he could now argue that of course he won't sell it to DE as he wants to give something back by letting the fans take charge so this is where he will devote his energy.

If he wants to do this and OxVox have the means to buy, whats the hold up and what is the realistic timescale?
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