Stadium Rumour

OUFC4eva · Post by **OUFC4eva** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 2:31 pm

No way would a professional football club commence work on a new stadium without having the project fully funded from day one.

It just would n't happen.

recordmeister · Post by **recordmeister** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 3:10 pm

&quotOUFC4eva&quot wrote:No way would a professional football club commence work on a new stadium without having the project fully funded from day one.

It just would n't happen.

Isn't that what happened to a certain Oxford United... hence a half finished stadium lying around to rust for years on end while funding was found. This one example, of our very club, undermines your entire point.

OUFC4eva · Post by **OUFC4eva** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 3:35 pm

GodalmingYellow · Post by **GodalmingYellow** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 4:52 pm

&quotrecordmeister&quot wrote:
&quotOUFC4eva&quot wrote:No way would a professional football club commence work on a new stadium without having the project fully funded from day one.

It just would n't happen.
Isn't that what happened to a certain Oxford United... hence a half finished stadium lying around to rust for years on end while funding was found. This one example, of our very club, undermines your entire point.

You didn't spot the irony that OUFC4eva was highlighting then?

Snake · Post by **Snake** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 3:00 pm

The latest - http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/oxfor ... rd_United/

Joey's Toe · Post by **Joey's Toe** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 3:09 pm

What do we think the subtext of this is?

My guess - negotiations are stalling so Kelvin is using the media to try and strengthen our position by publicly saying that the stadium acquisition is not make-or-break and getting the Oxford Fail to highlight that the £13m price tag is unrealistic.

Any other thoughts?

Snake · Post by **Snake** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 4:31 pm

My thought are that the latest self-imposed timescale set by WPL to buy the stadium will expire soon so something needed to be said, even if nothing new was said. ItÔÇÖs the same old stalemate with no real information on who is holding up the deal or in fact whether either party wants to trade. My guess (and it is only a guess) is that both WPL and Firoka and both quite happy for things to continue for years just as they are, and that this statement is a precursor/softener to that becoming an official policy of the club.

Joey's Toe · Post by **Joey's Toe** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 4:36 pm

Your theory is more depressing than mine, but probably a truer reflection!

Looking back, I'm always amazed more wasn't made of Ka££am reneging on his promise that he'd never sell the club without the ground. Even though it suited us at the time to have a new owner, much more should have been done to shame him into dropping the asking price for the stadium.

Yellow-Robbo · Post by **Yellow-Robbo** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 7:55 pm

I have a friend that is a Rotherham fan - he won't stop going on about their new 12,000 all seater stadium. Scroll down on this page to see more...

http://www.themillers.co.uk/page/NewsDe ... 40,00.html

The stadium is costing them around £17m - Rotherham are paying 5 million towards it and they have &quotsourced&quot 12 million from &quotother sources&quot.

Another article with updated costs etc... http://www.themillers.co.uk/page/NewsDe ... 85,00.html

Personally - I am not a massive fan of the Kassam and wouldn't mind if we approached a 'new' stadium in the manor that Rotherham have. If we have 8 million or so to spend on the Kastad then we definitely SHOULD talk over the prospect of spending that money on a new 14-18,000 stadium, sourcing some money responsibly from elsewhere.... This would scare the shite out of Kassam... Or at least prompt him to sell up at a cheaper price. Win win? I don't understand why we aren't at least mentioning the prospect of moving elsewhere!? Who the hell would buy the Kassam if we didn't!?

A little poll to finish - If you could pick anywhere in Oxford, where would you want a 'new OUFC stadium' to be? - Ice Rink area or Botley for me - In OXFORD.
[/b]

SmileyMan · Post by **SmileyMan** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 8:51 pm

&quotYellow-Robbo&quot wrote:If we have 8 million or so to spend on the Kastad then we definitely SHOULD talk over the prospect of spending that money on a new 14-18,000 stadium, sourcing some money responsibly from elsewhere.... This would scare the shite out of Kassam... Or at least prompt him to sell up at a cheaper price. Win win? I don't understand why we aren't at least mentioning the prospect of moving elsewhere!? Who the hell would buy the Kassam if we didn't!?

Bagsy front row seats for the planning meeting when that drops on the desks of OCC

Snake · Post by **Snake** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:11 pm

&quotSmileyMan&quot wrote:
&quotYellow-Robbo&quot wrote:If we have 8 million or so to spend on the Kastad then we definitely SHOULD talk over the prospect of spending that money on a new 14-18,000 stadium, sourcing some money responsibly from elsewhere.... This would scare the shite out of Kassam... Or at least prompt him to sell up at a cheaper price. Win win? I don't understand why we aren't at least mentioning the prospect of moving elsewhere!? Who the hell would buy the Kassam if we didn't!?
Bagsy front row seats for the planning meeting when that drops on the desks of OCC

We have £8m to spend? That’s news to me. So all these rumours about various people and companies bailing Us out when WPL won't commit another penny for the last few years while Thomas and Wilder did the business on and off the pitch to keep the books balanced on a day-to-day basis are untrue?

Yellow-Robbo · Post by **Yellow-Robbo** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:27 pm

&quotSnake&quot wrote:
&quotSmileyMan&quot wrote: We have £8m to spend? That’s news to me. So all these rumours about various people and companies bailing Us out when WPL won't commit another penny for the last few years while Thomas and Wilder did the business on and off the pitch to keep the books balanced on a day-to-day basis are untrue?

I meant to say, when the day comes when we have the money behind us to buy the Kassam, why not consider the idea of developing a new stadium... Even the consideration of moving away from the ground will help us to drive the price down. Kelvin is currently being very clever with the media by discussing the price being too expensive etc... I just think one of the next steps we can take would be to simply say &quotwe are currently considering the possibility of moving away from the Kassam&quot or something in those quarters.

Snake · Post by **Snake** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:32 pm

&quotYellow-Robbo&quot wrote:
&quotSnake&quot wrote:
&quotSmileyMan&quot wrote: We have £8m to spend? That’s news to me. So all these rumours about various people and companies bailing Us out when WPL won't commit another penny for the last few years while Thomas and Wilder did the business on and off the pitch to keep the books balanced on a day-to-day basis are untrue?
I meant to say, when the day comes when we have the money behind us to buy the Kassam, why not consider the idea of developing a new stadium... Even the consideration of moving away from the ground will help us to drive the price down. Kelvin is currently being very clever with the media by discussing the price being too expensive etc... I just think one of the next steps we can take would be to simply say &quotwe are currently considering the possibility of moving away from the Kassam&quot or something in those quarters.

That reads better, in partic the bit about “when we have the money behind us to buy the Kassam

Paul Cooper · Post by **Paul Cooper** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:57 pm

I would see it as a nogotiation stance.

Whoever suggested that we could move to another Stadium somehwere- forget it. It took us what two decades to get the planning permission for the Kassam?

GodalmingYellow · Post by **GodalmingYellow** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 10:57 pm

I don't believe there are any negotiations, and nor has there been anything meaningful on that front for some time. And why would there be? Kassam gets a decent rent and has benefitted significantly from the whole process, and the club get a decent stadium at a price considerably less than if they built a new one.

Talk of a new stadium where the club contribute £8m is well wide of the mark. It takes a lot of cash to pay an £8m mortgage, not to mention the difficulty in finding another £15m to fund the rest of a new stadium, and all that even before the issue of location and the infamous OCC planning department. This will not happen in our lifetimes, and it would be horrific to be at the financial mercy of a &quotSugar Daddy&quot again. It has taken a lot of time and effort to get the club viable again, and I for one do not want that to change for anything.

Kelvin is quite right that the stadium has to be commercially viable to make it a worthwhile purchase. I've been banging on about this for years, but still the fans who demand the mythical holy grail of club and stadium in common ownership, call for action.

To be commercially viable, the cost of owning the stadium and funding the Stadium company must be less than the cost of the rent. That isn't going to happen unless the stadium asking price is halved at least. Kassam isn't going to halve the stadium asking price, because he gets a good return on his money. Hence we have stalemate.

The point of movement will come when the stadium lease is nearing it's end, because then the club have no bargaining position, or when Kassam runs out of cash, which may happen when the double dip comes next year, or it may never happen.

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