New stadium no further forward (3 Viewers)

[skybluetony176]

Been told off sorry Sandra I should have asked before sharing more widely. I have apologised and said I will stop asking as I don't want to be held in confidences that I can't share with my fellow fans that are going through the shit that serves for communication from the club. I also explained that I had not shared anything I thought to be confidential or controversial

Ho hum

Sandra has just asked me to clarify that .....

By the way, perhaps you would clarify to those who make incorrect assumptions that I am not employed, contracted, remunerated or rewarded in any way by the club. I am just a fan and have been for over 40 years.

Not anymore anyway, after letting all these cats out the bag

Thats a joke Sandra before you get upset. I personally never thought you were recieving reward for doing this.

 

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[Ashdown]

Hi Pete

Thank you for your email.

Stadium plans are still progressing, albeit slowly. Minutes of our meeting will be shared next week which highlight the various sites pursued, but which have fallen through for various reasons.

There was every intention to make a New Year announcement but, as with any land deal, delays occur. I am not a property lawyer but I do know how long it can take for terms to be agreed.

I will include you in the circulation of the minutes and these will also be sent to the Sky Blue Trust, who were present at the meeting, and will also be posted on the club website.

Let's hope we get a better performance on the pitch tomorrow and an important 3 points.

#PUSB

Kind Regards

Sandra

Sandra Garlick
Chair
CCFC Stadium Forum

Sent from my iPhone

On 23 Jan 2015, at 21:15, "Emma Griffiths" <[email protected]> wrote:

Sandra

Sorry to trouble you again but you have always been so great responding to my emails.

Do you still believe our club has any intention of building a new stadium?

What has happened to the fictitious new year statement?

Thanks for anything you can say

Pete

Just total spin and lies, they've done fuck all the vile twats !!

 

[lordsummerisle]

I want to know if it is Pete is a man pretending to be a woman, or Emma is s woman pretending to be a man.

Possibly at that delicate pre-op stage.

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

Nothing so exciting just a joint email lol

 

[Jack Griffin]

Other clubs have had financial support from their council's ie gift of free land for their stadium or at a heavily subsidised price.

I've not seen financials and it's complex but largely same financial model as other clubs who do a new build. Not my remit really. I just ask questions.

Kind Regards

Sandra

Sandra Garlick
Chair
CCFC Stadium Forum

Sent from my iPhone

On 24 Jan 2015, at 10:39, "Emma Griffiths" <[email protected]> wrote:

Thanks

But have you seen any detail as to how WE are going to fund it?

You also say they had supportive councils. In what ways have any councils stood in the way of our club?

Thanks

Pete

That is total bollocks, most clubs sell the site of their old ground to raise finance. I don't think Ryton is going to raise an awful lot of money unless planing permission for housing can be obtained, e.g. Chesterfield sold a site for 68 homes, which sell for up to £400,000 each, their stadium cost ~£13M, so it is likely that the old site covered a not insubstantial part of the cost.

GB Development Solutions has sold Chesterfield Football Club's old stadium at Saltergate to Barratt homes for an undisclosed sum. The sale will be completed on the 31st January 2012.

 

[martcov]

That is total bollocks, most clubs sell the site of their old ground to raise finance. I don't think Ryton is going to raise an awful lot of money unless planing permission for housing can be obtained, e.g. Chesterfield sold a site for 68 homes, which sell for up to £400,000 each, their stadium cost ~£13M, so it is likely that the old site covered a not insubstantial part of the cost.

In other words, M/S Garlick actually has less idea about stadium finance than most on here. She seems helpful enough in trying to answer people's questions, but doesn't know anything, so that doesn't' get us much further - or lends more evidence to the stadium being "pie in the sky" as most of us thought anyway.

 

[Calista]

In all seriousness, if SISU can deliver a great new atmospheric stadium which is clearly part of Coventry (the exact administrative boundary doesn’t matter much to me) and an ambitious team to go with it, I will happily congratulate them and will be first in line for a season ticket when it opens. Genuinely, does the same go for other people?

I really can’t see why there should be any delay:

- our owners don’t waste time in negotiations
- their offers are always based on fair value with no strings attached
- they don’t posture and are good at building relationships
- they have proven skills and political sensitivity in dealing with local councils
- they understand business like nobody else (especially those plodding public sector types)
- they’ve got a clear idea of what it takes to build a successful big-city sports club
- they’ve appointed a string of shrewd people to run the club over the last 7 years
- they’ve held productive discussions with local planning authorities and the Highways Agency
- they are capable of driving this project forward through sheer charisma and inspirational leadership
- the people trying to swindle them (the City Council and the Higgs Charity) are now out of the equation
- the ongoing legal battles are nothing to do with the club
- the designs have been ready to go for at least a year
- finance won’t be a problem as the club is now cash-flow positive and owes no more than £60 million
- the fans are fully on board as a result of the popular consultation exercise
- things are looking up on the pitch, with heavy demand for tickets
- there’s an absolute abundance of suitable sites around Coventry for a second major sports arena
- planning permission will nodded through quickly, given that there’s nowhere else for the club to play

 

[skybluericoh]

When does the PR firm, Portland, start their contract? When the stadium has been confirmed? Seems strange that there are no positive reports coming out to whet our appetites for the new stadium after appointing a company to make the stadium move look attractive. Moving slowly seems to mean not moving at all. Surprised Les Reid hasn't got a take on this. At least someone should query why the usual announcement of the pending announcement was made in the first place, when according to Garlick nothing has happened and it seems it isn't likely to do so in the next three weeks. I think they would be better not making any more announcements until they have something to announce.

Have they already started? It was reported this week that CCFC were supporting someone in Africa after seeing footage of a child effected by abola (spelling?) running around in a CCFC shirt. It is very commendable but I think they should be doing more to get kids living around here to be wearing CCFC shirts!!

 

[Glen]

There will be no club soon so why build stadium

 

[boatang]

Yes I do ask. I have also asked them to do a FAQ on the way in which it will be financed. However, I am not doing any more on the stadium until the land acquisition is announced.

Fisher did show us on Wednesday night the 3 unsuccessful plots that were pursued, but fell through over last 28 months. Minutes will be published early next week. It was an open and frank discussion with Fisher and Cllr Maton present to answer questions along with Moz and CJ from SBT.

Remember full ownership of a stadium is an asset. I really don't understand the equity model of investment, but I do know that the risk is not on the club itself which will be separate from the property company. Apparently, it's a common model.

However, I am personally more concerned at present with results on the pitch. After all, that drives success elsewhere.

They have stated they will not liquidate, I asked that last week!

Kind Regards

Sandra

Sandra Garlick
Chair
CCFC Stadium Forum

Sent from my iPhone

On 24 Jan 2015, at 10:53, "Emma Griffiths" <[email protected]> wrote:

Thank you

Are you asking the hard questions Sandra as the fan I trust you are?

How can a club with the debt we have consider building a new stadium?

Is it reasonable after taking out a series of legal cases to expect anything from the council as a hedge fund with millions swirling around?

Genuinely how close do you think we are to liquidation?

Thanks again

Pete

So, who will the profits go to? How will they benefit the team on the pitch?

 

[tisza]

So, who will the profits go to? How will they benefit the team on the pitch?

exactly the questions that need to be answered.also will the football club have a share in the property company? what will the rent be? what does "access to revenue streams" mean? ( a fisher favourite).

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

Hi Pete

I am sending you details of 3 sites shortly...[As background TF attended the meeting to answer questions and provide an update on the progress with the land acquisition.]

TF stated:

The club have actively engaged with Architects, Consultants, Property, Highways Consultants and commissioned an Economic Impact Assessment. An extensive site search has been conducted during the last 18 months. One of the biggest challenges is that Coventry is bound by green belt land.

TF confirmed that to date there have been numerous sites considered during the land search process but he wanted to share information on 3 principal sites which had been considered in detail

Minutes being written today and Sandra has said

Yes, you can share.

Please ensure that you state that it is an extract from the minutes currently being prepared and shared with my permission. Full minutes will be sent out early next week.

She will also be sharing on Twitter.

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

1. Brandon Speedway. This site is 26 acres and is 4.6 miles from Earl Street. The club had met with Rugby Council. The Council had been clear that they felt that the site was not suitable for a football stadium. The highways challenges were too great. However, Rugby Council were extremely interested in an Academy/training ground facility and acknowledged the benefits for the local community. As such, the site could have been appealing for potential use of the Academy/Training Ground. Despite further work including an environmental investigation the club did not pursue. The issues around securing vacant possession were simply too big – there was an ongoing legal issue with the land owners and HMRC.

[further 2 sites to follow]

 

[chiefdave]

Hopefully these three sites will be in someway verifiable. If local media can follow up and get told it's all BS then we can more than likely write off what little chance there was of this ever happening. However if it turns out they have been in serious discussions over three different sites that puts a slightly different slant on things.

Of course they still need to come through and actually get things moving forward but it would at least be a shred of evidence that it wasn't all a load of rubbish.

 

[tisza]

be interested to put these sites against the FOI requests.seeing as Rugby council were supposedly contacted by the trust on 19th november 2014 and were reported to. have replied as not having held any talks.

 

[Rusty Trombone]

1. Brandon Speedway. This site is 26 acres and is 4.6 miles from Earl Street. The club had met with Rugby Council. The Council had been clear that they felt that the site was not suitable for a football stadium. The highways challenges were too great. However, Rugby Council were extremely interested in an Academy/training ground facility and acknowledged the benefits for the local community. As such, the site could have been appealing for potential use of the Academy/Training Ground. Despite further work including an environmental investigation the club did not pursue. The issues around securing vacant possession were simply too big – there was an ongoing legal issue with the land owners and HMRC.

[further 2 sites to follow]

Be interested to know the timescale of this one, as the place I work had an option to buy it, we let the option expire as the issues over who actually owned the site were too messy.

 

[Jack Griffin]

Hi Pete

I am sending you details of 3 sites shortly...[As background TF attended the meeting to answer questions and provide an update on the progress with the land acquisition.]

TF stated:

The club have actively engaged with Architects, Consultants, Property, Highways Consultants and commissioned an Economic Impact Assessment. An extensive site search has been conducted during the last 18 months. One of the biggest challenges is that Coventry is bound by green belt land.

TF confirmed that to date there have been numerous sites considered during the land search process but he wanted to share information on 3 principal sites which had been considered in detail

Minutes being written today and Sandra has said

Yes, you can share.

Please ensure that you state that it is an extract from the minutes currently being prepared and shared with my permission. Full minutes will be sent out early next week.

She will also be sharing on Twitter.

Well what a surprise!

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

2. Ansty. The club also enquired with Rugby Council about this 100+ acre site which is 4 miles from Earl Street. Despite the potential suitability of the site itself, it was not possible to get a highways solution due to access issues with an adjoining site.

3. Ryton – 23 acres (net) – again a meeting with Rugby Council. Despite some highway issues there was a relatively straightforward solution with a spur off the A46. The subsequent sale process saw Prologis successfully close the land deal with a bid of £650,000 per acre.

 

[Jack Griffin]

So Pete, they are nowhere.. but how come Rugby Council said there had been no discussions? Does not add up.

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

might be covered in the full minutes but I'll ask jack

 

[Jack Griffin]

might be covered in the full minutes but I'll ask jack

I'm sure the SBT will follow up.

 

[skybluetony176]

Am I wrong but were they not building on the Ryton site over 18 months ago having already been designated an enterprise zone by the government. Also haven't RBC categorically said that the only contact received with the club was over the redevelopment of the Ryton training ground into housing and it was turned down flat?

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

all very interesting.

Have asked if anyone asked about rugby council saying no contact on foi. I do know a little about foi and sometimes they just don't answer correctly

 

[skybluetony176]

all very interesting.

Have asked if anyone asked about rugby council saying no contact on foi. I do know a little about foi and sometimes they just don't answer correctly

Again I could be wrong but I thought they acknowledged the Ryton training ground development in the first round of FOI's.

 

[Deleted member 5849]

all very interesting.

Have asked if anyone asked about rugby council saying no contact on foi. I do know a little about foi and sometimes they just don't answer correctly

It's also of course possible to meet people informally in such a way it'd never show on an FOI request.

It would in fact be sensible to ask the questions and be told it's a non-starter, than do everything formally first,

 

[torchomatic]

...Italia to the Ricoh to watch Wasps.

I'm sure the SBT will follow up.

 

[dadgad]

The sooner CCFC is closed down the better. Sisu can never turn this around and they'll never sell due to hubris.
A Phoenix club cannot work while the old one continues to go through the motions.

 

[torchomatic]

Fuck off.

The sooner CCFC is closed down the better. Sisu can never turn this around and they'll never sell due to hubris.
A Phoenix club cannot work while the old one continues to go through the motions.

 

[chiefdave]

The sooner CCFC is closed down the better. Sisu can never turn this around and they'll never sell due to hubris.
A Phoenix club cannot work while the old one continues to go through the motions.

I don't think a phoenix club will work if the old one is in existence or not. There's too much apathy and of the people who can still be bothered how much appetite is there to start right at the bottom again?

 

[SkyblueBazza]

Fuck off.

Good measured, & well thought out response torch'

PUSB

 

[torchomatic]

A deserved response to someone who wants their club wound up. No apologies from me. More than happy to be banned for it if he wants to complain.

Good measured, & well thought out response torch'

PUSB

 

[torchomatic]

He could go and watch Cov Utd. They were set up as they thought City would be in Northampton for good so jumped on the bandwagon.

I don't think a phoenix club will work if the old one is in existence or not. There's too much apathy and of the people who can still be bothered how much appetite is there to start right at the bottom again?

 

[tisza]

are there any successful "phoenix" clubs?

 

[Astute]

Fuck off.

Well said Torch.

 

[Deleted member 5849]

are there any successful "phoenix" clubs?

AFC Wimbledon the obvious one. Newport County arguably the best story (it took them a while, mind!)

The likes of Aldershot, Chester, Halifax done OK, although Aldershot then promptly went broke again.

Guess Accrington Stanley count, too...

The likes of Bradford PA, less successful.