The Ricoh (3 Viewers)

ccfctommy said:

The Ricoh is a souless bowl. Prefer Pride Park myself

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ccfctommy said:

The Ricoh is a souless bowl. Prefer Pride Park myself

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ccfctommy said:

The Ricoh is a souless bowl. Prefer Pride Park myself

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ccfcway said:

Prem League Football
Finished 4th and 3rd in Championship

all reasons why Pride park is better than "Souless" Ricoh.


Irony is that we are finally looking like we may have something to cheer about, and its when the club has left the city !

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stupot07 said:

Do they own their ground or are they just tenants like us?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - so please excuse any spelling or grammar errors

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ccfcway said:

Dont know

We are tenants in Northampton

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stupot07 said:

What's that got to do with the Ricoh? I wasn't being funny, I just wondered whether they owned it, and whether that makes it feel more like home.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - so please excuse any spelling or grammar errors

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stupot07 said:

What's that got to do with the Ricoh? I wasn't being funny, I just wondered whether they owned it, and whether that makes it feel more like home.

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Although the financing of the stadium's construction was carefully structured so that the club paid and owned the ground without encroaching on funds reserved for the development of the team, the club's eventual relegation from the top flight in 2002 saw it enter financial crisis and eventually it was temporarily entered into receivership by The Co-operative Bank, who instantly installed a new board composed ofJohn Sleightholme, Jeremy Keith and Steve Harding, for the cost of £1 each. Financial circumstances worsened as the debt spiralled to £30m plus and an unpopular refinancing scheme was put in place which saw the stadium sold to the "mysterious" Panama-based ABC Corporation and the club paying rent of £1m a year to play there, which local journalist Gerald Mortimer described as "an affront.. to those who put everything into building (the ground)." The ownership trio of Sleightholme, Keith and Harding were dubbed "The Three Amigos" and, after came under increasing criticism from the Derby's support, in the form of two separate supporters groups, the RamsTrust and the Rams Protest Group (RPG), they eventually sold out to a group of local businessmen, dubbed "The League of Gentlemen" by the local press, led by former board member Peter Gadsby, in April 2006. The Gadsby-led consortium returned Pride Park to club ownership. Three years later, Murdo Mackay, Jeremy Keith and finance director Andrew McKenzie were charged with taking a secret commission worth £440,625 from the club and were each sentenced to a combined seven and a half years in prison. As of August 2009, the club still owed £15m on the mortgage of The Pride Park Stadium which was later revealed to be due to be paid off in 2016.

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ccfcway said:

nor was I pal. I dont know, but what I do know is that we rent in Northampton, so clearly we are no better off being there

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stupot07 said:

Interesting stuff Dave, interesting that derby felt £1m rent was "an affront". Knowing you own the ground must help fans feel like its home.

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