Non AMP
Sky Blues Talk
  • Home
  • Forums
  • Coventry City Football Club
  • Coventry City General Chat
This is a mobile optimized page that loads fast, if you want to load the real page, click this text.

An Arena 2000 Timeline (3 Viewers)

  • Thread starter torchomatic
  • Start date Feb 10, 2014
Forums New posts
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
Next
1 of 3 Next Last

torchomatic

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 10, 2014
  • #1
Mar 1999: Club agrees to pay £330K for road improvements around new stadium. Work to start "within weeks".

Mar 1999: Traders in Nun and Bed offered £75K to "soften blow" of new arena shopping complex. Club also gives another £150K for road works, environmental work and training local people around North Coventry.

May 1999: Stadium start delayed due to gas pipe work.

July 1999: "Make better offer" say businesses. Forty Coventry businesses could face compulsory purchase orders on their premises to pave the way for the Sky Blues superstadium.So far, offers to buy land around the former Foleshill gasworks have been rejected. The owners say the deal being offered by the soccer club is not good enough.

But Coventry City FC chairman Bryan Richardson today accused them of "profiteering'' and denied the club was trying to acquire the land on the cheap.


August 1999: Work starts. Bryan Richardson said stadium would be most "technologically advanced" stadium in Europe, if not the world, with a roof, retractable pitch. It will be the largest indoor concert arena in the country. Arena 2000 would be used seven days a week.

Sept 1999: Work starts on dismantling gas towers.

Oct 1999: Search starts for naming partner.

Feb 2000: Announced that Tesco will have the largest retail outlet but will not have it's name on the stadium.

Mar 2002: CCC say banks will plug £25-£30M shortfall in Arena project.

Oct 2003: Portugese bank Banco Espirito Santo pulls out of negotiations and leaves a £21M project shortfall.

Oct 2003: CCC agree to fund £21M shortfall.

Dec 2005: Club want to renegotiate rent

Jan 2006: CCC give ACL a 5.5 month rent free deal

Jan 2006: Labour Councillor asks if in turn CCFC will get 5 and a half months rent free

Jan 2006: Revealed that CCFC started paying rent from 1/11/05 as the stadium wasn't ready in time in August 2005. Club missed out on lucrative pre-season friendly.

Feb 2006: Councillor concerned about "Arena business plan"

June 2006: ACL/CCC agree deal with Yorkshire bank for the £21M finance package.

June 2006: Taxpayers to foot half bill from £5.4M overspend on Ricoh.

July 2007: Paul Fletcher says CCC want too much for their share of the Arena putting off potential takeover from Manhattan Sports Capital Partners.

Aug 2007; Paul McGuigan said although the Council had no reason to sell its stake in the Arena it would consider an offer from anybody buying the Football Club provided they met certain criteria and were acting for the good of Coventry.

Oct 2007: Higgs say they aren't holding up any takeover of the Club. They have only had one offer for their share. That was from Manhattan who offered less than Higgs paid and wanted to pay over three years.

Nov 2007: Council leader Ken Taylor said there were four "crunch challenges" that would need to happen if anyone wanted to take on the Ricoh as well as the Club.

Oct 2011: The club open talks over Arena bid and have "positive" meeting with Higgs.

April 2012: Mutton "pours cold water" on talks over rent renegotiation.

May 2012: Tim Fisher states that all partners: CCFC, SISU, ACL, Higgs and CCC working "around the clock" to work out the best route forward.

May 2012: Ex-boss Paul Fletcher asks Council to sell the Ricoh to the club for a "fair and equitable" price.

May 2012: Stadium bosses "hit back" over claims of low profits

Aug 2012: ACL start legal action

Aug 2012: Fisher says fair rent is "north of £150K"

Oct 2012: "Gagging order" document signed by all Councillors over secret Ricoh talks is leaked to Les Reid.

Dec 2012: Councillor says ACL will have "no choice" but to wind up the Sky Blues if the rent arrears aren't paid.

Jan 2013: Council bail-out of ACL.

Jan 2013: Despite bail-out, CCFC still "look forward" to negotiating a deal with ACL and achieve a "satisfactory outcome for all parties".
 
Last edited: Feb 11, 2014
J

Jack Griffin

Guest
  • Feb 10, 2014
  • #2
Don't bother with too many facts, just include the opinions that agree with your own..
 

torchomatic

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 10, 2014
  • #3
Highlight where I've not used facts. I can post articles on all points, so please be my guest.
 

cloughie

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 10, 2014
  • #4
Try the facts you have omitted from this timeline

and don't ask me to tell you which or how many as I am going to bed so don't have 30 mins to spare
 

mark82

Super Moderator
  • Feb 10, 2014
  • #5
cloughie said:
Try the facts you have omitted from this timeline

and don't ask me to tell you which or how many as I am going to bed so don't have 30 mins to spare
Click to expand...

Not really an argument then is it?
 

torchomatic

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 10, 2014
  • #6
I'll be the first to admit it's not exhaustive, but only because I've not had the time to add more. It's certainly accurate despite the bleating of Griffin and yourself.

So which is it? Inaccurate or incomplete?

cloughie said:
Try the facts you have omitted from this timeline

and don't ask me to tell you which or how many as I am going to bed so don't have 30 mins to spare
Click to expand...
 
Last edited: Feb 10, 2014
N

No future with SISU

New Member
  • Feb 10, 2014
  • #7
torchomatic said:
Highlight where I've not used facts. I can post articles on all points, so please be my guest.
Click to expand...
Who did the gas board sell the land too and how much did the council pay for it and to who?
 
R

RFC

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 10, 2014
  • #8
torchomatic said:
Mar 1999: Club agrees to pay £330K for road improvements around new stadium. Work to start "within weeks".

Mar 1999: Traders in Nun and Bed offered £75K to "soften blow" of new arena shopping complex. Club also gives another £150K for road works, environmental work and training local people around North Coventry.

May 1999: Stadium start delayed due to gas pipe work.

August 1999: Work starts. Bryan Richardson said stadium would be most "technologically advanced" stadium in Europe, if not the world, with a roof, retractable pitch. It will be the largest indoor concert arena in the country. Arena 2000 would be used seven days a week.

Sept 1999: Work starts on dismantling gas towers.

Oct 1999: Search starts for naming partner.

Feb 2000: Announced that Tesco will have the largest retail outlet but will not have it's name on the stadium.

Mar 2002: CCC say banks will plug £25-£30M shortfall in Arena project.

Oct 2003: Portugese bank Banco Espirito Santo pulls out of negotiations and leaves a £21M project shortfall.

Oct 2003: CCC agree to fund £21M shortfall.

Dec 2005: Club want to renegotiate rent

Jan 2006: CCC give ACL a 5.5 month rent free deal

Jan 2006: Labour Councillor asks if in turn CCFC will get 5 and a half months rent free

Jan 2006: Revealed that CCFC started paying rent from 1/11/05 as the stadium wasn't ready in time in August 2005. Club missed out on lucrative pre-season friendly.

Feb 2006: Councillor concerned about "Arena business plan"

June 2006: ACL/CCC agree deal with Yorkshire bank for the £21M finance package.

June 2006: Taxpayers to foot half bill from £5.4M overspend on Ricoh.

July 2007: Paul Fletcher says CCC want too much for their share of the Arena putting off potential takeover from Manhattan Sports Capital Partners.

Aug 2007; Paul McGuigan said although the Council had no reason to sell its stake in the Arena it would consider an offer from anybody buying the Football Club provided they met certain criteria and were acting for the good of Coventry.

Oct 2007: Higgs say they aren't holding up any takeover of the Club. They have only had one offer for their share. That was from Manhattan who offered less than Higgs paid and wanted to pay over three years.

Nov 2007: Council leader Ken Taylor said there were four "crunch challenges" that would need to happen if anyone wanted to take on the Ricoh as well as the Club.

Oct 2011: The club open talks over Arena bid and have "positive" meeting with Higgs.

April 2012: Mutton "pours cold water" on talks over rent renegotiation.

May 2012: Tim Fisher states that all partners: CCFC, SISU, ACL, Higgs and CCC working "around the clock" to work out the best route forward.

May 2012: Ex-boss Paul Fletcher asks Council to sell the Ricoh to the club for a "fair and equitable" price.

May 2012: Stadium bosses "hit back" over claims of low profits

Aug 2012: ACL start legal action

Aug 2012: Fisher says fair rent is "north of £150K"

Oct 2012: "Gagging order" document signed by all Councillors over secret Ricoh talks is leaked to Les Reid.

Dec 2012: Councillor says ACL will have "no choice" but to wind up the Sky Blues if the rent arrears aren't paid.

Great post, just about sums up our predicament and highlights just how long it's been going on for!

Jan 2013: Council bail-out of ACL.

Jan 2013: Despite bail-out, CCFC still "look forward" to negotiating a deal with ACL and achieve a "satisfactory outcome for all parties".
Click to expand...

Great post and highlights just how long we have been in this predicament, in fact you could go back even further!
 
Last edited: Feb 10, 2014

mrtrench

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #9
Is that the Andrew Wyeth painting "Christina's World" as your avatar Torchomatic? Did you see the documentary on his work over Christmas?
 
R

RoboCCFC90

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #10
What is Paul Fletcher up to nowadays? He's always seemed the outspoken one regarding the Arena and it's sale.

Feb 2006: Councillor concerned about "Arena business plan" - Who was the Councillor??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

torchomatic

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #11
Yes it is. I love the painting. And you don't know her secret from it either.

No I missed the doc at Christmas. Was it good?

mrtrench said:
Is that the Andrew Wyeth painting "Christina's World" as your avatar Torchomatic? Did you see the documentary on his work over Christmas?
Click to expand...
 

torchomatic

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #12
Cllr Kate Hunter:

I would like to inform the citizens of Coventry of my reasons for abstaining from voting on this matter.

For sometime I have been concerned about the business plan for the arena

While a member of the Labour group I, along with others, asked many questions regarding the finance of the development.

I have to say I found answers were not forthcoming. I felt that it would place a burden on the tax payers of the city.

While I support regeneration and job creation, I believe we also have a duty and a responsibility to also give consideration to the services the council provides and funds.

The council has a financial deficit, and over the next month we have difficult decisions to make in order to set a budget, we have to decide what services we fund and consider what services we cannot.

£400,000 is an awful lot of money, and will further impact on the difficult decisions we already have to make. Therefore I believe that the arena should be considered alongside other priorities.





RoboCCFC90 said:
What is Paul Fletcher up to nowadays? He's always seemed the outspoken one regarding the Arena and it's sale.

Feb 2006: Councillor concerned about "Arena business plan" - Who was the Councillor??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 

torchomatic

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #13
Not sure, how the Council came to get their "grubby mitts" on it, but here's an article from the Times in 1997 and it seems that we (that's the club, kids) did own it initially though it only cost us £1M it:

COVENTRY CITY, the Premiership football club which avoided relegation on the last day of last season, aims to develop a new 45,000-seat stadium in an £80 million joint venture with Argent, the property group.

The club intends next month to seek planning consent for the scheme, which includes a stadium with retractable roof, a hotel and a retail park. The intended site is a former gasworks at Fosehill on the outskirts of Coventry, near the M6, the M1 and the M40 and next to the West Coast railway line. It was bought from BG, the gas pipeline group, for just £1 million. The old stadium at Highfield Road, near the centre of Coventry, is expected to be sold for housing development.

Bryan Richardson, chairman of Coventry City, said that once the development is under way, it is likely that the club will be floated. "We need more than just the income from football to justify a market listing," he said.

Derek Higgs, chairman of Prudential Portfolio Managers, is a director of the club, as was Geoffrey Robinson before he joined the Government as Paymaster General.

The stadium is expected to cost Pounds 45 million to build and at least Pounds 15 million to fit out. It will have 40,000 seats for football matches and will be able to be transformed, in less than three hours, into a 45,000-seat indoor venue for rock concerts and other events. It will have parking for 7,000 cars and 300 coaches.

"We intend to position ourselves as the national indoor arena," Mr Richardson said. "Seventy per cent of the country's population is within 90 minutes' drive."

The project is being funded largely through government grants, Coventry's own resources and investment by Argent.


No future with SISU said:
Who did the gas board sell the land too and how much did the council pay for it and to who?
Click to expand...
 
Last edited: Feb 11, 2014

Moff

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #14
Torch,

You missed out the detail of our fantastic former Chairman, Bryan Richardson paying himself a 500k bonus, for selling land the club didnt own.

Link http://www.cwn.org.uk/skyblues/stuart-linnell/2002/020130-richardson-quits.htm so people dont claim I made it up - and copy below.

Richardson Quits In Boardroom Drama

Bryan Richardson has resigned as Chairman & Chief Executive after a dramatic board meeting at Highfield Road. This morning's meeting saw a vote of no confidence taken in Richardson's leadership of the club and that was followed by an immediate call for his resignation.
His place as Chairman will be taken by Mike McGinnity, who has been Deputy Chairman for the past eight years. Unlike Richardson, who was paid for his dual role, McGinnity has declined a payment for his services as Chairman.
Richardson's salary was one of the main controversies at the club during the past year, with what was described as a one-off bonus pushing his payment to over £500,000 for the year ending 31st May 2001, even though the club's debt spiralled to over £60-million in the same period.
The move comes just over a week since millionaire Coventry Labour MP Geoffrey Robinson was voted back on to the board.
 

torchomatic

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #15
Ha! Yes, I did. Though as I said the timeline isn't exhaustive. Imagine if Fisher was taking that much out of the club? I wonder if shmmeee would give him the same excuses he gave to Richardson?

"Nice bloke, did his best for Coventry City", etc etc

Moff said:
Torch,

You missed out the detail of our fantastic former Chairman, Bryan Richardson paying himself a 500k bonus, for selling land the club didnt own.

Link http://www.cwn.org.uk/skyblues/stuart-linnell/2002/020130-richardson-quits.htm so people dont claim I made it up - and copy below.

Richardson Quits In Boardroom Drama
Bryan Richardson has resigned as Chairman & Chief Executive after a dramatic board meeting at Highfield Road. This morning's meeting saw a vote of no confidence taken in Richardson's leadership of the club and that was followed by an immediate call for his resignation.
His place as Chairman will be taken by Mike McGinnity, who has been Deputy Chairman for the past eight years. Unlike Richardson, who was paid for his dual role, McGinnity has declined a payment for his services as Chairman.
Richardson's salary was one of the main controversies at the club during the past year, with what was described as a one-off bonus pushing his payment to over £500,000 for the year ending 31st May 2001, even though the club's debt spiralled to over £60-million in the same period.
The move comes just over a week since millionaire Coventry Labour MP Geoffrey Robinson was voted back on to the board.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited: Feb 11, 2014
W

wingy

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #16
torchomatic said:
Ha! Yes, I did. Though as I said the timeline isn't exhaustive. Imagine if Fisher was taking that much out of the club? I wonder if shmmeee would give him the same excuses he gave to Richardson?
Click to expand...

We don't know what he Is or will take ulimately from a mid Table 3rd Div club.

Edit; Maybe he will lose some ,If he has an Investment as rumoured.
 

olderskyblue

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #17
torchomatic said:
May 2012: Ex-boss Paul Fletcher asks Council to sell the Ricoh to the club for a "fair and equitable" price.
Click to expand...

Didn't Fletcher also say the Arena was valued at £37M when CCFC sold their shares to Higgs? So, that figure is fair and equitable?
 

ccfcway

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #18
3 weeks and this will all be sorted
 

torchomatic

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #19
Not sure what happened between 1997 and the Times article where we apparently bought the land for £1M. Roll on five years and the Council is preparing to step in as we can't afford the £20M asking price from HBG.

Coventry City Council is prepared to buy the Foleshill gasworkds site to make sure the Coventry City Arena project remains alive.

The authority, with its partner Advantage West Midlands, has pledged that in principle it will step in to buy the derelict site from owners HBG if the Sky Blues cannot complete the purchase.

It is expected to cost about pounds 20 million.

The Highfield Road club has been given until March 20 to buy the Foleshill land before Dutch-owned HBG Properties becomes free to negotiate a sale to someone else.

John McGuigan, the council's strategic director of development, says it is likely the authority WILL have to buy the land.

But he says the outlay won't affect council- provided services.

He said: "The council has for many years earmarked pounds 10 million for the project and the extra comes from capital receipts from selling land across the city.

"Advantage West Mid-lands is coming with us financially - we can't give the exact figure but it is about pounds 5 million.

"Coventy council is not putting any money into the football club. If we pursue this purchase , the land becomes ours.

"From the council's point of view we cannot say the project is now deliverable but this shows our commitment to the scheme."

Either the football club or the city council needs to purchase the land as a first step in their partnership to build the arena complex.

The Foleshill development is expected to include a 32,000.



Makes me so sad reading all this and thinking what might have been. I didn't want us to leave HR in the first place, but if only Richardson et al hadn't fuckied the club up we might have at least owned the Arena. There's no telling where the club would be now and who would own us.
 
Last edited: Feb 11, 2014

torchomatic

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #20
FFS, I can't believe how many people jump to the defence of Richardson. The season we were relegated he was earning more than the Premier League chairman.

wingy said:
We don't know what he Is or will take ulimately from a mid Table 3rd Div club.

Edit; Maybe he will lose some ,If he has an Investment as rumoured.
Click to expand...
 
R

RoboCCFC90

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #21
olderskyblue said:
Didn't Fletcher also say the Arena was valued at £37M when CCFC sold their shares to Higgs? So, that figure is fair and equitable?
Click to expand...

Would possibly be a little less now, but £35m would probably be a good benchmark.
 
W

wingy

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #22
And there Is the Failure right there Torch,i wonder if richardson found a fee from HB?
 

torchomatic

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #23
Who knows. So is the Times wrong? Did we purchase the land for a £1M or not? If we did purchase, was it sold again for some reason and then we struggled to buy it back?

wingy said:
And there Is the Failure right there Torch,i wonder if richardson found a fee from HB?
Click to expand...
 
W

wingy

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #24
torchomatic said:
FFS, I can't believe how many people jump to the defence of Richardson. The season we were relegated he was earning more than the Premier League chairman.
Click to expand...

I'm not defending Richardson,I'm pointing out Fishers failings and effect on us .


No need for the FFS attitude.
 
R

RoboCCFC90

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #25
wingy said:
I'm not defending Richardson,I'm pointing out Fishers failings and effect on us .


No need for the FFS attitude.
Click to expand...

Both Richardson and Fisher are responsible for our situation as are many others..
 

torchomatic

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #26
Mmmm...fair enough, though you make no comment on Richardson's failings. Apologies about the attitude, Richardson brings out the worst in me.

wingy said:
I'm not defending Richardson,I'm pointing out Fishers failings and effect on us .


No need for the FFS attitude.
Click to expand...
 

Astute

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #27
torchomatic said:
Mar 1999: Club agrees to pay £330K for road improvements around new stadium. Work to start "within weeks".

Mar 1999: Traders in Nun and Bed offered £75K to "soften blow" of new arena shopping complex. Club also gives another £150K for road works, environmental work and training local people around North Coventry.

May 1999: Stadium start delayed due to gas pipe work.

July 1999: "Make better offer" say businesses. Forty Coventry businesses could face compulsory purchase orders on their premises to pave the way for the Sky Blues superstadium.So far, offers to buy land around the former Foleshill gasworks have been rejected. The owners say the deal being offered by the soccer club is not good enough.

But Coventry City FC chairman Bryan Richardson today accused them of "profiteering'' and denied the club was trying to acquire the land on the cheap.


August 1999: Work starts. Bryan Richardson said stadium would be most "technologically advanced" stadium in Europe, if not the world, with a roof, retractable pitch. It will be the largest indoor concert arena in the country. Arena 2000 would be used seven days a week.

Sept 1999: Work starts on dismantling gas towers.

Oct 1999: Search starts for naming partner.

Feb 2000: Announced that Tesco will have the largest retail outlet but will not have it's name on the stadium.

Mar 2002: CCC say banks will plug £25-£30M shortfall in Arena project.

Oct 2003: Portugese bank Banco Espirito Santo pulls out of negotiations and leaves a £21M project shortfall.

Oct 2003: CCC agree to fund £21M shortfall.

Dec 2005: Club want to renegotiate rent

Jan 2006: CCC give ACL a 5.5 month rent free deal

Jan 2006: Labour Councillor asks if in turn CCFC will get 5 and a half months rent free

Jan 2006: Revealed that CCFC started paying rent from 1/11/05 as the stadium wasn't ready in time in August 2005. Club missed out on lucrative pre-season friendly.

Feb 2006: Councillor concerned about "Arena business plan"

June 2006: ACL/CCC agree deal with Yorkshire bank for the £21M finance package.

June 2006: Taxpayers to foot half bill from £5.4M overspend on Ricoh.

July 2007: Paul Fletcher says CCC want too much for their share of the Arena putting off potential takeover from Manhattan Sports Capital Partners.

Aug 2007; Paul McGuigan said although the Council had no reason to sell its stake in the Arena it would consider an offer from anybody buying the Football Club provided they met certain criteria and were acting for the good of Coventry.

Oct 2007: Higgs say they aren't holding up any takeover of the Club. They have only had one offer for their share. That was from Manhattan who offered less than Higgs paid and wanted to pay over three years.

Nov 2007: Council leader Ken Taylor said there were four "crunch challenges" that would need to happen if anyone wanted to take on the Ricoh as well as the Club.

Oct 2011: The club open talks over Arena bid and have "positive" meeting with Higgs.

April 2012: Mutton "pours cold water" on talks over rent renegotiation.

May 2012: Tim Fisher states that all partners: CCFC, SISU, ACL, Higgs and CCC working "around the clock" to work out the best route forward.

May 2012: Ex-boss Paul Fletcher asks Council to sell the Ricoh to the club for a "fair and equitable" price.

May 2012: Stadium bosses "hit back" over claims of low profits

Aug 2012: ACL start legal action

Aug 2012: Fisher says fair rent is "north of £150K"

Oct 2012: "Gagging order" document signed by all Councillors over secret Ricoh talks is leaked to Les Reid.

Dec 2012: Councillor says ACL will have "no choice" but to wind up the Sky Blues if the rent arrears aren't paid.

Jan 2013: Council bail-out of ACL.

Jan 2013: Despite bail-out, CCFC still "look forward" to negotiating a deal with ACL and achieve a "satisfactory outcome for all parties".
Click to expand...

Is this thread to make up for the one last night where you thought that CCFC owned the land that the stadium was built on and then thought CCFC paid for the decontamination of the land?

And whilst we are at it instead of arguing about all the points shall we just look at the last one for now. CCFC still look forward to negotiating :laugh: So what negotiating have they done considering that was over a year ago? Plenty of offers have been made to SISU including pie money and rent free that they tried to say hadn't been offered.

Or Dec 2012 when SISU threatened liquidation so ACL went for administration. So then they brought in Appleton. The rest is history.

You certainly have your SISU hat on today
 

italiahorse

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #28
RoboCCFC90 said:
Would possibly be a little less now, but £35m would probably be a good benchmark.
Click to expand...

The Arena yes but not the complex
 
R

RoboCCFC90

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #29
italiahorse said:
The Arena yes but not the complex
Click to expand...

Agreed. There are many assets to the complex, it is beyond a Football Stadium as we all know.
 

Moff

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #30
Astute said:
You certainly have your SISU hat on today
Click to expand...

I think that's a bit harsh on him Astute.

I sometimes think a potted history is important to show that our problems have been deep rooted for a while, and the position we are in is a bit more deep rooted than Fisher is a twat, although he clearly is.

Whilst I find our current owenrs abhorrent, vindictive, and clueless in moving our club away from its rightful proper home, and need to get it back now, the reason we have such inept idiots in charge was down to a desperate sale due to the awful financial situation we were in, which was down to others such as Richardson.
(I in no way dispute that the current financial mismanagement of the club is now even worse than the original problems we had)
 

duffer

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #31
torchomatic said:
Who knows. So is the Times wrong? Did we purchase the land for a £1M or not? If we did purchase, was it sold again for some reason and then we struggled to buy it back?
Click to expand...

The Times is wrong here Torchy, and forgive me but that's the key to a lot of the other stuff you've posted up, which again seems to imply that the council took the club for a ride without ever actually proving it.

The club never owned the land - they bought an option to purchase the land. That option was about to expire when the council stepped in. In other words, the club would have p*ssed £1m up the wall, plus whatever else they'd thrown at the project.

Ultimately, the land was sold to the Council for £24m (and then another £17m was spent decontaminating it). It was then sold to Tesco for £42m (plus £17m, the decom cost), bringing in, I think, a profit of around £18m.

Fwiw, even if the club had gone entirely alone on this, that would still leave them a long way short of the funds for a stadium, even if we went for something without all of the bells and whistles of the Ricoh (the hotel and casino etc.). And without all of the bells and whistles, it doesn't make as much revenue of course.

Let's say the club went for a build costing £50m instead of £118m. There's still £32m to find. If anyone would lend the club that kind of money, how much would it have cost just in terms of interest? (I think it would be more than £1.2m pa, fwiw).

And the bank would want security, so we might still have lost the ownership of the bloody stadium when we finally did go pop.

It was a cock up from start to finish, but it was of the club's own making - nothing to do with the council, imho.
 

Astute

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #32
Moff said:
I think that's a bit harsh on him Astute.

I sometimes think a potted history is important to show that our problems have been deep rooted for a while, and the position we are in is a bit more deep rooted than Fisher is a twat, although he clearly is.

Whilst I find our current owenrs abhorrent, vindictive, and clueless in moving our club away from its rightful proper home, and need to get it back now, the reason we have such inept idiots in charge was down to a desperate sale due to the awful financial situation we were in, which was down to others such as Richardson.
(I in no way dispute that the current financial mismanagement of the club is now even worse than the original problems we had)
Click to expand...

Which part is harsh?

Nearly every part is aimed at CCC. Not one point aimed at SISU. And we are supposed to have an unbiased debate on this?
 

Moff

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #33
Astute said:
Which part is harsh?

Nearly every part is aimed at CCC. Not one point aimed at SISU. And we are supposed to have an unbiased debate on this?
Click to expand...

Saying he had his SISU hat on today was harsh. My opinion in an unbiased debate.

There is a long history to our problems and where they started, something that people seem to gloss over if you aren't foaming at the mouth about SISU as well.
Just because he didnt post everything SISU have done since doesn't in my opinion make him a SISU fan, as lets face it its not like we haven't discussed SISU much and further dissected again and again and again what they have done, but I suppose if that's what people want why dont we just do it again and again and again..................
 

Astute

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #34
Moff said:
Saying he had his SISU hat on today was harsh. My opinion in an unbiased debate.

There is a long history to our problems and where they started, something that people seem to gloss over if you aren't foaming at the mouth about SISU as well.
Just because he didnt post everything SISU have done since doesn't in my opinion make him a SISU fan, as lets face it its not like we haven't discussed SISU much and further dissected again and again and again what they have done, but I suppose if that's what people want why dont we just do it again and again and again..................
Click to expand...

We all know the history. I know who is to blame. And it wasn't SISU until recently. No he didn't post everything SISU have done. That is because he didn't post anything SISU had done. Just what they were supposed to do......like negotiating, and we all know they haven't done that but he still puts it in as a bullet point.
 

letsallsingtogether

Well-Known Member
  • Feb 11, 2014
  • #35
How about making a Timeline on sisu's time at the club so far?
I haven't got the time but I'm sure it would be interesting reading and we haven't come to the end of it yet.

Then again Sisu don't do timelines that are kept too.
 
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
Next
1 of 3 Next Last
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 4 (members: 0, guests: 4)
Share:
Facebook Twitter Reddit Pinterest Tumblr WhatsApp Email
  • Home
  • Forums
  • Coventry City Football Club
  • Coventry City General Chat
  • Default Style
  • Contact us
  • Terms and rules
  • Privacy policy
  • Help
  • Home
Community platform by XenForo® © 2010-2021 XenForo Ltd.
Menu
Log in

Register

  • Home
  • Forums
    • New posts
    • Search forums
  • What's new
    • New posts
    • Latest activity
  • Members
    • Current visitors
  • Donate to the Season Ticket Fund
X

Privacy & Transparency

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Personalized ads and content
  • Content measurement and audience insights

Do you accept cookies and these technologies?

X

Privacy & Transparency

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Personalized ads and content
  • Content measurement and audience insights

Do you accept cookies and these technologies?