Highfield Road money. (1 Viewer)

I don't know many of the details but it was sold a few years before we left to a property developer, I am guessing that the money raised went towards the debts that we were starting to rack up at the time plus some towards team affairs. I am sure there are many more with a better idea than me. Once it was sold we then paid 500k a year to play at HR.

Wasn't it £1m pa...?

Sold to the council and rented back, knowing that our 45000 seated stadium with roof and retractable pitch (arena2000) was coming - blame Richardson for that.

Then we bought Ricoh and land for £20m but couldn't afford to finish. Sold land now fit fir development to Tesco for £60m. Mismanaged that and had to sell new ground to ACL - blame mcginity for that.

Constant fire sales, no plan, idiot after idiot now ruining once great club - blame SISU for that.

Real sorry state of affairs!

Happy f'kin Christmas!

Bah Humbug

:-(

I an pretty certain the club had the right to repurchase and mcginnity sold that right.

One day someone will write a book on it all and it will be a best seller.
With all the wheeling and dealing it could rival Dallas.

Someone has written a book on it but can't publish while Richardson is alive. Can't remember the blokes name now.

torchomatic said:

Someone has written a book on it but can't publish while Richardson is alive. Can't remember the blokes name now.

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Grimm ?

torchomatic said:

Someone has written a book on it but can't publish while Richardson is alive. Can't remember the blokes name now.

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Needs to include CCC/Higgs/Sisu/Wasps secret deals !!

i am sure it was sold to bryan richardsons own development company...and what we sold it for we ended up paying back to his company in rent due to the leics ground going tits up and the same builders refusing to budge until they were paid....this and the re-cleansse of the gas tower land caused additional delays to us moving into the new ground by circa 2yrs ish i think...thats how i recall it.....but i could well be wrong

Grendel said:

I an pretty certain the club had the right to repurchase and mcginnity sold that right.

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We definitely had the right to buy HR road back, can't remember if we sold the right or just didn't use it.

Yes, I agree, it would be very interesting.

italiahorse said:

Needs to include CCC/Higgs/Sisu/Wasps secret deals !!

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rob9872 said:

Sold to the council and rented back, knowing that our 45000 seated stadium with roof and retractable pitch (arena2000) was coming - blame Richardson for that.

Then we bought Ricoh and land for £20m but couldn't afford to finish. Sold land now fit fir development to Tesco for £60m. Mismanaged that and had to sell new ground to ACL - blame mcginity for that.

Constant fire sales, no plan, idiot after idiot now ruining once great club - blame SISU for that.

Real sorry state of affairs!

Happy f'kin Christmas!

Bah Humbug

:-(

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HR was sold to a developer and then rented back at 1.2m a year. This is what the Ricoh rent was set at. The money raised was used to keep our club afloat. There was nothing to use for the development of the Ricoh site.

The land that the Ricoh is built on and surrounding land was not purchased by CCFC. Our club put a total of 1.7m into the whole project IIRC. Tesco's paid for the land and decontamination of it. The vast majority of the rest of the costs came from grants, 10m of tax payers money from CCC and the infamous loan/mortgage.

So everyone has lost out other than Wasps. A shit deal from a bunch of cunts that did it to stop it going into the hands of another bunch of cunts whilst not giving a shit about our football club or us.

We were so close to securing funding from a Spanish bank too which would have meant that the Council would never have had to have funded the shortfall. If only, eh? Things may have been so different now.

Astute said:

HR was sold to a developer and then rented back at 1.2m a year. This is what the Ricoh rent was set at. The money raised was used to keep our club afloat. There was nothing to use for the development of the Ricoh site.

The land that the Ricoh is built on and surrounding land was not purchased by CCFC. Our club put a total of 1.7m into the whole project IIRC. Tesco's paid for the land and decontamination of it. The vast majority of the rest of the costs came from grants, 10m of tax payers money from CCC and the infamous loan/mortgage.

So everyone has lost out other than Wasps. A shit deal from a bunch of cunts that did it to stop it going into the hands of another bunch of cunts whilst not giving a shit about our football club or us.

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The rent was not £1.2 million a year.

Grendel said:

The rent was not £1.2 million a year.

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It was just over 1.2m but not worth splitting hairs over. This is unless you have more accurate info than me. And I would be happy to see it and be corrected.

Astute said:

It was just over 1.2m but not worth splitting hairs over. This is unless you have more accurate info than me. And I would be happy to see it and be corrected.

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Your only source of information on this is PWKH when he used it to defend the rent charged so actually you have no accurate information

When I challenged him was it always £1.2 million he spluttered it was in the "penultimate year". The club sold to the redevelopment company and the "rent" escalated once the club exceeded its initial length of stay beyond an agreed period. This was in effect a penalty clause.

Also it's not rent in its true form based on a commercial value against competition. Its more like a private equity loan which always attracts higher interest charges and always has escalating fees.

So all you are doing is quoting a post from PWKH as evidence - the strangely absent PWKH - which does surprise me given his passion for the club.

Grendel said:

Your only source of information on this is PWKH when he used it to defend the rent charged so actually you have no accurate information

When I challenged him was it always £1.2 million he spluttered it was in the "penultimate year". The club sold to the redevelopment company and the "rent" escalated once the club exceeded its initial length of stay beyond an agreed period. This was in effect a penalty clause.

Also it's not rent in its true form based on a commercial value against competition. Its more like a private equity loan which always attracts higher interest charges and always has escalating fees.

So all you are doing is quoting a post from PWKH as evidence - the strangely absent PWKH - which does surprise me given his passion for the club.

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You are so full of shit. I never mentioned PWKH. And when did I ever quote him? Was the rest of my post to do with PWKH?

You say that I am wrong about the 1.2m rent. Yet all you can do is try and get me on the back foot because you know that you are wrong. Just another dig at what I post that you usually do. I don't understand it this time as I wasn't having a go at SISU.

Astute said:

You are so full of shit. I never mentioned PWKH. And when did I ever quote him? Was the rest of my post to do with PWKH?

You say that I am wrong about the 1.2m rent. Yet all you can do is try and get me on the back foot because you know that you are wrong. Just another dig at what I post that you usually do. I don't understand it this time as I wasn't having a go at SISU.

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I'm not having a dig but I do know this was used by him as justification for the rent and it's just plain wrong.

Where did you get the £1.2 million rent figure from then - I've only ever heard it from him.

Grendel said:

I'm not having a dig but I do know this was used by him as justification for the rent and it's just plain wrong.

Where did you get the £1.2 million rent figure from then - I've only ever heard it from him.

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Have showed the link on here a few times. Just like I have showed the link about the financing of the Ricoh a few times. It is xmas eve. I am spending time with my youngest kids. But if you do a search about the developers (can't remember their name now) that bought HR and then rented it back you will find all the info. Wasn't easy to find IIFC.

I think it was Wimpey, Astute. But as you say it's Christmas Eve and I can't be arsed to look. BTW, happy Christmas to you and yours. Having little kids in your house at Christmas is annoying, noisy, but magical.

torchomatic said:

Having little kids in your house at Christmas is annoying, noisy, but magical.

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Glad you think so...I'll drop mine off at yours later today then...

Fine by me, I'm at work. I'm PM you my address.

King of the Lesbians said:

Glad you think so...I'll drop mine off at yours later today then...

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torchomatic said:

I think it was Wimpey, Astute. But as you say it's Christmas Eve and I can't be arsed to look. BTW, happy Christmas to you and yours. Having little kids in your house at Christmas is annoying, noisy, but magical.

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Not noisy and annoying here. Wife had to go to work. She will be one of the last to leave as her job is said to be important Little ones very well behaved as they know santa won't come if they do my head in. And an early bed time for them tonight so the last lot of pressies can be wrapped. The bus is full of them. And as usual they are bringing me a tinnie each whenever I want one.

Have a good one Torch. You never know we might manage to meet up one day.

King of the Lesbians said:

Glad you think so...I'll drop mine off at yours later today then...

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Bring them to me. I love having kids around. Good to have lots in the house that act as maturely as me

BR made everyone sign confidentiality agreements and they all agreed ,simply to get rid of him without a fight.
I think the fact that the vast majority of the debt was owed to people on the board had a major bearing on the events that followed.
Had the decision been made to go into administration sooner , take the new punishments that the league set out (post lcfc) then I believe we would still own the Arena.
As it was they all took it in turns to sell the family silver to safeguard their own money, which we all know was fruitless as they lost everything they were owed and the club lost its home.

Astute said:

Bring them to me. I love having kids around. Good to have lots in the house that act as maturely as me

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Yeah let them all use his computer and teach him how to post on here properly

Astute said:

Bring them to me. I love having kids around. Good to have lots in the house that act as maturely as me

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Calm down Jacko

Hope we do, Astute.

My said he wouldn't be able to eat today as he is too excited!

Astute said:

Not noisy and annoying here. Wife had to go to work. She will be one of the last to leave as her job is said to be important Little ones very well behaved as they know santa won't come if they do my head in. And an early bed time for them tonight so the last lot of pressies can be wrapped. The bus is full of them. And as usual they are bringing me a tinnie each whenever I want one.

Have a good one Torch. You never know we might manage to meet up one day.

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Astute said:

Have showed the link on here a few times. Just like I have showed the link about the financing of the Ricoh a few times. It is xmas eve. I am spending time with my youngest kids. But if you do a search about the developers (can't remember their name now) that bought HR and then rented it back you will find all the info. Wasn't easy to find IIFC.

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Can't see any link other then the penultimate season one so perhaps you can show it after the break. Must be in your posting history somewhere.

Some interesting bits in this article which I hadn't read before.

Full article http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/sport/yorkcityfc/diary/10705313.print/

HE was once the second most expensive goalkeeper in the country behind England legend Gordon Banks, and Alan Stevenson also looks a safe pair of hands in his latest role as a York City commercial consultant.


Since persuading Hartlepool to hand him a player/commercial manager role when his days between the sticks were coming to an end in the 1980s, Stevenson has almost established himself as the go-to person when clubs are preparing to relocate from their traditional homes.


Having quickly been head-hunted by Middlesbrough when working for Hartlepool, Stevenson went on to head the commercial department at West Brom before being recruited to maximise the off-pitch potential in stadium moves at Huddersfield, Bolton, Hull, Widnes, Coventry, Doncaster, Shrewsbury and Chesterfield, not to mention Wembley.


His job with the Minstermen will represent the tenth new stadium project that Stevenson has been involved in.


“I am always hoping the next one will be the most successful because it’s all about experience,” the Birmingham-based 62-year-old pointed out. “The first I was involved in at Huddersfield was great but it was a learning curve and there were certain things that I thought ‘I won’t do that with the next one’.


“The size of the stadiums might be different in each project but you face the same problems with all of them and, if you have encountered them before, you usually know how to address them.”


Each move has to be given careful consideration with Stevenson using Coventry’s empty 32,000-seater Ricoh Arena as an example of how relocation can cause huge problems if clubs are too ambitious or the background for a new build is unstable.


Despite urging caution as the Sky Blues’ commercial director of six years, Stevenson could not prevent the 1987 FA Cup final winners chasing past glories and, on the club who are currently playing their home games at Northampton’s Sixfields, he said: “The problem with Coventry was, when the collapse of ITV Digital came, they had just been relegated from the top flight for the first time in 34 years and they had players on £40,000-a-week that needed paying off.


“They were only getting gates of 12,000 at Highfield Road and were haemorrhaging money. They then sold the ground to Wimpey Homes and had to pay £600,000-a-year to stay there so they had a gun to their head really and had to move.


“They had horrendous debts and no income coming in but, even though the move went well, there were problems straight away. As beautiful as it was, they did not need a 32,000-capacity stadium with a banqueting hall and all the other fancy stuff.


“Coventry is a city in name but really it is the size of a town. Birmingham don’t need 32,000 seats and Aston Villa are fine with 40,000 and I said at the time it would be too big.


“The argument was, though, if we want to progress we need the facilities. The other problem was the council built it and the deal was not a good one from the start because the money wouldn’t be coming into the club anyway. Realistically, Coventry should have been looking at 20,000 because you have to look at what you can afford.

Rusty Trombone said:

“Coventry is a city in name but really it is the size of a town.

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That would be the eight-biggest "town" in England, with a conurbation of 325K.

We averaged around 22000 for the last couple of years in the prem , even with a struggling team.
It was built with prem football in mind so 20000 would have been no where near big enough.
You only have to look at Stoke , Wigan or Fulham to see that ,all went from 12k to mid 20s in one season.
In my humble opinion a successful team in this city would almost fill the Ricoh.