Sell the Ricoh to the highest bidder (1 Viewer)

[OyJimmy]

Having given this some thought I believe now is the time for the council to sell the Ricoh and the surrounding land to the highest bidder. If that bidder is Sisu then so be it. If not them that will at least force Sisu to either build a stadium or sell the club.

The concern I have is that right now ACL are trying to starve Sisu out and Sisu are probably trying the same tactic. Which means that we could be stuck in limbo for years.

If the Ricoh was sold to a rich entrepreneur or large company then in truth they could either negotiate a deal themselves with Sisu or simply put a new team in the ground.

Selling the Ricoh to the highest bidder is fair to the tax payer and all concerned. Keeping it is not!

 

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[Astute]

Stick it on Ebay.

 

[RFC]

Who will buy the Ricoh if they don't own the club?????!????

 

[skybluetony176]

Who will buy the Ricoh if they don't own the club?????!????

that's sort of the point of the OP i guess, call everyone's bluff. wouldn't it be nice if the ricoh was used as leverage to buy the club instead of the club being used as leverage to buy the ricoh.

 

[orig skyblue87]

Totally agree with this, let the highest bidder win. Make it transparent and get independent evaluations.

 

[Nick]

What happens if a random buys it and then wants to charge CCFC £2 million rent?

 

[Oz Howie]

Then random won't have a tenant and CCFC continue playing outside Cov

 

[Flying Fokker]

Who will buy the Ricoh if they don't own the club?????!????

Then random won't have a tenant and CCFC continue playing outside Cov

And in fairness, we don't have much chance of coming back to Coventry if SISU continue on this strategy anyway.


Maybe selling the Ricoh would attract another sport? It's a risk worth taking for ACL to offer it on the open market. That way SISU cannot be accused of stressing ACL either.

The SISU mob want this jewel and will stop at nothing to get their mitts on it. It could mean putting their hands in their pockets rather than holding a gun to the heads of CCC and ACL.

 

[Hobo]

Why not put the Ricoh and the club up for sale and sell both to the highest bidder?

Answer because neither are for sale?

 

[torchomatic]

But what if the highest bidder is just as evil as SISU? Is the highest bid necessarily the best?

Totally agree with this, let the highest bidder win. Make it transparent and get independent evaluations.

 

[torchomatic]

To be honest there's a lot of bollocks on both sides:

SISU - new stadium? Nah, not gonna happen.
ACL - new "sports" franchise? Nah, not gonna happen.

And in fairness, we don't have much chance of coming back to Coventry if SISU continue on this strategy anyway.


Maybe selling the Ricoh would attract another sport? It's a risk worth taking for ACL to offer it on the open market. That way SISU cannot be accused of stressing ACL either.

The SISU mob want this jewel and will stop at nothing to get their mitts on it. It could mean putting their hands in their pockets rather than holding a gun to the heads of CCC and ACL.

 

[Moff]

But what if the highest bidder is just as evil as SISU? Is the highest bid necessarily the best?

Well if its Dr Evil we will be ok, I mean he only wants 'One Million Pounds' for the place

 

[fernandopartridge]

Personally I think the stadium should be sold separately from the development land and the exhibition hall. The stadium should be sold to Coventry City Football Club only. The car parking should be split between the club and the exhibition hall and included as part of the stadium package.

 

[skybluefred]

Personally I think the stadium should be sold separately from the development land and the exhibition hall. The stadium should be sold to Coventry City Football Club only. The car parking should be split between the club and the exhibition hall and included as part of the stadium package.

That's the best answer yet.Unfortunately Sisu own CCFC and according to Les Read if sisu get their grubby hands on the Ricoh they will be charging CCFC rent to use it. It being sisu,s only chance to make returns to investors the rent would
need to be extortionate.

Sisu only have the team and Ryton as assets to sell and the combined value would struggle to fetch £10m. Set against
the stated £60--£70m and rising losses it might be said they are up the creek without a paddle. The quicker they sink
the better.

 

[torchomatic]

Agree. It shouldn't be up to CCFC to develop the land. That's up to CCC.

Personally I think the stadium should be sold separately from the development land and the exhibition hall. The stadium should be sold to Coventry City Football Club only. The car parking should be split between the club and the exhibition hall and included as part of the stadium package.

 

[OyJimmy]

Agree. It shouldn't be up to CCFC to develop the land. That's up to CCC.

The council have wider strategic objectives and will want to return added value to the tax payer. So this is a better way to achieve that. They are not here to keep SISU afloat.

SISU seem to want the stadium on the cheap at the expense of the tax payer. Let them negotiate with their own kind!

Let's see how quickly Joy Seppala et al run for the door then!

 

[James Smith]

The council have wider strategic objectives and will want to return added value to the tax payer. So this is a better way to achieve that. They are not here to keep SISU afloat.

SISU seem to want the stadium on the cheap at the expense of the tax payer. Let them negotiate with their own kind!

Let's see how quickly Joy Seppala et al run for the door then!

That would definitely put the cat amongst the pigeons. If Joy did offer less than £10m for the freehold (and I'm not suggesting that she did merely that she could have done), is there anyone around who can offer £11m to get the ball rolling?

 

[bigfatronssba]

Agree. It shouldn't be up to CCFC to develop the land. That's up to CCC.

If we get into the debate of what and who is supposed to do what, Should it be up to CCC to financially assist a private company?

 

[Jack Griffin]

Personally I think the stadium should be sold separately from the development land and the exhibition hall. The stadium should be sold to Coventry City Football Club only. The car parking should be split between the club and the exhibition hall and included as part of the stadium package.

I don't think that is a sensible plan for anyone. They're too intertwined to separate in that way, such a division would be source of endless arguments.

Besides, won't Joy will say "I want it all & I'm not negotiating".

 

[OyJimmy]

I don't think that is a sensible plan for anyone. They're too intertwined to separate in that way, such a division would be source of endless arguments.

Besides, won't Joy will say "I want it all & I'm not negotiating".

Fine then she better get on and build a stadium in Cov. If she doesn't then the new owners of the Ricoh could form their own team.

 

[torchomatic]

If we get into the debate of what and who is supposed to do what, Should it be up to CCC to financially assist a private company?

Well CCFC had been assisting ACL quite nicely until recently.

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[valiant15]

We don't play at the Ricoh. Move along everyone Zzzzzzz.

 

[bigfatronssba]

Well CCFC had been assisting ACL quite nicely until recently.

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CCFC, as you well know, isn't a public organisation.

 

[Grendel]

CCFC, as you well know, isn't a public organisation.

Neither is ACL it just gets public help when it can't hack it in the private world.

 

[OyJimmy]

Neither is ACL it just gets public help when it can't hack it in the private world.

Fair point and if the council sold it on to another company then Sisu wouldn't be able to make that arguement.

 

[oldskyblue58]

Selling the Ricoh to the highest bidder is fair to the tax payer and all concerned. Keeping it is not!

why is keeping it not fair to the tax payer? not a challenge just interested to hear your reasoning

Just to be clear what are we talking about selling
- everything at the site?
- the freehold?
- the leasehold interest held by ACL?

 

[OyJimmy]

My understanding is that the Ricoh needed a bailout by the tax payer so in that sense it now fairer for the council to recover what it can and to also help regenerate the area by finding a suitable investor

Frankly I don't think maintaining an empty stadium makes any sense so selling is a good option but sell to the highest bidder.

I don't think Sisu could afford the Ricoh if they also had to buy and redevelop all the surrounding land. So let's see them negotiate with their own type not Ann Lucas

 

[asb]

And in the real world companies can choose when and if they sell, they are not told to do so by the people that wish to buy them, or by others that want their friend to buy them.

There is a way to force a sale but that could be termed sharp practice.

The club have stated they can cover the short term loss, and are here for the long term, and have moved on to build the new stadium. I would hate to think of all the fees that have been paid in progressing on this front being lost. It was stated in the CET as proof that they had moved on, that a substantial amount has been invested in getting the new stadium built. If that was false surely the CET would have challenged them on that fact, so we are therefore left to believe, until concrete proof otherwise that they have moved on and the arena is not even an option for them any more.

The problem with all this talk of financial pressure and companies not being viable without each other is that it is untested. In two years time the true picture of the financial mess will be clearer. I will then draw a conclusion and express my own opinion on if the arena should be sold. The club will still be outside of Coventry as they have stated they do not wish to come under the control of CCC ever again, moving back to the Arena is back where they have stated they will not be going.

The Arena is only at a rebuilding phase, so now is the wrong time to sell, and even Mr Fisher says you don't sell on a down cycle.

To claim that the Arena is going to make a loss and must therefore sell, is a statement based on an opinion, and is therefore flawed logic. We will see the results in a year or two, the opinion can then be backed up with more than hearsay.

*I state for the record that I can only form my opinion based on the evidence in the public domain, I possess no clairvoyant ability as many on this forum appear to show.

 

[shmmeee]

Personally I think the stadium should be sold separately from the development land and the exhibition hall. The stadium should be sold to Coventry City Football Club only. The car parking should be split between the club and the exhibition hall and included as part of the stadium package.

How would you get to the executive boxes? The two are intrinsically linked surely? What if the owners of the rest want to close the Atrium and CCFC want access to the boxes?

To clarify: if possible I think this is the best option all round.

 

[stupot07]

How would you get to the executive boxes? The two are intrinsically linked surely? What if the owners of the rest want to close the Atrium and CCFC want access to the boxes?

To clarify: if possible I think this is the best option all round.

The executive boxes would be part of the football stadium, the hotel renting them off the club. The atrium would be a shared space which the club and the exhibition owners, and casino pay management fees for upkeep like if you like on a block of modern flats.


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[mark82]

Who will buy the Ricoh if they don't own the club?????!????

Property developer? Prime land.

 

[shmmeee]

The executive boxes would be part of the football stadium, the hotel renting them off the club. The atrium would be a shared space which the club and the exhibition owners, and casino pay management fees for upkeep like if you like on a block of modern flats.


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

That was my thinking (the flat analogy), but would Sisu work with ACL there?

Now this is a petition I would sign: split the football stadium from the rest of the complex. It gives the club what they need, but retains valuable property/land for CCC to develop.

I have a funny feeling Sisu wouldn't want it though, which is even more reason for CCC to do it.