Club meeting Kassam - 28th May

I think personally it would be better for the club if we bought the current stadium and finished it. We could build a 4th stand which has a club shop and sports bar built into it. We would get all the income from sponsors, match day revenue etc. Any purchase would need to be linked to the club so that the 2 can never be separated again.

The location of the current stadium isn't actually a bad one and easy to get to from pretty much all of the county. It has the benefit of planning houses being built around it increasing the potential for new fans.

What I would like to see is a 4th stand built with safe standing and have that as the new "london road" and rehouse the away fans in the east stand. It would also be easier to police games if away fans were housed at the far end.

The potential the Kassam Stadium currently has is massive, it is just a case of finding the £13million that Kassam wants for it.

Water Eaton.
 
The conference centre which would come with the stadium makes a fair bit every year. I think between 1-2 million per year.

Yes and this is from a non financial expert when you think we are already paying 1 million a year approx in stadium costs surely that amount can service a big loan (5% of 20m) to purchase and complete stadium and then get the associated income. Or is this too simplistic?

When the owners come to sell the stadium then the price for the club is a lot higher.
You also have thinks such as a company buying the naming rights to the stadium.
 
The conference centre which would come with the stadium makes a fair bit every year. I think between 1-2 million per year.

When the owners come to sell the stadium then the price for the club is a lot higher.
You also have thinks such as a company buying the naming rights to the stadium.

The council need/want a conference centre, we need the council on side.
 
New build will take 5-6 years before we even get to play in it. Identifying land, buying land, planning permission, consultation, disputes, start construction etc - I bet my last pound that our Board won't be waiting 5 years or more for that dream to happen. What will the cost be?

A cheaper and more sensible option would be 1) buy Kassam and agree on parking and rebuild it. The story peddled by a senior official about £1m repair bills was to flush out a few people and it worked - someone tell me what needs £1m spent on please. We'd be shut down by H&S if it was serious. Or 2) buy the Ozone and Stadium and take ownership of a hotel, a retail park, car parking a stadium and do what you want with it. Probably cheaper than waiting 6 years for a £50m complex.
 
New build will take 5-6 years before we even get to play in it. Identifying land, buying land, planning permission, consultation, disputes, start construction etc - I bet my last pound that our Board won't be waiting 5 years or more for that dream to happen. What will the cost be?

A cheaper and more sensible option would be 1) buy Kassam and agree on parking and rebuild it. The story peddled by a senior official about £1m repair bills was to flush out a few people and it worked - someone tell me what needs £1m spent on please. We'd be shut down by H&S if it was serious. Or 2) buy the Ozone and Stadium and take ownership of a hotel, a retail park, car parking a stadium and do what you want with it. Probably cheaper than waiting 6 years for a £50m complex.
They've spent the last 9 months looking at potential sites, so if serious then they could have somewhere identified pretty quickly. And then it very much depends what land they're looking at as to timeframes for purchase and planning permission/disputes. With council backing and a heavy wallet, the timeframe for completion could be significantly quicker. But either way, Tiger may be a little naive, but the rest of the gang are no mugs. They will have an idea of timeframes and how quickly any project can start seeing a return. This isn't like SD looking to make a quick buck from Sunderland, any growth from this investment will be over several years and yet they all seem pretty keen to go ahead, so maybe it's not so fanciful after all.
 
I think personally it would be better for the club if we bought the current stadium and finished it. We could build a 4th stand which has a club shop and sports bar built into it. We would get all the income from sponsors, match day revenue etc. Any purchase would need to be linked to the club so that the 2 can never be separated again.

The location of the current stadium isn't actually a bad one and easy to get to from pretty much all of the county. It has the benefit of planning houses being built around it increasing the potential for new fans.

What I would like to see is a 4th stand built with safe standing and have that as the new "london road" and rehouse the away fans in the east stand. It would also be easier to police games if away fans were housed at the far end.

The potential the Kassam Stadium currently has is massive, it is just a case of finding the £13million that Kassam wants for it.
13 million? Pocket change for AB & ET
 
probably double that on top to get the breeze block 'fit for purpose' too :rolleyes:
Still pocket change? although I would if AB & ETdontrybajdngonfprntue stadium but try and get the Ozone and the Holiday inn as well so we could come utilise the profit from the Ozone and the hotel for OUFC also the t would stop OGB from charging to use the carpark
 
They've spent the last 9 months looking at potential sites, so if serious then they could have somewhere identified pretty quickly. And then it very much depends what land they're looking at as to timeframes for purchase and planning permission/disputes. With council backing and a heavy wallet, the timeframe for completion could be significantly quicker. But either way, Tiger may be a little naive, but the rest of the gang are no mugs. They will have an idea of timeframes and how quickly any project can start seeing a return. This isn't like SD looking to make a quick buck from Sunderland, any growth from this investment will be over several years and yet they all seem pretty keen to go ahead, so maybe it's not so fanciful after all.
Serious or not, the search still goes on for the fabled land..
 
Still pocket change?
Rich men din't get rich (or stay rich) by spending that sort of money on a commercial venture without either a very large chance of a reasonable reward or an outside chance of a huge reward. While I think the current stadium (repaired and finished) is certainly the easier path - if they bought it - I can't actually see any way of recouping that sort of money. The alternative - identifying land, buying it, getting permissions, building a stadium (maybe plus shopping/entertainment complex) is potentially much more profitable, but also much much more difficult.
 
It is of course more difficult to find land, agree a price, gain planning permission etc, than it is to develop where we are, but perhaps not as difficult as it has been in the past. The council have not committed to anything, but there is a general positivity in their support for a new build. Oxford already has a very good network of public transport which enables large numbers of people to get in and out of the city during the week. Therefore there shouldn't be any major transport issues that would hold up planning. And if a build is to go ahead, it won't be build in installments and on a wing and a prayer like the Kassam. Having the finances that some of our board have at their disposal will help reassure necessary partners and smooth the waters of future developments. So whilst a new build will be far from easy, it certainly won't be impossible and will offer far greater rewards than plastering over the Kassam cracks.
 
It is of course more difficult to find land, agree a price, gain planning permission etc, than it is to develop where we are, but perhaps not as difficult as it has been in the past. The council have not committed to anything, but there is a general positivity in their support for a new build. Oxford already has a very good network of public transport which enables large numbers of people to get in and out of the city during the week. Therefore there shouldn't be any major transport issues that would hold up planning. And if a build is to go ahead, it won't be build in installments and on a wing and a prayer like the Kassam. Having the finances that some of our board have at their disposal will help reassure necessary partners and smooth the waters of future developments. So whilst a new build will be far from easy, it certainly won't be impossible and will offer far greater rewards than plastering over the Kassam cracks.
Do you think these guys are the first developers to stumble into Oxford to try and make some money, as the last 9 months have proved finding a suitably sized plot to build a retail park with a tag on 10k seater stadium on the side is hard, the stadium might by the key to be used to find land for the enterprise in this fine city of ours.
 
Do you think these guys are the first developers to stumble into Oxford to try and make some money, as the last 9 months have proved finding a suitably sized plot to build a retail park with a tag on 10k seater stadium on the side is hard, the stadium might by the key to be used to find land for the enterprise in this fine city of ours.

They may not be the first, and possibly not the last. However, if you look at the WE project as proposed by Charlie, we were relying on first buying the Kassam and then selling for a profit, plus naming rights, grants and financial support from the council. It's these multiple finance streams that worry those rubber stamping any deal. Erick and co. have the resources to fund this project on their own, which bumps them forward a couple of steps of the process. They've also employed one of the best (and most expensive) firms to actively look at sites, and it's not impossible to think that we may have already identified suitable sites to proceed with. However, in any such deal, many boxes will need to be ticked before any of this information goes public. I would not be surprised to see some significant developments in the next 6-12 months in this regard. However, it makes sense to improve our current deal with Kassam before showing our hand on any of this, which is why we once again try to deal with our custodian shitbag!
 
Another factor in the land search is FK himself, I daresay if, there is a plot of land that could be developed in the same manner as Grenoble road (or bigger/better) then he has probably already done his research. Where he lags behind is in his relationship with OCC. Having pissed them off and been seen to have "got away with a few", they may not be so amenable to any new venture. Might even see Thohir et co. as a suitable way of getting revenge.
 
They may not be the first, and possibly not the last. However, if you look at the WE project as proposed by Charlie, we were relying on first buying the Kassam and then selling for a profit, plus naming rights, grants and financial support from the council. It's these multiple finance streams that worry those rubber stamping any deal. Erick and co. have the resources to fund this project on their own, which bumps them forward a couple of steps of the process. They've also employed one of the best (and most expensive) firms to actively look at sites, and it's not impossible to think that we may have already identified suitable sites to proceed with. However, in any such deal, many boxes will need to be ticked before any of this information goes public. I would not be surprised to see some significant developments in the next 6-12 months in this regard. However, it makes sense to improve our current deal with Kassam before showing our hand on any of this, which is why we once again try to deal with our custodian shitbag!
Employing the most expensive hasn’t reaped any rewards yet, I do know the people who are dealing with this and I’m less than optimistic as they can deliver what the prospect developers want to maximise their outlay.
 
Employing the most expensive hasn’t reaped any rewards yet, I do know the people who are dealing with this and I’m less than optimistic as they can deliver what the prospect developers want to maximise their outlay.
Because they haven't fully briefed you doesn't mean that nothing has happened, or will happen. Any property deal of this size is rarely conducted in the open and it's likely that many steps towards completion would have been achieved before we hear of anything, unless you know differently of course?
 
Because they haven't fully briefed you doesn't mean that nothing has happened, or will happen. Any property deal of this size is rarely conducted in the open and it's likely that many steps towards completion would have been achieved before we hear of anything, unless you know differently of course?
Looking of what you are saying about this, I know as much as you.
But you did say they have been at it 9 months already, so have the sites so far identified been of any interest?
 
Looking of what you are saying about this, I know as much as you.
But you did say they have been at it 9 months already, so have the sites so far identified been of any interest?

It's not like popping out to Tesco! Then don't just look at possible sites and throw one in their trolley!!

It was stated last autumn that they were looking at a number of potential sites. It was then confirmed that they had employed a well regarded firm to look into each option. Then, at the end of the season with the whole gang together, a presentation was given on each of these options. Sounds like they're taking this pretty seriously to me!

It could still be several months before we hear anything formally, but that doesn't mean that things aren't happening.
 
NM on the meeting with FK today. He doesn’t sound overly optimistic about a favourable outcome but worth a try I guess. And regarding the new stadium: “Some progress has been made but no real significant progress” Make of that what you will. Brinkmanship maybe..? The whole article doesn’t leave me feeling very optimistic that a stadium solution is any closer unfortunately.

 
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