Yellow Robin
New member
- Joined
- 11 Mar 2019
- Messages
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Recently I came across an article from the Oxford Mail that I thought might be worth posting for the younger members of the forum. It was dated 31 March 1999 and written by Chris Koenig. There is also a page one comment.
The article heading was UNITED: IT'S UP TO YOU
Subheading was Have a say on stadium deal
It's up to you, folks. The future of the Oxford United stadium has been put into the hands of the people.
Council taxpayers will be asked to take part in a poll to gauge public reaction to a deal with white knight Firoz Kassam.
The entrepreneur wants to give the council a stake in the new stadium at Minchery Farm - in return for handing over nearby land for a leisure complex, including a hotel, multiplex cinema and bowling alley.
Oxford City council leader John Tanner said the "scientific poll" would discover whether there was public support for the deal.
After a council committee agreed the move yesterday, Mr Tanner said: "I am delighted that we have been able to strike a deal with Mr Kassam, but nothing is signed yet.
We want to consult the public at two meetings in Blackbird Leys and Littlemore to see if people want a leisure development of this type. We will seek wider public opinion throughout the city through a scientific opinion poll to see if others think this is as good a deal as we do".
The Oxford Mail can reveal that details of the plan were unveiled in a confidential session of the council's strategy and resources committee. Under the arrangement the council will collect £1m from Mr Kassam in three payments. This money broadly represents the £900,000 which the club already owes, plus interest.
Mr Kassam will then pay to complete the half-built stadium by January 1.
Finally, the council will swap two valuable pieces of development land next to the site for a 20 per cent stake in the company that will own and run the stadium.
Mr Kassam wants permission to build a multiplex cinema, and although the council approval for the original leisure scheme excluded a multiplex, this could be overturned later.
But Mr Kassam will not be permitted to develop the land until he has completed the stadium.
The council and the club would have to pay a six-figure sum to Thames Water, former owner of the land, to lift a covenant prohibiting use of the stadium site for commercial purposes.
And they would need to pay out again for commercial use of the leisure sites.
The page on comment was:
For the first time in years, the future of Oxford United is not to be in the hands of the money men. Instead, the people of the city hold the key to its future.
The ordinary man and woman in the street, who in years past helped to build the club from Southern League obscurity to top-flight fame, are again in the spotlight. Their opinions will be honoured. They will determine whether United languishes in the Last Chance Saloon or rides out to fame and fortune.
The city needs the glory. The fans deserve it. Let's hope this opportunity is firmly grasped.
The article heading was UNITED: IT'S UP TO YOU
Subheading was Have a say on stadium deal
It's up to you, folks. The future of the Oxford United stadium has been put into the hands of the people.
Council taxpayers will be asked to take part in a poll to gauge public reaction to a deal with white knight Firoz Kassam.
The entrepreneur wants to give the council a stake in the new stadium at Minchery Farm - in return for handing over nearby land for a leisure complex, including a hotel, multiplex cinema and bowling alley.
Oxford City council leader John Tanner said the "scientific poll" would discover whether there was public support for the deal.
After a council committee agreed the move yesterday, Mr Tanner said: "I am delighted that we have been able to strike a deal with Mr Kassam, but nothing is signed yet.
We want to consult the public at two meetings in Blackbird Leys and Littlemore to see if people want a leisure development of this type. We will seek wider public opinion throughout the city through a scientific opinion poll to see if others think this is as good a deal as we do".
The Oxford Mail can reveal that details of the plan were unveiled in a confidential session of the council's strategy and resources committee. Under the arrangement the council will collect £1m from Mr Kassam in three payments. This money broadly represents the £900,000 which the club already owes, plus interest.
Mr Kassam will then pay to complete the half-built stadium by January 1.
Finally, the council will swap two valuable pieces of development land next to the site for a 20 per cent stake in the company that will own and run the stadium.
Mr Kassam wants permission to build a multiplex cinema, and although the council approval for the original leisure scheme excluded a multiplex, this could be overturned later.
But Mr Kassam will not be permitted to develop the land until he has completed the stadium.
The council and the club would have to pay a six-figure sum to Thames Water, former owner of the land, to lift a covenant prohibiting use of the stadium site for commercial purposes.
And they would need to pay out again for commercial use of the leisure sites.
The page on comment was:
For the first time in years, the future of Oxford United is not to be in the hands of the money men. Instead, the people of the city hold the key to its future.
The ordinary man and woman in the street, who in years past helped to build the club from Southern League obscurity to top-flight fame, are again in the spotlight. Their opinions will be honoured. They will determine whether United languishes in the Last Chance Saloon or rides out to fame and fortune.
The city needs the glory. The fans deserve it. Let's hope this opportunity is firmly grasped.