It seems that the Hull Trinity media missed this one. m.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/46m-city-stadium-fails-to-net-any-cash-for-council-1-4778376
Wow. Great article, thanks for sharing. I can see the whole stadium debate getting very messy again in the very near future....
What would be best for the Club. If we buy the KC, turn it into a Multi-Million Sports Village, the Allams will also upgrade Craven Park and we have our own Stadium with increased Capacity and still have FC here. Or let the Council have it and upgrade the Stadium as they're supposedly trying to do? I'm confused as to what is actually better for the Club because in my eyes, both ways, it's gonna be the same for Hull City, we're still going to have increased Capacity, still going to have FC ruining the pitch and KR will probably have an upgraded Stadium/training facilities, whatever they were planning to do with KR.
with Tescos recently withdrawing their planning application for a new 'mega' store at Elloughton, I wonder if Dr Allam's Melton pipedream is really dead? All it needs is Tesco and perhaps 1 or 2 other partners and the new stadium could be a distinct possibility? I am sure that a more dynamic and entrepreneurial friendly East Yorkshire Council will want it to happen!
Why do we need to 'upgrade' the stadium? It was 70% full on average last season, any increased capacity would just be increasing the number of empty seats, people aren't exactly queuing up to get in. If we happen to get promoted than yes some extra seats may get filled for the big games, but given that we didn't sell out all our home games in the premier league at current capacity add to that the novelty will have gone second time round and the economical situation for most people is much worse then adding extra seats seems just pointless. Increasing capacity will not increase crowds as some people seem to think. On a side note, rugby does not ruin the pitch, football cause more damage per game, that's been stated by the groundsmen on numerous occasions. The problem is over use, exaggerated by poor weather. But it's worth noting that in light of this article the SMC would have run at a loss without the rugby so think on.
I wasn't attempting to imply that I wanted a Stadium Capacity increase. I was merely trying to say that, both the Council and the Allams are planning on doing so. But should they do it, a reduction in match ticket prices, and Season Card price drop, would maybe bring more crowds in, without losing out too much financially. i.e. more fans for lower prices, would probably mean the same financial income for the Club if not a bit more? I'm not good with this stuff...
It's hardly a new story, the stadium has been trading at a net loss for the council since it opened in 2002.
An increase in capacity with a decrease in season pass prices could still bring in more profit, what with the extra supporters buying food, drink, programmes and merchandise.
In theory yes, but it won't happen. Say we have 14,000 pass holders now paying an average of £300 each (combination of adult and kids prices) Reduce the season tickets by £50 and you'd need an extra 2,8000 people to reach the same level of income. Are there 2,800 fans who would buy a pass just because they are £50 cheaper? I doubt it. Reduce the prices by a significant enough margin to encourage people that wouldn't normally buy one to get one and your looking at needing 5,000+ new season ticket holders to maintain what we already have. We simply don't have the demand for it as much as we would like to think we have.
True but even then we'd be struggling, after the hype wore off in the first season we barely sold out games in the second season, I imagine the novelty would be even less second time around.
What happened to the SMC putting on gigs at the stadium again? I could swear I remember Papa Allam saying they had something big lined up this summer. Perhaps out of spite to the council he doesn't want to generate a profit?
in 2008-2009 the average home gate was 24816. some away teams didn't bring enough. local plod silliness meant numerous empty seats as buffer zones in each game. your assertion that we couldn't have had more doesn't hold water. in 2009-2010 the average home gate was 24390, despite a season of poor performances. decent form could easily have seen gates way beyond what we had.
Not necessarily. Have you taken into account what would be spent on food,drink,etc. What I find amusing about it is that the club is actually making money off of the council for rent of offices at the KC, offices the council already own. Who ever drew up the contract for the council needs a good arse kicking and who ever signed the contract for HCAFC, needs a bonus
During our two seasons in the Premier League tickets for home games where like rocking horse ****, impossible to get.So yes I think we could fill the extra seats if we got promotion.
Add a hotel and conference centre. Use redundant areas around the new complex to develop local employment opportunities. The supporters and local council tax payers can have a share in the stadium using a simular scheme to the KC sell off. 10% retained by the Council 45% supporter and taxpayer shareholding, with 45% to Allamhouse. The Council then provide a mortgage to the new venture, enabling the development of the stadium and the Walton Street land. This way the Council maintains some control and the supporters can have an major stake in the clubs future. Allamhouse gain from the partnership and the city benefits from employment and facilities. The KC is not lost fully as an asset and no single group has control has full control. The politics of this sort of venture are harder to sort out.
I find it hard to see how inept the council can be regarding the stadium lease. I can only congratulate Adam Pearson and the legal team behind the original scheme to get such a good deal for the club. I would imagine that unless specific blue ribbon events take place at the stadium the SMC won't create much of a profit. It is not in their interest to do so. 600k from the council wouldnt cover much more than the salary of 50 or so people. I would be interesting to see who the ground staff are employed by. The SMC or each club respectively. There needs to be an action plan for sustained development and rapid expansion of capacity should be gain promotion. Depending on the safety and evacuation plan they could maybe fill in the corners of the West Stand where the tunnels go to outside the stadium. Temp seating could soon be put in these areas with access remaining to the outside. Temp seating may be possible to the rear of the south stand (like when sky have their little box) but again this would depend on escape plans etc. As they use ladders to get into them! A good idea would be a hotel much like the Reebok. It could fit pretty seamlessly behind the south stand and provide hospitality etc on match days. If it was raised 4m or so off the ground it wouldnt affect access around the stadium too. Its just money and getting an investment. A Travel Lodge or someone similar would be ideal but it wouldn't work if they were competing against the SMC for conferences etc, it would have to be a shared deal. I worked as a safety inspector at Headingley Stadium for a couple of years and the East Stand doubles up as a hotel when the hospitality facilities are not in use, it works really well. Will be interesting to see how the next 12 months will go but I feel that in 4 years time Walton Street and the Stadium will look exactly the same.
A good idea would be a hotel much like the Reebok. It could fit pretty seamlessly behind the south stand A hotel? Nah what we need is a kwik save behind the stand..........that would never work, or could it ;-)
i think the real issue will come to a head when some real preventative maintenance is required. as things stand i am sure that the smc will have grossly insufficient funds and will require a massive investment from the stadium owners, whoever they might be at that time. i dont know how many years we are away from that time, but in order to avoid a BP or Airlie Street scenario, provision will need to be in place! I am still convinced that with the right commercial partners, ie Tesco, Bannatines, etc, as well as Murdoch League membership, the Melton project could still happen at some point in the next 5 years
