Brist Rovers are hoping to break ground on phase one of a new stadium project on land owned by the University of the West of England (UWE) by the autumn. Recently-appointed chairman Steve Hamer and the team he has assembled to protect and co-ordinate the interests of the club as the £40-million project progresses have held several meetings with UWE representatives since the Al-Qadi family completed a takeover last month. The club is hoping the project, which initially proposed the construction of a 21,700-all-seater facility, will be completed within two years and are currently aiming to start work on a car park that would eventually service the stadium by October. Hamer said: "What we are doing at the moment is introducing ourselves and meeting with all of the key partners. All of those meetings have been extremely successful. That is ongoing and has been since shortly after we arrived. I very much get the feeling that what was going on previously was very much a lone wolf approach. What we are trying to do is introduce an approach where there is a greater degree of transparent and co-ordinated thinking between all parties. We have been alerted to one or two things that we weren't aware of previously, but we are working through all of those issues and we are getting on with it. We are very respectful of UWE, their position and the remarkable patience they have shown. Planning consent has another two years to run but the sooner we get the project off the ground the better. There is a requirement to start work on a car park on that site by October and that is our next target. UWE have 30,000 students and because they are building in other areas they are losing car parking space. That is the next definitive target and would really be the first smoke signal of real progress on the project." Hamer and his team, which includes recently-appointed directors Michael Cunnah and Lee Atkins, have also been active in meeting with potential investment partners in order to help finance the project. Hamer said: "Our mantra is that we are on a journey so come and join us now. Anyone who comes knocking on our door to ask about things like naming rights when the stadium is up and running in two years' time might have missed the boat. It is only right that we look more favourably on those parties who commit to coming on what will be a fantastic journey with us." Hamer, meanwhile, says that the Al-Qadi's legal team are still examining the chances of success or otherwise for an appeal to the Supreme Court in what has been a long-running legal battle with Sainsbury's. The club lost an appeal against an initial High Court decision that ruled in favour of the high street retailer and allowed them to extricate themselves from an agreement made to buy the Memorial Stadium site for £30million in 2011. Hamer said: "The club has lost a lawsuit amounting to £1million and will also have to pick up the tab for Sainsbury's costs amounting to £500,000. When you are talking about these sums of money it would be unwise to charge on without taking stock. We have this 28-day period and all aspects of the case are being evaluated by our legal team. We await their advice on the chances of success or otherwise." Hamer has also confirmed that a short-term loan that was accruing interest at 1.2 per cent per month has been settled with the lender. The club, under the old regime led by Nick Higgs, obtained the £2million loan from a company called MSP Capital in December 2014 in order to continue their legal fight against Sainsbury's. A sum of close to £3million has been repaid. Hamer said: "That was all part of the acquisition. I'm sure it is a mighty relief to those who set up the loan and to those who had offered personal guarantees in order to obtain it." Former financial director Toni Watola, meanwhile, has brought an end to his time at the club by retiring. Watola remained in employ of the club following the recent Al-Qadi takeover and briefly carried out a role as chief operating officer. http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Bristo...tory-28971619-detail/story.html#ixzz43icAJfp8 .
Key points..... Hamer has had several meetings with UWE which have been extremely successful. What was going on previously with UWE was very much a lone wolf approach. Is that a dig at Higgs????? Been alerted to one or two things that we weren't aware of previously, but we are working through all of those issues. Planning consent has another two years to run. There is a requirement to start work on a car park on that site by October and would be the first smoke signal of real progress on the project. Club been active in meeting with potential investment partners in order to help finance the project. Anyone who comes knocking on our door to ask about things like naming rights when the stadium is up and running in two years' time might have missed the boat. So the stadium wont be called the UWE stadium then and stadium to be built within 2 years! Al-Qadi's legal team are still examining the chances of success or otherwise for an appeal to the Supreme Court and have a 28-day period to appeal or not. Please move on! The £2million loan that Higgs took out from a company called MSP Capital in December 2014 has been settled with a sum of close to £3million being repaid. Watola has retired from his brief spell of CEO. Couldnt take it I guess!
There is a chance that the stadium could be called UWE---------- isn't there I also liked the subtle hint that if they are interested in the naming rights or other like stand names they need to be on board now
I remember that the original deal was UWE wanting £8million for leasing the land for a certain amount of years. But was willing to scrap that if they get the naming rights for the stadium, hence why we all been calling it The UWE Stadium. Then the Al-Qadi's have looked at the whole project and have openly said they want to buy the land and not lease it. Now Hamer has said all meeting with UWE have been successful and basically saying that naming rights are up for grabs. Sounds like, by putting 2 and 2 together, that we have or will actually buy the land so in a position to sell the naming rights.
Also, Hamer has confirmed they are getting investors to fund the stadium build. If we can sale the mem say for £20 million, then we need to get another £20 million in funds. I dont know how much the going rate is for naming rights, but if UWE was willing to spend £8 million on it, then not much more to get. If we sale the naming rights for each of the 4 stands too then we could be nearly there with the funds!
Thanks for clarifying that CJS If it gets us more funding for the project then all the better. Didn't the old board say that when we lost the first round with Sainsbury's that the plans would be curtailed a little or did I dream that and if they did will it now go ahead to the full original spec
I think plan B for Higgs was a reduced capacity at UWE. Selling the mem to Sainsbury for £30 million then changing that to sale to someone else say for £20 million obviously redices finances and Higgs would have reduced UWE costs by reducing size/capacity etc. Going by what Hamer and Wael has previously said, I think they want to go bigger than the original spec! I guess it depends on what investment they get.
Does anyone agree with me when I say that although Wael has not put a time scale on it they are hoping for either Championship or Premiership football a little further down the line otherwise why would they want to go to twenty thousand plus stadium when league 1 / 2 football is where we are at
I think they want us to go as far as we can no matter how long it takes. They are in it for the long haul. Its now a family thing for them so I wont be surprised if it stays in their family for generations. If in 10 years time we are only in league 1, we should still be benefitting from a good size stadium for other commercial uses. Its important that we have a revenue coming in on non match days
I think most things have been covered from posts above... But I think you have hit the nail on the head captain regarding still having a revenue coming in not just football. I believe this is why wael wanted to buy the land and take full control. He has a perfect catchment area there with students in a plenty. I don't know what he plans to do? But i can see other commercial money making bolt on's being built into the uwe build? You can certainly see a huge difference with a team of people who know what they are doing, certainly no stone being left unturned, making sure this build is done right first time.
I'm sure I've heard that they're examining a larger capacity? That's why Hamer said 'the initially proposed 21,700 stadium'. Do you think they'll go for larger and if so, how large? Also, I don't reckon they'll get £20m for the Mem - not in a month of Sunday's. What is it- 4 or 5 acres? £10-15m max I reckon.
I just said £20million for example. I think the same £10-£15million. Yes Hamer said may go bigger. The original spec was 21k with an option to increase when needed. If we are getting funds from investors to pay for this then we may go bigger saving the trouble of seeking further investment down the line. We dont need 21k to be honest but football is now a business and we will be using it once maybe twice a fortnight. We need a good size to attract others to use it on non match days. Concerts etc!
Bigger is better! Wael wants to make this club bigger and he's got the ambition and money to succeed.
The way he has become friends with Harry, I wouldnt be surprised if Harry ends up being our next manager.
Redknapp said he secured the Jordan job through his friendship with Prince Ali who as we know is very good friends to Wael. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/6c0b...hires-harry-redknapp-bid-reach-2018-world-cup
