Winter News

My maths skills get me by at my lowly level....but I've just come up against a maths problem that has left me puzzled.

Man U have announced a new stadium development that will cost £2 billion...and they start from a position of being £1 billion in debt....doesn't that not work out......I think at the moment a basic match cost at Old Trafford is something like £66 and going up..

 

The area immediately around Old Trafford has become a property hotspot with big blocks of luxury flats, hotels and so on.

I know from experience that Man Utd own a large area behind the existing ground along the canal. A company my then employer owned half of rented a factory site back there and the landlord was…. Manchester United.

If you look at the maps, it’s the area north west of Old Trafford on the south side of the canal.

So the answer is property development. The new stadium is to be back where that factory and others like it is now and the old site will become flats, shops, restaurants, bars and hotels.

The East Coast mainline railway runs past Arsenal’s new stadium. You can hardly see the ground for commercial development - in fact I worked with a company treasury guy who lived in a flat that was right under the eaves of the stadium. I think the old Highbury ground became housing too…..


PS. when I say the factory was just behind the ground, I’d guess it was a 15 minute walk and all the surrounding sites were also owned by Man Utd. That gives you an idea of their landholding and the potential of the site.

PPS. Coincidentally, I first met them at their old site which was a pokey little building in a very rundown area. They were being evicted and wanted money to move into a much bigger site to increase production which is how they came to sell 51% to us. They were being evicted because the site was being redeveloped as the then Commonwealth Games stadium as part of a giant urban redevelopment scheme. That is now Manchester City’s ground of course. Just shows how big league stadium development can trigger huge property deals.

 

Incidentally, that’s an issue relevant to PAFC.

As I understand it, Home Park is within the Central Park zone where planning is limited to sport, recreation and leisure uses.

Therefore, although the club owns the ground and more besides, there’s little or no residual value in the site. Expansion within the existing footprint including the “ice rink” site would be possible but it can’t be leveraged with, say, flats and shops. Moving to a new site wouldn’t be subsidised to any great extent by selling the old one.

 

So it sounds a very lucrative bit of real estate....but with Man U's worldwide fan base....how do you allow the club to run up debts of £1 Billion....maybe the answer to that is the Glazer family and the way they've run it.....didn't they buy it and then transferred the debt to the club....or something similar.

 

The enterprise value of Man U is estimated at about £2.3 billion, which puts it in context.

 

Just been browsing on pasoti.....and came across a Graham Carey wonder strike for St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup.....do we miss him....YES.

 

Yes I saw that. What's his age now?

In the slo-mo you can see the ball isn't spinning at all - perfectly struck.....

 

20th May 1989.....35 yrs old.

 

Ryan Lowe is new Wigan manager.

 

Maxsym Talovierov has returned to Plymouth having been assessed for a knee injury at the Ukrainian team camp.

Just what we need one of our central defenders unavailable....at least we have nearly a fortnight to get him fit.

Having looked at our remaining matches I cannot see how we will break a 40pts total.....(we have 33pts at present)

Watford (a).....Norwich (h).....Swansea (a).....Sheffield U (h).....Middlesboro (a).....Coventry (h).....PNE (a).....Leeds (h).

 

Mustapha Bundu had to be withdrawn before half-time with a leg injury whilst playing for Sierra Leone.....not a good sign for Argyle.

 

Are we in Spring yet?

Maxi is out for the rest of a season with a knee injury suffered in the Derby game.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cj0ql1jrm97o

We’re doomed.

 

Good question notDistant....I think spring officially has arrived.