Cont. from Saints frozen assets? - Part One

The city council would acquire a prime leisure asset that could become a focus for regeneration.

Community groups would be encouraged to use it when it wasn’t staging football matches and the stadium could also be used with more versatility as an entertainment destination.

Another prospect is to turn the pitch into a giant ice skating rink, using hovercraft technology to support the rink without damaging the pitch out of season.

The ideas are contained within a motion agreed at the Saints Trust’s annual meeting. Members approved a move to lobby the city council to investigate the acquisition of the ground.

Along with the community involvement the stadium could become home to a football heritage centre, according to the initial research by the Trust. Secretary Bert Curtis said: “It’s very much in its infancy but we’ve agreed to lobby MPs and the city council to see whether it could happen.”

The move would have benefits for both sides but when you cast your eye over the sort of money and debt involved, the prospect of anyone, let alone a local authority, taking on a loss-making venue seems far from likely.

Season ticket holder and Saints Trust member Alan Whitehead MP summed it up: “If any local authority had that sort of money to spend I’d say taxpayers would prefer it spent on other things.”

So far is it from ever becoming a reality, neither the football club nor the council were prepared to comment.

Undeterred the Saints Trust has cited Hull City as a model for the parties to look at.

On the face of it, the club went from practically going out of business and the league to riding high at the top end of the Premiership within ten years.

The catalyst for their meteoric rise has been universally acknowledged to be the moment they moved into the Kingston Communications Stadium – bought, built and paid for by the city council.

They are, along with the city’s rugby league side, tenants in their own ground, which is also home to a learning zone, library and multi-use sports facility.

Although owned by the city council it is managed by an intermediary company, leaving both sides free to get on with their primary focus.

So if the results are that impressive, why isn’t everyone doing it? Although on paper the Hull model seems straightforward, the circumstances were unique and therefore unlikely to be replicated. The stadium was funded thanks to a huge windfall the council got from selling shares in the city’s own telephone company. Along with upgrading roads and investing in schools and tourist attractions, £46m was ploughed into a new stadium. The chances of any local authority suddenly realising assets that would free up that sort of capital are virtually non-existent.

The relationship between tenant and landowner is also not without its strains. Developing the ground would be a sticking point and although the club would have no overheads to worry about, the flip side would be no asset to borrow against.

Funding for players or other projects would have to come from within or the pockets of the owner. And billionaires might also think twice about buying a club with no assets.

So on deeper examination the proposal appears flawed but the motivation behind it has been commended.

Mr Whitehead said: “I think it’s very important that fans come up with these suggestions. In the future I can see fan groups playing a major part in the running of their clubs.”