Regarding the proposed new Town End, yes, it’s much more expensive than a usual stand because it would be the first of it’s kind in the UK, and would be multi-purpose. The developer would own and operate for the payback period – suggested as 10 years, based on their business plan. The football club would continue to receive the ticket revenue for the matches played during this time.
At the end of this period ownership would revert back to the stadium owner (Trust or Council or Club) and the developer would maintain a minority stake in future income generated.
Taking my Trust hat off for a moment, and having met the people behind this, my initial view is that this is a fantastic opportunity – not just for Swindon Town, but also for the Town of Swindon.
This would be a massive investment into our Town, and could bring some great publicity too. We must however dig into the detail, and at the moment we cannot, as we do not yet own the stadium.
Keep in mind that this is PHASE 2 work, ownership of the stadium needs to be concluded one way or another, and further due diligence is definitely required. I say again, the devil is in the detail.
I appreciate that the supporter ownership model is proving difficult for people to get their heads around, but we have put fans into a great position. We have effectively been on hold for some time, hence the lack of news – but my fear is that apathy slips in, so off the back of the AGM and the feedback you have given here, we are stepping up our communications in the months to come.
It’s likely we will hear nothing from the Council until the summer (at least) – and as there are local elections looming - we may, in fact, have a different party in control, nobody knows.
I sense the frustration, and I have experienced that same frustration myself many times – but one thing this process has taught me is that we have to be patient.
We will use this time between now and the decision to get the communications right, so I urge you again to email
info@truststfc.com if anything springs to mind (with regret I won’t be in this forum all the time, but will pop in now and then).
RobertT,
Regarding the NDA situation – It is what it is, but when the time is right and when the relevant parties are comfortable, the information will be released.
On the business plan: As mentioned, the Community Share offer when launched will confirm that all shareholders will be equal. These shareholders will agree the initial business plan going forward.
Yes, the club will pay rent, and yes, we will reinvest that rent back into Swindon Town FC. At the moment that money goes to the Council, in our proposed world it will simply go back into the STFC.
The income will be reinvested back into the club in one form or another, and it will happen from day one, assuming we haven’t had to rely on any loans to get this over the line. How it gets reinvested will not be a Trust board decision, it will be the decision of X thousand community shareholders.
The Trust will employ a team to seek out further business opportunities and to work toward a 7 day a week income, which will then also be reinvested back into Swindon Town FC. As above, we have already attracted one potential major investor, and have had many other interesting conversations, I’m confident others will follow. Each will have their own business case and might well include corporate hospitality, and such like.
All of the questions you ask will be part of a wider discussion with those Community Shareholders, who will each have an equal vote on how the money is reinvested back into the club. That might mean a rent reduction, it might mean a rent increase, it might mean the club keep it all over and above a base rent.
Regarding the Stratton Bank, again this is something that can be invested in – community share holders might decide it’s a priority and put all revenue toward developing that.
At the moment, the football club are responsible for maintaining the stadium and addressing any dilapidation, and our due diligence shows the required works to be significant. If shareholders agreed to it, our income might be spent on helping to address this.
I’m sure the club will have their own vision for the stadium, but if these plans don’t ever come to fruition, there will be no way of addressing the matter and there will be no accountability.
Once the stadium is sold to a third party – it’s gone forever…………except in our case, where it won’t be – supporters will be in total control, and in a position to work together and bring about positive change.
Supporters owning the stadium ensures it’s safety for the future. If at any point it’s not going how people want it to go – there will be a democratic process to elect new people to run the show, and new leaders will be brought in to take the stadium forwards.
The shareholding fans will be in control, always.