LCFC Chairman on Ground Sharing

[Daggers]

im not expecting a sensible reply

I'm not very good at them, so dont worry

I have to say, the parallels with City and my life are scary. Here I am waiting for a lottery win, a job offer with huge rewards or a millionairess with brewery links.

I have to confess to being in the 'we must ground share' group as I can not see me winning the lottery ~ and likewise, the chances of getting huge paying support/success on the back of minimal investment seems slim.

Yup, it'd mean we never own the ground outright - but that isn't a possibility at the moment. What is a possibility is for us to increasingly spiral into debt and have to restrict player investment...and restricting it from our current level is a frightening prospect.

In a perfect world I'd say 'balls' to the Tigers ... but this isn't one.

[Louise]

God I hate football. The sooner this whole thing goes belly up the better.

(sorry for bumping an old-ish post but it's late and I don't care)

[Thracian]

Just because I question the potential for revenue streams to increase doesn't mean I can't see how sharing the stadium affects the capital budget situation. My queries were deliberately aimed at the assumption that these revenues would increase significantly, I just don't see that being the case. I can see that ground sharing will reduce the capital loan millstone but only at the expense of never ever having the potential of owning the ground outright.

I think I have a significant grasp on reality thank you very much.

I agree. I also think the chairman has made the point that the Academy has to produce because he understands that the only way to bring any sizeable amounts of new money into the club is to get some young saleable assets through.

It is simplistic I know but if we develop two per season and sell one then we could knock holes in our debt in a relatively short time, assuming we can retain our status and perhaps add 3,000 to our crowd.

Stearman/Wesolowski/O'Grady are already potential sales from this route and, hopefully, Sheehan/Porter/Dodds will follow on.

[Bilko]

Were paying a 7 figure sum per year (£1M?), how much would the Tigers coff up annually?

Apologies Davie that was not aimed at you personally. However to remain in this position with a massive debt hanging over us affects every financial decision we make including the purchase of new talent. Whereas Thracian is quite right about nurturing talent there is no guarentee this will produce significant sums in the future. You may be quite right to query revenue streams increasing but there must be significant expenditure savings by sharing costs we currently carry ourselves.

[Fox4ever]

Apologies Davie that was not aimed at you personally. However to remain in this position with a massive debt hanging over us affects every financial decision we make including the purchase of new talent. Whereas Thracian is quite right about nurturing talent there is no guarentee this will produce significant sums in the future. You may be quite right to query revenue streams increasing but there must be significant expenditure savings by sharing costs we currently carry ourselves.

If I remember the initial discussions, a new company would be formed with Tigers and LCFC both on the board. Tigers would put in >£8m we would raise the same via a commercial loan at manageable interest rates. This then would be used to pay off Teachers. The ground would be hired out to the relevant club for whatever venue they put on. Gate receipts etc would be kept by the relevant club but I assume catering etc would be managed by the stadium company.