First thing I have liked about Chelsea

[aka Dus]

since I can't remember:

 

 

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/oct/27/chelsea-pitch-owners-stamford-bridge

 

 

Chelsea Pitch Owners reject club's attempt to leave Stamford Bridge

 

• Shareholders block club bid to buy back land

• Board members endure stormy EGM

 

Dominic Fifield

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 27 October 2011 23.00 BST

 

The Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the club's fans after shareholders in the Chelsea Pitch Owners company rejected a proposal to buy back the land upon which Stamford Bridge is built at a fractious extraordinary general meeting.

 

Chelsea secured 61.6% of the shares held by those present in the club's Great Hall or voting by proxy, falling well short of the 75% required if they were to force through proposals to secure the pitch and land upon which Stamford Bridge is built. Success would have represented the first step towards leaving Chelsea's home of 106 years for a new, 60,000-seat stadium. Instead the club chairman, Bruce Buck, was left in the awkward position of having to report back to Abramovich that his offer had been rejected.

 

"Roman's disappointed, but he respects that Chelsea Pitch Owners have spoken," said Buck, who had relayed the news to the owner. "Obviously, we had asked them to support our proposal and only 62% have supported it, so we're disappointed and we have to accept that it's a setback. But we always knew that getting 75% of the vote was going to be very difficult. That's just the nature of the vote."

 

Buck and the club's chief executive, Ron Gourlay, had sat at the top table and endured two hours of questions from the floor at a meeting that was attended by around 700 shareholders. Those opposed to the club's proposals had expressed grave concerns at the prospect of surrendering the safety net provided by CPO – a company which was formed in 1993 to prevent the stadium falling into the hands of property developers – and expressed outrage that around £200,000 worth of shares, at £100 each, had been sold to only 20 individuals since the club's plans were detailed on 3 October.

 

There were suggestions that those shares, which represented more than 10% of the shares in issue and more than had been sold in the previous seven years, had been purchased by people who would back the club's plans. That theory has been rejected by the club, but the issue was raised by Clint Steele of the Say No CPO (SNCPO) campaign, who asked if the sales had not "made this meeting into a total farce?" A response from the CPO chairman, Richard King, was drowned out by cries of "corrupt", "sham" and "stitch up" from the floor.

 

Indeed, there was the real prospect that the meeting would be adjourned to a later date, after Steele challenged the validity of the vote and the handling of the issue by King. That was only averted by King announcing that, with some 4,000 proxy votes counted, it would effectively take only 300 of the 1,700 shares present in the room to reject the proposals for the no vote to be passed. The CPO chairman is expected to tender his resignation on Friday, and a new board is likely to be in place by the end of the year.

 

"In the end, maybe the lack of transparency over the extra shares sold in the buildup to the EGM helped turn the vote in our favour," said Tim Rolls, of SNCPO. "This was never an issue of trust in Roman Abramovich. But there were a few issues where we had real concerns: that the club could potentially move further away than three miles from Stamford Bridge after 2020; that they had adequately proved that Stamford Bridge cannot be redeveloped.

 

"We were frustrated that they only gave a three-week notice period ahead of the EGM for such a key issue in the long-term future of the club, and that there was apparently no way of keeping a form of CPO going forward. Hopefully there will be more transparency moving forward but, between now and CPO's annual general meeting in December, I would expect Mr Abramovich to come back with another offer to put to the shareholders."

 

The defeat represents a blow to Chelsea's immediate plans, and they are still to determine their next move.

 

"It's really a matter of discussing with the rest of the [Chelsea] board and with Mr Abramovich what, if any, the next steps should be, can be, will be," Buck said. "We need to get our own ducks in a line and have meetings with the owner and the board and decide how to proceed. We can come back with our proposals tweaked. Whether we will or not is something we will have to discuss."

[Coyler]

Good on them.

 

However, I already very much liked the fact that they beat Man. Utd. to those league titles.

[Gomez]

So lets get this straight.

 

Chelsea don't own their ground, a benign company owned by the fans do?

 

Do Chelsea then pay rent to CPO? I'd guess they don't, or it's nominal.

 

Why do Chelsea have to buy it in order to move, surely not owning the ground makes a move to another stadium more likely?

[Cobs]

Abramovich should say "f*ck you all then! I'm not gonna keep funding this" and dump his shares back to Ken Bates

That'd be funny

[Kvarme Ate My Food]

So lets get this straight.

 

Chelsea don't own their ground, a benign company owned by the fans do?

 

Do Chelsea then pay rent to CPO? I'd guess they don't, or it's nominal.

 

Why do Chelsea have to buy it in order to move, surely not owning the ground makes a move to another stadium more likely?

 

it's the freehold rather than the ground itself.

and Chelsea need to sell the ground to developers to raise the money for their new stadium.

[Gomez]

it's the freehold rather than the ground itself.

Ah, OK.

 

and Chelsea need to sell the ground to developers to raise the money for their new stadium.

Well that was my first thought, but this is chelsea we are talking about.

 

And before you say FFP, I thought expenditure on ground development was not counted? Surely once they decide to move, the CPO don't have an asset?

[Falconhoof]

That ground in that location will be worth a fortune.

[Cobs]

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That ground in that location will be worth a fortune.

 

Yep

Buying land and building nearby ain't gonna be cheap either though

Mebbe they should ground share with QPR?

[Gilps]

The ground in that area of London is worth so much that its sale would more than cover every penny that Abramovich has spent on the club.

[Gomez]

Yep

Buying land and building nearby ain't gonna be cheap either though

Mebbe they should ground share with QPR?

 

 

As an outsider, with no real knowledge of either club or their surrounding communities, I think this is the only real answer that makes financial sense for everyone involved, and I will continue to bang this drum when ever I am asked even when confronted by people with vastly more knowledge on the situation than myself.

[Gilps]

Yep

Buying land and building nearby ain't gonna be cheap either though

Mebbe they should ground share with QPR?

 

Land for a new stadium's never going to free. Or cheap anywhere in London. Latest rumours are that they're looking at a site at Old Oak Common, which would be a hell of a lot cheaper than the area around Stamford Beridge. Enough so for there to be significant profit in the trade, you'd think.

[Falconhoof]

As an outsider, with no real knowledge of either club or their surrounding communities, I think this is the only real answer that makes financial sense for everyone involved, and I will continue to bang this drum when ever I am asked even when confronted by people with vastly more knowledge on the situation than myself.

 

[Kvarme Ate My Food]

Ah, OK.

 

 

Well that was my first thought, but this is chelsea we are talking about.

 

And before you say FFP, I thought expenditure on ground development was not counted? Surely once they decide to move, the CPO don't have an asset?

 

They don't WANT to piss money away for the sake of it.

[épieur]

They don't WANT to piss money away for the sake of it.

 

€40m rightback duo Boningwa and Ferreira says otherwise.

 

Tbh, that is what I thought too, but on second thought, how is this different from routinely throwing 5-10-15m on top of the price and paying inflated wages? I am sure they could have negotiated lower prices on all those counts with a little bit more determination to not throw money away, but the bottomline seems to have been 'doesn't matter that much'. Don't understand why they suddenly want to be frugal here.

[Kvarme Ate My Food]

€40m rightback duo Boningwa and Ferreira says otherwise.

 

Tbh, that is what I thought too, but on second thought, how is this different from routinely throwing 5-10-15m on top of the price and paying inflated wages? I am sure they could have negotiated lower prices on all those counts with a little bit more determination to not throw money away, but the bottomline seems to have been 'doesn't matter that much'. Don't understand why they suddenly want to be frugal here.

 

it's not a case of being frugal.

 

do you have any concept of how much that land will be worth?

[Gomez]

it's not a case of being frugal.

 

do you have any concept of how much that land will be worth?

 

The suggestion is not that they just build another stadium and let stamford bridge sit and rot, just that why is CPO's refusal to sell (or allow chelsea to buy, if there is a difference) the stadium going to stop them. If they initiate proceedings to relocate regardless, then what choice, or motivation would CPO have to continue obstructing the sale? The point is, it will be sold eventually and chelsea have the money to bridge the gap, where other clubs wouldn't.

[Epic Swindle]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/8854353/Say-No-CPO-Chelsea-simply-do-not-understand-their-fans.html

[Kvarme Ate My Food]

The suggestion is not that they just build another stadium and let stamford bridge sit and rot, just that why is CPO's refusal to sell (or allow chelsea to buy, if there is a difference) the stadium going to stop them. If they initiate proceedings to relocate regardless, then what choice, or motivation would CPO have to continue obstructing the sale? The point is, it will be sold eventually and chelsea have the money to bridge the gap, where other clubs wouldn't.

 

I just don't think Abramovich was ever prepared to lash a fortune at Chelsea without any return. The prospect of flogging that ground if it all went t*** up has always been at the back of his mind.

[Gomez]

I just don't think Abramovich was ever prepared to lash a fortune at Chelsea without any return. The prospect of flogging that ground if it all went t*** up has always been at the back of his mind.

 

I wonder what he'll be thinking if, as looks might happen, City start cleaning up whilst playing pretty football, rather than the dour austere stuff they managed.

 

Surely the point in being the richest kid on the block is that you can outspend all the others and get what you want. If he can't have that fun, and has to watch his usurper play the beautiful game, he might just jack it all in. Specially if they win the CL in the next couple of years.

Edited October 28, 2011 by Gomez

[Kvarme Ate My Food]

I can well see Abramovich losing interest. He thought he could make them the best team in the world and it must be dawning on him that that won't happen.

 

Doubt he'll simply f*** off, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if he was open to offers. Especially if his current court case goes against him. And a Chelsea that owns the freehold on Stamford Park, and are regulars in the Champions League, with some very valuable players on their books, will be worth way more than the club he bought. And of course he can still call in his loans for all those players he funded.

 

This is nothing but guesswork, of course.

[Gomez]

I can well see Abramovich losing interest. He thought he could make them the best team in the world and it must be dawning on him that that won't happen.

 

Doubt he'll simply f*** off, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if he was open to offers. Especially if his current court case goes against him. And a Chelsea that owns the freehold on Stamford Park, and are regulars in the Champions League, with some very valuable players on their books, will be worth way more than the club he bought. And of course he can still call in his loans for all those players he funded.

 

This is nothing but guesswork, of course.

 

Can't see him selling up. No way are chelsea worth more than what he paid + what he's invested, not with the salary commitments and FFP looming. Plus I've always understood the buy an under performing club, invest into it and sell it at a profit, but never really understood who was mean to be buying it without that attraction being there. Another Russian oligarch maybe? But then again, where's the fun? And chelsea were neither an under-performing club when he bought them, or are a self-sustaining club now. They are over-performing due to financial doping. Anyone who comes in will have to pay current market value for a CL club, and have to dope to a higher extent than Ambramovic to compete with City.

 

More likely he'll lose interest, be seen there less and less, and leave them to their own devices, which will eventually see them drift out of the CL and back into mid-table obscurity.

[Kvarme Ate My Food]

Chelsea barracks were sold for £959 million. £70.3m per acre (admittedly at 2007 prices).

If Chelsea own the freehold to Stamford Bridge, they've won the lottery.

[Gomez]

Chelsea barracks were sold for £959 million. £70.3m per acre (admittedly at 2007 prices).

If Chelsea own the freehold to Stamford Bridge, they've won the lottery.

 

But any new stadium will presumably cost quite a bit as well, they aren't going to move that far are they? And they need a bigger footprint and costs associated with moving and building.

[Gilps]

But any new stadium will presumably cost quite a bit as well, they aren't going to move that far are they? And they need a bigger footprint and costs associated with moving and building.

 

Total projected cost of their new stadium is £560-600 million. They would be looking at making a substantial profit on the move.

[Kvarme Ate My Food]

Throw a chunky naming rights deal in to cover some of the cost too.

For all the scoffing about hefty fees, Abramovich will have done well out of his Chelsea adventure by the time he packs it in.