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Post by themightyaldo on Sept 17, 2016 8:29:50 GMT
Kassam has us over a barrel and he knows it.I think he is a vindictive man who will never forget the storming of the boardroom and will make us pay forever more
Surely Mr Eales should now come out and tell us what is going on regarding the fourth stand: as I see it there are 3 scenarios
1 Kassam will let us have the new stand but at an increased rent 2 Kassam has plans of his own for fourth stand including flats 3 Kassam does not want us to have a new stand because he doesn't have to
Regarding the stadium as a whole
How much longer can we go on without getting any revenue in?
My best guess is that Mr Eales will eventually get fed up with dealing with Kassam and walk away. There is nowhere else where we will be given planning permission so we are stuck where we are
Every time things come to a head with Kassam all we hear is " Don't rock the boat because negotiations are at a sensitive stage"
We heard that 15 years ago and we will hear this for a few more years until Kassam achieves his ultimate goal which is the demise of OUFC and housing on the land where we play at the moment.
As I said before he is a vindictive man who will not forget the protest that day and he will make us pay
One further point
When the lease comes to an end do the council have the right to maintain that sport in some form has to be played on that site?
I don't know the answer to this and would like to know what exactly the land can be used for, because I wouldn't put it past Kassam to build a huge Leisure Centre on the site when he has killed us off
Sorry to sound so negative but at the moment I can't see any long term future for us whilst Kassam is on this planet
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Post by nottsyellow on Sept 22, 2016 19:52:40 GMT
Another big opportunity on Saturday missed for the temporary stand to be full. I get the feeling this stand is going the same way as the Restaurant and ManorLounger's coffee. Two sell out away crowds missed and £25,000 in gate money. Surely a honest and revealing statement is due?
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Post by foley on Sept 29, 2016 20:47:39 GMT
I hope that most people on here are Oxvox members. Anyway the most recent notes to the latest Oxvoxmeeting suggested that
The meeting discussed the current situation involving the club and the stadium company/Firoz
Kassam. The 2 parties are in an arbitration situation regarding the current service charge and the
perceived services being provided for the level of service charge. This is a formal process between
a landlord and ‘tenant’ and therefore will take time to resolve. It undoubtedly is the reason behind
the delay on the proposed 4th sand.
Interesting ....
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Post by Gary Baldi on Sept 29, 2016 21:03:42 GMT
The club are calling FK out then. Interesting. I can't see it ending well
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Post by harrycarry on Sept 29, 2016 21:24:41 GMT
Looks like thinks could get dark. And I don't mean floodlight failure. At the end of the day though the stadium is not our asset, and we should not spend a penny more than we need to on it IMO.
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Post by scoob on Sept 30, 2016 0:05:42 GMT
As boycotts seem to be popular at the moment it sounds like all OUFC fans need to be boycotting all of Kassam's tenants (e.g. Cinema, Bowlplex (or whatever it is now called), restaurants, chip shop, hotels, bars and catering outlets in the stadium. Some of the non Kassam businesses may be adversely affected but they chose to get into bed with the devil so no sympathy from me. The only way that we will break Kassam's stranglehold over the club will be by affecting his revenue from the whole area. If we ever get to the Championship then the whole situation will be even worse as we can not compete with the current stadium situation. It would be a long game but something needs to be done.
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Post by harrycarry on Sept 30, 2016 4:03:04 GMT
But we don't know what contracts are in place with above, so what would reduce his revenues? Might it be better to focus all effort on raising 20m to solve he problem once and for all?
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Post by oufcyellows on Sept 30, 2016 5:54:58 GMT
Exactly, we can boycott all of the above and it won't affect him at all, as they will still have to pay their rent for the agreed contract, and if they go bust another company will just take over thinking they can make a better go of it
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Post by Gary Baldi on Sept 30, 2016 8:09:25 GMT
It would be better pressuring the council to get FK to sort out the Priory. It doesn't hurt any tenants or peoples jobs and goes directly to the source of the issue
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Post by foley on Sept 30, 2016 9:47:36 GMT
Exactly, we can boycott all of the above and it won't affect him at all, as they will still have to pay their rent for the agreed contract, and if they go bust another company will just take over thinking they can make a better go of it I am not sure that is true. If everybody boycotted these businesses, the owners would soon be after FK. No Company would take on such a franchise with huge issues with the owner and a boycott going on. Having said that the concerted lobbying of the Council may be better. Pushing for the Priory to be refurbished, strongly opposing any planning FK tries for etc. I assume that Oxvox are speaking to FK separately from the club (the community asset idea) which I assume is why they are not backing any action at the moment. The club do seem to be taking a much harder line now though since the new MD came in.
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Post by oufcyellows on Sept 30, 2016 10:10:06 GMT
Exactly, we can boycott all of the above and it won't affect him at all, as they will still have to pay their rent for the agreed contract, and if they go bust another company will just take over thinking they can make a better go of it I am not sure that is true. If everybody boycotted these businesses, the owners would soon be after FK. No Company would take on such a franchise with huge issues with the owner and a boycott going on. Having said that the concerted lobbying of the Council may be better. Pushing for the Priory to be refurbished, strongly opposing any planning FK tries for etc. I assume that Oxvox are speaking to FK separately from the club (the community asset idea) which I assume is why they are not backing any action at the moment. The club do seem to be taking a much harder line now though since the new MD came in. Trouble with boycotting his tenants, we would have to stop going to home game otherwise it's a bit 2faced 😉. Far better to hit him where it will actually reach his pocket, the stadium bars, haythrope, presuming that isn't leased out to someone
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Post by manorlounger on Sept 30, 2016 13:10:50 GMT
As boycotts seem to be popular at the moment it sounds like all OUFC fans need to be boycotting all of Kassam's tenants (e.g. Cinema, Bowlplex (or whatever it is now called), restaurants, chip shop, hotels, bars and catering outlets in the stadium. Some of the non Kassam businesses may be adversely affected but they chose to get into bed with the devil so no sympathy from me. The only way that we will break Kassam's stranglehold over the club will be by affecting his revenue from the whole area. If we ever get to the Championship then the whole situation will be even worse as we can not compete with the current stadium situation. It would be a long game but something needs to be done. Short term this will have zero impact on FK. Long term, well, what is long term? How long do you imagine anyone will keep going? Remember, he does not have any interest in day to day finances only the long term leasehold arrangements. e.g we boycott the stadium in protest. What happens? The club folds as there is no income from supporters. Result, the club is still obliged to pay the rent and eventually FK has exactly what he wants, an empty stadium that he can sell to re-developers for a vast profit. Transpose this onto any of the other businesses on the Ozone site and the same or only slightly different will happen. The only way to have any impact on FK is to show proper opposition to any planning he may have, by publicising his flouting of contractual agreements i.e.The Priory restoration and repairs. Oxford city and Oxfordshire county councils should be contacted to voice concerns and ask that the neglect agreements be addressed. I would imagine that the English Heritage folk will be very interested to learn why he has not done as agreed. Local historians and archeological organisations will want to know what is happening too. I would however advocate one area to boycott - the bars in the ground. They are a direct part of Stadco and answer to FK. Have a drink somewhere else. Also, join OxVox, the more that join the louder the collective voice.
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Post by foley on Sept 30, 2016 15:55:08 GMT
Remember, he does not have any interest in day to day finances only the long term leasehold arrangements. e.g we boycott the stadium in protest. What happens? The club folds as there is no income from supporters. Result, the club is still obliged to pay the rent and eventually FK has exactly what he wants, an empty stadium that he can sell to re-developers for a vast profit. Transpose this onto any of the other businesses on the Ozone site and the same or only slightly different will happen. At the Oxvox meeting DE suggested that FK is involved in ALL day to day financial decisions. So for example the fact that the restaurant which was full before every game- no profit sharing would be allowed to the club, was an FK decision not that of the GM. I don't think that anybody is suggesting that the club is boycotted, more any of FK's interests.
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Post by oufcyellows on Sept 30, 2016 15:58:15 GMT
Remember, he does not have any interest in day to day finances only the long term leasehold arrangements. e.g we boycott the stadium in protest. What happens? The club folds as there is no income from supporters. Result, the club is still obliged to pay the rent and eventually FK has exactly what he wants, an empty stadium that he can sell to re-developers for a vast profit. Transpose this onto any of the other businesses on the Ozone site and the same or only slightly different will happen. At the Oxvox meeting DE suggested that FK is involved in ALL day to day financial decisions. So for example the fact that the restaurant which was full before every game- no profit sharing would be allowed to the club, was an FK decision not that of the GM. I don't think that anybody is suggesting that the club is boycotted, more any of FK's interests. But the club is as much of fk's interest as any of the ozone companies. Would he care if only 500 fans turned up to every home game ? No same goes for boycotting the rest
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Post by manorlounger on Sept 30, 2016 17:26:45 GMT
Remember, he does not have any interest in day to day finances only the long term leasehold arrangements. e.g we boycott the stadium in protest. What happens? The club folds as there is no income from supporters. Result, the club is still obliged to pay the rent and eventually FK has exactly what he wants, an empty stadium that he can sell to re-developers for a vast profit. Transpose this onto any of the other businesses on the Ozone site and the same or only slightly different will happen. At the Oxvox meeting DE suggested that FK is involved in ALL day to day financial decisions. So for example the fact that the restaurant which was full before every game- no profit sharing would be allowed to the club, was an FK decision not that of the GM. I don't think that anybody is suggesting that the club is boycotted, more any of FK's interests. Good point. I had let that slip from my mind! He probably does get great satisfaction in stiffing the club over things like the restaurant as was the case presumably with the now infamous tea/coffee in the lounges saga! I had more in mind the rest of the site where all the businesses are franchise or similar. And no, you're right, nobody is going to boycott the club!
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Post by foley on Sept 30, 2016 19:31:40 GMT
At the Oxvox meeting DE suggested that FK is involved in ALL day to day financial decisions. So for example the fact that the restaurant which was full before every game- no profit sharing would be allowed to the club, was an FK decision not that of the GM. I don't think that anybody is suggesting that the club is boycotted, more any of FK's interests. But the club is as much of fk's interest as any of the ozone companies. Would he care if only 500 fans turned up to every home game ? No same goes for boycotting the rest FK wants to get as much rent as possible. So IF there was a serious boycott of all businesses on his site and Companies started talking of withdrawing at the end of their lease, of course he would be concerned. But I agree with Gary that a better way is probably a concerted attempt to disrupt all of his planning applications and to challenge them on the Priory issue. There would need to be significant pressure from a lot of people though.
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Post by oufcyellows on Sept 30, 2016 19:36:35 GMT
If that happened he would just sell. But it wouldn't as there would always be another firm that thinks they could do better. He's made a fortune from the site, if he had to sell off all the businesses at cost he'd still be well up, and very happy.
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Post by harrycarry on Sept 30, 2016 19:47:01 GMT
Opposing planning applications would be akin to containing a fart in a colander. A prick on the thumb for FK at best, but a waste of time and effort as he will still get his way. The only way to win the battle is to raise enough dosh to buy the stadium related assets we need.
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Post by foley on Sept 30, 2016 20:27:28 GMT
Opposing planning applications would be akin to containing a fart in a colander. A prick on the thumb for FK at best, but a waste of time and effort as he will still get his way. The only way to win the battle is to raise enough dosh to buy the stadium related assets we need. Yes ultimately you are right. But making life as difficult and uncomfortable as possible may 'help' him want to sell. So he has stitched the council up time and time again. If they had so much pressure put on them that they hardened up against his ignoring planning regulations he just may be more keen to dis invest.
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Post by foley on Sept 30, 2016 20:29:34 GMT
If that happened he would just sell. But it wouldn't as there would always be another firm that thinks they could do better. He's made a fortune from the site, if he had to sell off all the businesses at cost he'd still be well up, and very happy. No way on earth would FK 'sell at cost' He is a very hard nosed businessman who is prepared to cut off his nose to spite his face. If he is prepared to sell at cost (no chance) then somebody with OUFC interest at heart needs to move quickly ...
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Post by Gary Baldi on Sept 30, 2016 21:07:08 GMT
FK is a wily individual. And a boycott of his tenants won't hurt him immediately, if at all. It would have to be a long term boycott, but in all honesty a lot of day to day punters will keep going and won't care who ultimately owns the complex.
You have to be smart and targeted with people like FK to get the desired effect. The Priory is the most obvious place where the amount of OUFC fans can make a difference. Both with the respective public bodies, and through the press. It's something that FK cannot wriggle out of easily if enough pressure is maintained.
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Post by ox4eva on Sept 30, 2016 21:13:01 GMT
The issue with the priory is our Trojan horse when it comes putting FK under some pressure!
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Post by whingit on Sept 30, 2016 22:26:53 GMT
If fans chose one home game to congregate outside the Priory pre-match, surely it would generate some publicity. Everybody bring their own tinnies, maybe a few extra to offer to passing fans, who pop over curious. Get the Ultras, yellow army and people on this forum to agree on a date and see what happens. If the priory were to reopen, it would improve the experience of visiting the Kassam for a lot of people.
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Post by Denissmithswig on Sept 30, 2016 23:23:43 GMT
If fans chose one home game to congregate outside the Priory pre-match, surely it would generate some publicity. Everybody bring their own tinnies, maybe a few extra to offer to passing fans, who pop over curious. Get the Ultras, yellow army and people on this forum to agree on a date and see what happens. If the priory were to reopen, it would improve the experience of visiting the Kassam for a lot of people. I like the idea but would it cause issue with regards to drinking in a public place and giving TVP the chance to arrest fans for drinking in public?
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Post by blox21 on Sept 30, 2016 23:38:36 GMT
As the song goes " f*ck the police "
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Post by oufcyellows on Oct 1, 2016 7:51:24 GMT
If that happened he would just sell. But it wouldn't as there would always be another firm that thinks they could do better. He's made a fortune from the site, if he had to sell off all the businesses at cost he'd still be well up, and very happy. No way on earth would FK 'sell at cost' He is a very hard nosed businessman who is prepared to cut off his nose to spite his face. If he is prepared to sell at cost (no chance) then somebody with OUFC interest at heart needs to move quickly ... But isn't that exactly what the £13m figure that always been chucked around is. That is what he said from the start what it cost him to build/finish haha the ground
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Post by makv on Oct 1, 2016 8:50:42 GMT
If fans chose one home game to congregate outside the Priory pre-match, surely it would generate some publicity. Everybody bring their own tinnies, maybe a few extra to offer to passing fans, who pop over curious. Get the Ultras, yellow army and people on this forum to agree on a date and see what happens. If the priory were to reopen, it would improve the experience of visiting the Kassam for a lot of people. I like the idea but would it cause issue with regards to drinking in a public place and giving TVP the chance to arrest fans for drinking in public? Cans of fizzy pop?
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Post by oufcgav on Oct 1, 2016 16:39:44 GMT
If fans chose one home game to congregate outside the Priory pre-match, surely it would generate some publicity. Everybody bring their own tinnies, maybe a few extra to offer to passing fans, who pop over curious. Get the Ultras, yellow army and people on this forum to agree on a date and see what happens. If the priory were to reopen, it would improve the experience of visiting the Kassam for a lot of people. I like the idea but would it cause issue with regards to drinking in a public place and giving TVP the chance to arrest fans for drinking in public? Unless there is a Public Space Protection Order, as long as everyone is well behaved (there has to be enough misbehaviour to be deemed anti-social or drunk and disorderly) and over 18 there would be no reason for the police to be involved.
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Post by scoob on Oct 1, 2016 19:18:51 GMT
As I said in my post any boycott would need to be long term and could be many months or several years. This is the main reason It is unlikely to succeed but at some point we need to do something. Yes we can put pressure on in other ways such as the Priory issue but those will not have a direct effect on the Stadco and thus the Club. The publicity impact of an effective short term boycott may have some effect and make Kassam realise that he needs to change his attitude to the club/fans if he cares about the profitability of the Stadco.
Kassam knows all too well that the Council have massive targets and financial incentive to increase housing stock so whatever our planning protests they will be pushed through in the end.
I absolutely agree that buying the Stadium has to be the focus and I did a lot to encourage Oxvox to pursue this when I was a board member a few years ago. In fact this was why I joined the board in the first place. Unfortunately I was not able to commit sufficient time to really help push this forward.
If Kassam is willing to sell at the £13M that was suggested by Ian Lenegan almost a decade ago then that may be the only option. My preferred option was a fans trust with funding from a variety of methods. This price may be well above the real value of the stadium but in the long term it would remove the stranglehold that Kassam has over the club. A situation which will only get significantly worse if we get to the Championship. Alternatively Charlie's plans for a move to a new stadium may be the best option but something has to be done and soon.
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Post by holdsteady on Oct 1, 2016 23:08:05 GMT
If fans chose one home game to congregate outside the Priory pre-match, surely it would generate some publicity. Everybody bring their own tinnies, maybe a few extra to offer to passing fans, who pop over curious. Get the Ultras, yellow army and people on this forum to agree on a date and see what happens. If the priory were to reopen, it would improve the experience of visiting the Kassam for a lot of people. I like the idea but would it cause issue with regards to drinking in a public place and giving TVP the chance to arrest fans for drinking in public? If you had enough people there then arresting them is a bit beyond TVP's finest, if you stick together they avoid confronting numbers, probably just arrest someone walking their dog.
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