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Football stadiums
An internal audit has found that a loan of 13.5 million pounds made to Northampton Town by Northampton Council was made too quickly, on the basis of inadequate information and with insufficient safeguards. This was partly because the then council leader and now local MP was pressing for it.
In particular, the council failed to compare the rapid payment of tranches of the loan with the slow and stalled progress at the Sixfields stadium.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has ordered a probe into why costs of the London Stadium have overrun by £51m. The total cost of the former Olympic Stadium is now estimated at around £750m which is similar to the cost of Wembley Stadium which was seen as costing too much money. The original stadium was built on time and on budget, but it is the conversion costs to turn it into a football stadium that have soared out of control.
The latest crowd trouble at West Ham’s London Stadium is going to make securing a naming deal more difficult. The spectacle of fighting fans is not one a sponsor needs to boost their image.
It was always going to be difficult because what is on offer is really the sponsorship of West Ham. The stadium would have to be debranded for other events such as the World Athletics Championship next summer. Moreover, sponsors prefer to put their name to a new stadium.
Spurs want to change the name of White Hart Lane station to ‘Tottenham Hotspur’ in time for their move into their new stadium. They are also exploring changing the name of a section of road leading from the station to the junction with Tottenham High Road.
Spurs are confident that they can secure the change for less than the £12m fee that Transport for London have asked for. TfL plan to carry out major improvement works to the station including a new entrance and ticket hall. White Hart Lane has never been an easy ground to get away from.
Karren Brady is getting hammered on social media after controversial remarks she made at the Football Leaders conference in London. She said that before West Ham moved to the London Stadium the club had no culture. The move was essential to get the culture right and rebrand the club.
Clubs hope that a move to a new stadium will be give them a boost on and off the pitch. Fans may be sorry to say goodbye to the old stadium and its facilities, but soon get used to the new stadium and its better facilities.
With a bigger revenue stream, the club is able to build the team. Against that, the capital costs of the new stadium can reduce the funds available for the team, as at Arsenal.
Milwall fans were offered a glimmer of hope over plans to develop land around The Den after Lewisham Council’s scrutiny committee called in the planning application. It is feared that the proposals would undermine the viability of the club.
AFC Wimbledon have encountered a new obstacle to their plan to move back to a new stadium at their historic home at Plough Lane.
The original planning application was ‘called in’ by London mayor Boris Johnson, but new mayor Sadiq Khan sent it back to Merton Council who have reaffirmed their support for the scheme.
Tottenham Hotspur have opened talks with the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) over a naming rights deal for the redeveloped White Hart Lane. Negotiations have stepped up after Spurs heard that QIA’S association with Barcelona is likely to end next summer. However, Spurs have also approached a large number of other companies.
Coventry City’s ability to play in Coventry in the future is to be discussed in a ‘Westminster Hall’ debate in the House of Commons. Such debates provide an opportunity for MPs to raise constituency concerns.